Silent Spring (2/3): Pesticide lobby in times of war

While in summer 2022, the EU Commission presented ambitious plans to reduce pesticide use in Europe, it encounters massive resistance by the pesticide industry and, very recently, the conservative EPP group in Parliament. Even in the (re)approval process of glyphosate, the arguments of the industry seem to impress the authorities. In a clever way, economic arguments are being highlighted, following typical public relations playbooks, in order to prevent binding reduction targets. At the same time, toxicologists are criticizing that still today – despite the scandals around glyphosate in the past – authorities are using studies that do not follow scientific standards and even contradict OECD guidelines. Is all the progress being nullified due to the war in Ukraine?

A Podcast with:
• Nina Holland - Researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Brussels, Belgium
• Peter Clausing - Toxicologist at PAN Germany, Brandenburg, Germany
• Siegfried Knasmüller - PhD. Ao. Univ.- Prof. Mag. Dr. Medical University of Vienna Center for Cancer Research, Vienna, Austria
• Silvia Bender - State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), Berlin, Germany

Shownotes:
Many years of original research; The conducted interviews and original sound recordings come from Europe (Berlin, Brussels and the region of Brandenburg).
According to the "Farm to Fork Strategy" (as part of the “European Green Deal"), the EU wants to reduce the use of pesticides and their toxicity by 50% by 2030. Here is the proposal from the EU Commission to the Sustainable Use Regulation: https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/pesticides/sustainable-use-pesticides_…

The study by Viennese gene toxicologists examining the methodology of the industrial studies (in German): https://www.global2000.at/sites/global/files/Analyse-Glyphosat-Studien

This podcast is an English adaptation of the German podcast series "Stummer Frühling" published in December 2022.