Fast forward to 2026, and the bloc has shelved the mandatory reduction regulation for good. What’s more, in an effort to remove regulatory burdens for companies, the EU’s executive body is now considering approving most pesticides permanently.
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The binding target of cutting pesticides use by 50% was opposed by my own country Sweden even though we are at the bottom of pesticides use per hectare in the EU. Why? Because the proposal was for every country to halve their pesticide use individually. We have countries like Cyprus and Hungary that use over 10x the amount we use per hectare. They had to halve their use from that amount. While we who use barely anything had to halve from our originally low amount. This meant that the countries that were abusing pesticides historically were grandfathered into being able to keep abusing them at a crazy high level, even if lower than before. While we who have already reduced pesticides use enormously to where most of the pesticides use left is that which is close to absolutely necessary, and we still have to halve.
The proposal was entirely unfair and hurt the countries which have done well and benefited the historically largest polluters. Mainstream media doesn’t understand this though and seems to spin it as the EU abandoning promises to reduce pesticides, that’s not necessarily true. It’s just that this specific proposal was very unfortunately designed.
It’s OK, soon we don’t even need pesticides, because the insects are disappearing.
Insecticides are actually the least of the big three. Herbicides are by far the most used followed by fungicides against fungal disease. So insects disappearing wont nudge the pesticide use that much. In addition to that the insect pests are really not that affected by the insect decline. In many ways it’s the other way around. When all the other insects and birds disappear the agricultural pest insects lose their natural predators and they turn into an even larger problem.
You are right, it’s just my English that suck, because I always think pests when hearing pesticide, and pests are insects not plants in my brain.
So I confuse pesticide with insecticide. 🫣
It’s one of those words that gets me almost every time.
Many of them are against fungi.
You say that, but you wouldn’t believe the gain of function testing happening in developing fungal pathogens attacking plants it’s quite exciting I’m sure. Oops I think some spores got out, it’ll be fine.
It would’ve been so easy to set a minimum target. Everyone above has to cut in half or meet the target, whichever is higher
I read multiple articles on this and your short description left me more informed then these big long articles thank you.
Well yeah, not only had they already pissed off the chemical companies, especially declaring round up a carcinogen which is true and we all know it, but they tried to restrict pesticides and the chemical companies AstroTurfed farmer protests and PR campaigns and the EU surrendered.
They seems to have lost their promise in keeping big business under control.
The European Union basically gave up after the US fell to gangsters as far as I see.
Roundup is a carcinogen the same way household bleach is a carcinogen. If you spray it in your face it’s a health risk. Show me any science that says that glyphosphate, as used in the EU, is any risk to public health. It’s one of the most well studied chemicals on the planet, up there with artificial sweeteners. And don’t bring up studies where they spray rats in the face with it. As used in the EU today it’s used before planting on bare ground to clear up weeds, not in growing crops. The amount left in the actual produce is absolutely miniscule. At the same time we have fungicides out there that are sprayed just weeks before harvest and have a much higher risk. Start with those. The focus on glyphosphate is absolutely ridiculous and I think the whole issue is glyphosphate is the only pesticide that people know the name of, and therefore it gets all the attention. But I can assure you it’s pretty much the safest one. I sometimes wonder if the focus on glyphosphate is a diversion made by the manufacturers of the actually questionable Agro chemicals.
Those might be wise words if one had shit for brains and was born yesterday. Get the fuck out of here.
Yeah great argument…
In the EU some varieties of potato are sprayed with known carcinogen fungicides on a regular schedule of every 10 days, in the actual growing crop. THAT is insane. Somehow no environmentalist focuses on that even though the environmental and health impact is unbelievably worse than using a pre-sowing glyphosphate application. If you want to ban every single pesticide, including glyphosphate, I would say fair enough. But singling out glyphosphate while ignoring the rest is uneducated at best and actively damaging the goals of the environmentalist cause at worst.
Herbicide use dwarfs the others, with the exception of a few crops like oranges and potatoes if they’re being attacked by fungi.
Herbicide runoff is omnipresent, it’s everywhere, it’s a big fucking problem. If you don’t realize that, you are either ignorant or in League with the enemies of life on Earth.
Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide in the world by the way, atrazine is the second, they’re both awful. And the rest are not good either.
I have a degree in agricultural science and work with farmers on a daily basis. I’m far from ignorant on this topic. However from your post history I see you are Canadian and that gives me a bit more understanding of your perspective. I know in Canada (at least when I was last updated on your regulations) you use GMO roundup ready crops where you spray glyphosphate in growing crops. It’s also legal to spray glyphosphate on crops to kill and dry them before harvest. That increases the risks enormously. You may not know this but both of these uses of glyphosphate are not legal in the EU. I would absolutely support Canada banning use of glyphosphate on living crops.
I’m not a Canadian I’m an american. And people with degrees in the field of the last people we can trust nowadays unfortunately. You learn from experts, but they weren’t actually experts were they? You think they were though.