Chemical pesticides are to be halved in the EU by 2030. As soon as these plans became public, farmers’ associations announced “massive resistance” and warned that without pesticides yields would decline. Their slogan: “We stand for food security!” But is this true? Is food security at risk if European agriculture has to do without pesticides? Annemarie Botzki, a staff member of the consumer organisation foodwatch, refers to a study by her organisation that clearly shows how much the agricultural system of the European Union depends on pesticides. But a phase-out can be achieved, says the foodwatch employee.
So far, all attempts to reduce the use of pesticides have failed. The use of pesticides in the EU today is even significantly higher than in the 1990s – with disastrous consequences for biodiversity, climate protection, soil quality and health. The main beneficiaries of this dependence are companies like the chemical giant Bayer.
RESISTANCE TO PESTS
Originally, pesticides seemed to be a useful tool to control pests and diseases. But soon pests, for example, became resistant, requiring even more pesticides to be used – a vicious circle. Farmers are economically dependent on pesticides in our agricultural system today. Most agricultural produce is sold to a handful of corporations and wholesalers who determine the price, varieties and quality.
EVER HIGHER YIELDS
Many farmers do not even know what price their products will fetch before the harvest. Farmers can only make a profit if Monokultuthey reduce the cost per unit produced or produce more units at the same cost. So they have to produce ever higher yields at ever lower prices – this is hardly possible without the massive use of pesticides.
DESTRUCTION OF BIODIVERSITY
The consequences are disastrous – not only for the environment, but also for food security. For, contrary to what large corporations like Bayer claim, we are not facing a food crisis without pesticides, but precisely because of pesticide use. Because the current level of “pesticide use” would endanger biodiversity in 10 to 15 years to such an extent that agriculture in Europe could no longer be sustained.
DIVERSITY INSTEAD OF MONOCULTURES
What the pesticide lobby likes to ignore: If you look at the relationship between input and output, African and Asian smallholder farmers produce food much more efficiently than European farmers. Farms that rely on diverse cultivation clearly outperform monocultures in terms of yield and profitability. Large farms are also more dependent on subsidies than smaller farms.
ANIMAL FEED PRODUCTION
Another crucial point in the misleading discussion about food security: only a fraction of Europe’s agricultural land is currently used for food production. Large amounts of land and other resources are used for the production of animal feed. Agriculture in the EU feeds seven billion farm animals per year – and only about 0.45 billion people. In addition, millions of tonnes of food end up in the rubbish.
BREAKING THE PESTICIDE DEPENDENCY
Agriculture without pesticides is possible. The foodwatch report has presented concrete political solutions for this:
- high taxation of pesticides according to their environmental costs.
- increasing the fees for the authorisation and regulation of pesticides to reflect their actual costs
- introduction of a CO2 price:
pricing of climate-relevant gases must be set in such a way that energy-intensive inputs, especially mineral nitrogens and emissions, become much more costly, while carbon sequestration is promoted. A price of €180 per tonne of CO2eq (CO2 equivalent, editor’s note) would reflect the current situation. - financially support direct marketing of farmers
- financially support local and regional value chains
- reform the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with the aim of reducing pesticides
ABOLISH DISINCENTIVES
It is also time to abolish direct and indirect subsidies for meat and milk production and instead introduce basic payments for rural labour and the production of climate-friendly and healthy food. Flower strips, the restoration of habitats such as hedgerows or obligatory intercropping between arable crops are also indispensable. The selection of pest and disease-tolerant varieties is also a key principle for natural crop protection.
ALTERNATING CROP ROTATIONS
Varied crop rotations are one of the oldest and most effective methods for healthy soils. Crop rotation increases humus content (carbon storage) and biodiversity. Populations of harmful diseases, pests and weeds develop much more slowly because crop rotation interrupts certain interactions between crops, weeds and pests. Birds, in turn, play an important role in insect control in orchards and other cultivated areas.
CONCLUSION
The path to pesticide-free agriculture in the EU is feasible. All the necessary instruments are already available. A decline in production is not to be feared. What is clear, however, is that agricultural production will have to change enormously in the coming decades – not only to protect the environment, climate and biodiversity, but also to ensure our food security!
foodwatch
The independent international consumer organisation with offices in Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna informs about anti-consumer practices of the food industry and fights for the right to good quality and safe food. foodwatch is a non-profit association and independent from the food industry as well as from state and EU funds. www.foodwatch.de
Text Annemarie Botzki, consumer organisation foodwatch