By Jan Joost Kessler and Jaap Huurman
Join our Community of Practice
We would like to create a pesticide free Grandparents EU-community of practice, for the exchange of experiences and for joint actions. If you are working already in these fields or if you have plans to do so, we would be interested to know about that.
Please contact us here.
Background
In a News item of February 2024 Prof. Jan Stel raised attention for the use of pesticides for our food production in the EU, and the risks for the health of both food producers and consumers and for biodiversity. The use of pesticides is part of the dominant agricultural land use system in the EU that significantly contributes to climate change, in a direct way (through high use of energy and greenhouse gas emissions, including production and use of pesticides) and indirectly through deforestation, and land degradation. Unfortunately, this system is still being strongly promoted by the agro-industry and supported by recent decisions taken in the European Parliament. Apart from negative effects on health and the climate, the use of pesticides has detrimental effects on water quality and the increasing costs of water purification. As Prof Stel noted, we need to support organic and biological food production systems that make no or less use of pesticides. Moreover, this would fit within a transition to a society with more food self-sufficiency and food security, which is also a hot topic these days.
In recent years the concerns about the effects of pesticides on human health (Parkinson, cancer, …) and nature (insects, water quality, …) have grown. Grandparents for the Climate in the Netherlands have responded by being engaged in a range of activities to reduce or abandon the use of pesticides. The focus has been on the flower sector, but also in food production and pesticide use against pests with pets (dogs and cats) or in the garden. Grandparents for the Climate in the Netherlands are engaged in different types of initiatives to reduce the use of pesticides. The focus is not on blaming and shaming, but on providing information on poison-free alternatives that are already available and the actions that citizens can take by themselves. In addition, in collaboration with other organizations, Grandparents are involved in activities to lobby for legal changes.
There is also the initiative of Pesticide Free Towns in Europe, which was started years ago to show which municipalities abandon the use of pesticides in their management of public greens. In some countries this has become a legal requirement. Some municipalities also take the next step to purchase pesticide-free products only. The activities by Grandparents for Climate go beyond these initiatives, as illustrated below.
We mention Grandparents involvement in:
- Initiatives with citizens to support urban agriculture or community gardens without use of pesticides, with access to different social groups, for example by groups in the cities of Rotterdam, the Hague and Alkmaar.
- Initiatives to raise awareness on the use of pesticides, organise information sessions and demonstrations to abandon pesticides. One example is the activities undertaken by Grandparents in Amsterdam to abandon the use of pesticides, and the decision by Amsterdam municipality to go for pesticide free flowers and plants. Similar activities are being done or prepared in the cities of Utrecht, Wageningen, Zwolle, Enschede.
- Initiatives to lobby for change in legislation, at municipal and provincial level, to regulate the use of pesticides on flowers especially bulbs, helping concerned citizens to organise themselves, have demonstrations and legal activities. Legal activities call for respect of the precautionary principle when granting licenses. Examples are in the province of Drenthe, resulting in measures taken at provincial level, and in the province of Friesland.
- Grandparents were involved in demonstrations with XR and other organisations against the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (CTGB) who continues to authorise harmful pesticides, and demonstrations against pesticide industries Bayer and Syngenta.
- Initiatives in the city of Wageningen to raise awareness on the need for a pesticide free community, primarily by demonstrating the pesticide-free alternatives that are locally available for flowers, food and measures against pests. Grandparents in other cities (Rotterdam, Enschede, Haarlem) have shown interest in this approach. This approach shows some similarities with the approach of ‘Unser Land’ in Bavaria (DE), where pesticide-free products have been promoted for a large region.
If you want to join, or just want more information, you can contact us here..