A white paper: Ensuring a higher level of protection from pesticides in Europe

The current model of pesticide risk assessment that determines the approval of pesticide substances in European Union (EU) is problematic, as it fails to prevent the use of harmful chemicals in the production of our food. These chemicals not only place farmers’ health at risk, but also that of residents, wildlife, ecosystems, and consumers, since pesticides contaminate the environment as well as our food. However, the agribusiness industry has become such a profitable sector that evidence on the effects of pesticides on workers, consumers, the general population, animals, and the environment is often overlooked to protect the interests of the market and its economic operators, such as manufacturers, importers, exporters, traders, industries marketing pesticide products, and downstream industries.