Pesticides: "Farmers, local residents and citizens no longer want to be used as guinea pigs," warn 1,200 doctors and scientists

Reintroducing banned "bee-killing" products, placing the pesticide watchdog under the control of the agricultural sectors, keeping the evaluation of molecules under the control of their manufacturers, excluding scientific literature from risk analysis... In an open letter made public on Monday, May 5, more than 1,200 doctors and scientists alert the ministers of agriculture, health and the environment to the flaws in the approval system for these products, which turn the population into "guinea pigs," write the signatories.

Among them, several hundred doctors, but also many members of the scientific communities involved (toxicology, ecotoxicology, agronomy, etc.) from universities and public research organizations (National Center for Scientific Research, CNRS; National Institute for Research on Agriculture, Food and the Environment, INRAE; Institute for Research for Development; Center for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development).

The signatories are calling for the strengthening of regulatory expertise and are opposed to the provisions of the bill by Senator Laurent Duplomb (Les Républicains) of Haute-Loire, which is to be examined by the deputies before the end of May. "This bill contains numerous measures that will increase farmers' dependence on synthetic chemical pesticides, without responding to their demand for fair remuneration ," the signatories denounce. "This dependence already poses enormous problems for human health and environmental degradation."

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