Die Schwarze Liste der Pestizide - Greenpeace

4. Publisher's foreword
Greenpeace e.V. – Die Schwarze Liste der Pestizide
Greenpeace is active in pressing for the reduction of pesticide contamination, which is often in excess
of what is legally permitted, in food and the environment. It has striven to see there is greater
transparency in the food market and has conducted the biggest independent test programme in
Germany for pesticides in fruit and vegetables. This work has not been in vain. All the big retail
chains in Germany adopted pesticide reduction programmes in 2006 and 2007. By these means
and through action taken by food monitoring and farmers it is hoped contamination by residues and
exceeding of limits will soon be on the wane.
There nonetheless continues to be cause for concern. Numerous, especially hazardous active
substances in pesticides are still being used on a large scale today, contaminating people and the
environment. Substances that can cause cancer, damage genes or disrupt the hormonal balance.
Substances that most consumers would really rather not encounter in their food at all.
Greenpeace has for years been calling for such substances to stop being used. This study shows
specifically which of the over a thousand common pesticide agents are among the most dangerous
and have to be replaced as a matter of priority.
In this way the basic principle that food – and as far as possible our environment - should be free
from pesticide residues will not be abandoned. It continues to apply. At the same time, however,
we are calling on all those involved in the chain of food produce to take action not only to minimise
pesticide residues and the use of pesticides but also to press for hazardous pesticide agents to be
substituted. The study is therefore aimed particularly at pesticide producers, users of pesticide, the
food trade, and authorities, consumers and politicians concerned with agriculture.
As the publisher I join with the authors of the study in calling on the EU Commission, EU parliament
and EU member countries for the criteria for evaluating substances drawn up in this study,
and the recommendations on substances made, to be taken into consideration in the current revision
of EU Directive 91/414/EC on the authorisation of substances in pesticides. Producers, users,
and wholesalers and retailers and others involved in the food-produce chain should all put these
findings and recommendations into practice.
"Blacklists" have been used for years at some supermarket chains, in the UK for example, or by
international organisations like the WHO, and are nothing new in tackling hazardous pesticides.
But there is no such list for Germany and present contamination in Germany. In work which has
taken over seven months, this study closes this gap. Its evaluation was more comprehensive in the
aspects it took into account, and made use of more up-to-date data than most lists known of have
until now.
Greenpeace calls on all those involved in the food produce chain:
1. The use and authorisation of the particularly dangerous pesticides listed in the "blacklist" in
this study must be stopped at the earliest possible opportunity. State and private-industry reduction
programmes for pesticides ought to effectively support the substitution of these substances.
Seite 13 von 166