European parliament votes to tighten pesticide controls

On Tuesday 13th January The European Parliament voted to tighten rules on pesticide use. Before becoming law, the legislation will be put to a vote at the Council of Ministers composed of the 27 ministers of the EU Member States. This is expected to go through but the UK Government will make a last attempt to have a full impact assessment of the proposed changes before the measures are approved in order to prove certain chemicals must stay on the market.

The legislation involves changing the way pesticides are assessed for use on crops, as part of a goal to halve the use of toxic products in farming by 2013. The draft law would ban substances that can cause cancer or that can harm human reproduction or hormones. The plans have already been scaled back after Europe's pesticides industry warned the new assessment standard would remove products from the market that have been used safely for years. A compromise hammered out between EU governments and MEPs means a reduced number of 22 toxic substances would be banned from use as crop chemicals.

The proposals update EU pesticides rules introduced in 1991, and include new criteria for registering potentially hazardous pesticides, while emphasising a balance between tough food safety standards and viable farming.

However the plans could make farming of certain crops in Europe uncompetitive. The National Farmers' Union and the Crop Protection Association say the measures are too tough - threatening the UK's total carrot yield and 20% of cereal production, as well as hitting everything from potatoes and onions to parsnips.

The National Farmers' Union has warned that the changes, including assessing products for protecting plants on the basis of "perceived hazard" instead of scientific evidence, could rule out the use of established chemicals with a track record of controlling diseases and pests, as well as pushing up food prices. National Farmers' Union deputy president Meurig Raymond said members "could be facing a difficult future with our agriculture and food production seriously threatened. The lack of sound science behind the plans is a major concern. We cannot support measures which reduce the tools available to farmers and growers to produce crops and that could ultimately jeopardise future food supply and security."

Conservative MEP Robert Sturdy said: "This law will drive up the cost of the weekly food shop at the worst time for British families. We do need strong restrictions on pesticide use but it should be based on sound science, rather than on the whim of politicians. There has been no balance whatsoever in the parliament's position. Without crop protection products, our food supplies will be volatile at a time when food security is rising up the political agenda."

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: "These regulations could hit agricultural production in the UK for no recognisable benefit to human health, and we are being asked to agree to something here when nobody knows what the impact will be."

The Soil Association backs the EU's bid to cut the use of chemicals it says can cause cancer and infertility. The association's policy director, Peter Melchett, said organic farmers had proven that crops could be grown with minimal use of pesticides. "The vast majority of farmers don't use these chemicals on a regular basis anyway and those few farmers who do use them can find alternatives," he said.

Most pesticides currently on the market will be valid until at least 2015, giving pesticide manufacturers time to reformulate their products.