A platform and interactive maps to know your exposure to pesticides

This is a new tool to measure the extent of pollution caused by pesticides. Four associations, Générations Futures, Secrets Toxiques, Noé and On est Prêt , allied with economic players such as La Maison de la Bio, launched the platform "Tous exposé" on Monday, February 24. This collaborative work offers a synthesis of scientific knowledge on chemical pesticides, in order to "take stock of the sources of exposure and the potentially associated risks."

Thus, each user can find information on the pesticides used near them, thanks to two interactive maps. The first, called Adonis, was developed by the Solagro association and allows you to visualize the use of chemical pesticides by municipality on French territory. The Géophyto map , developed by Générations Futures, allows you to visualize which pesticides are the most purchased by department and what their properties are (endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, water pollutants, etc.). We also learn that with 68,539 tonnes sold in 2022, France is the leading pesticide market in Europe.

"Farmers, local residents, citizens: we are all exposed to the use of chemical pesticides," the NGOs say. In the air, in drinking water, in our food, in ecosystems, pesticides are spread "well beyond the fields," the coalition points out. Today, 97% of water monitoring stations contain at least one chemical pesticide residue, and nearly 17 million French people consumed tap water that did not comply with the quality limits for these substances at least once in 2023. In addition, nearly two-thirds of non-organic fruits, vegetables and cereals also contain traces of these products, sometimes above the legal thresholds.

However, some pesticides that were previously banned for their impact on biodiversity and public health, such as neonicotinoids, are about to be reintroduced. Indeed, the bill aimed at "removing constraints on the exercise of the farming profession" was adopted in the Senate, and the agricultural orientation law was adopted urgently in Parliament before the Agricultural Show.

Faced with these dangers, the platform proposes to call on the Minister of Health Yannick Neuder to ask him to integrate non-exposure to chemical pesticides into future national food strategies. And to include in the law a target of 12% consumption of products from organic farming by 2030.