Food safety and food security are not mutually exclusive, and halving the use of pesticides by 2030 is a key objective of the ‘European Green Deal’, which must not be undermined by soaring food prices, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told MEPs on the evening of Monday 6 June.
MEPs were again divided on whether to move forward with the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy and the proposed regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides due on 22 June, during a question time with the Commission on pesticide reduction and consumer protection.
Responding to concerns by Billy Kelleher (Renew Europe, Ireland) about the lack of impact studies on agricultural yields and higher food prices for consumers and by Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spain) about plant health and the availability of alternatives to chemical pesticides, the Commissioner said the challenge of sustainable food systems had to be met.
“Doing nothing is not an option. Action is needed because the use of pesticides leads to soil, air and water contamination and has health consequences. We will move forward while helping farmers to develop safer alternatives and encouraging the use of biopesticides”, said the Commissioner.
She provided assurances that all the proposals in the F2F strategy were based on science and that the impact assessment, based on quantified targets, would be “published later this year”. For Mr Felleher, the Commission is putting the cart before the horse.
For Benoit Biteau (Greens/EFA, France), the alternatives exist and work: “they are not necessarily new pesticides, but agronomic practices that prevent attacks by fungi or insects and create virtuous circles for biodiversity, our health, the climate and farmers”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)