Green light for European Citizens Initiative (ECI) Save Bees and Farmers. Having surpassed the milestone of 1 million valid signatures, certificates from 27 EU member states were also accepted, and the European Commission declared the ECI a success.
The organizers will soon be invited by the European Commission, within 3 months also to the European Parliament, to share the #SaveTheBees Initiative and farmers. Biodiversity is drastically declining, soils and waters increasingly polluted by agrotoxics. There is no time to waste.
The demands of #SavetheBees and Farmers.
ICE #SavetheBees and Farmers asks:
- The phase-out of use of 80 percent of synthetic pesticides by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035,
- The restoration of biodiversity on agricultural land,
- Financial support for farmers to encourage their transition to agroecological practices. (1)
The pervasiveness of agrotoxics is now well known. The network that organized ICE’s ‘Save the Bees’ has shown that pesticides even lurk in bedrooms, as we have seen. (2) And it is now clear that two-thirds of the planet is now poisoned by the residues of agrochemicals. (3)
Make way for agroecology
‘This is the seventh successful ICE and already the second against pesticides. (4) This is a strong democratic signal to European and national decision makers to listen to citizens and abandon toxic pesticides. Farmers and science have proven that agroecology can feed the world without chemicals. It’s time for our politicians to stop listening to agribusiness and start working for our children’s future’, comments Martin Dermine, principal representative of this ICE and executive director of PAN Europe.
‘In many EU countries, ministries of agriculture seem to have an unhealthy faith in the blessings of agribusiness or too close a relationship. Therefore, they aim to prevent the changes that would free our food system from dependence on chemicals. The collection of 1 million valid signatures during the Covid pandemic, however, is a strong signal for a transition to climate- and bee-friendly agriculture‘, comments Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, principal deputy representative of ICE (GLOBAL 2000, Friends of the Earth Austria).
Pesticides, a crucial phase
The green light for ICE Save the Bees comes at a crucial stage. In fact, the proposed regulation that will replace Directive 2009/128/EC, on the ‘sustainable’ use of pesticides, is currently being drafted.
The text was carefully analyzed by a team of environmental and health protection organizations, which submitted concrete changes, which we reported on. (5)
Notes
(1) Dario Dongo. #SaveTheBees, civil society calls for a true pesticide-free ecological transition in the EU. FT (Food Times),17.6.22
(2) Marta Strinati. Pesticides in the bedroom. ICE’s analysis Save Bees. FT (Food Times), 9/21/21
(3) Marta Strinati. Pesticides, two-thirds of the planet at risk of environmental pollution. FT (Food Times), 9/26/22.
(4) So far 94 ECIs have been launched and only 7 have managed to collect 1 million valid signatures. In 2017, ICE STOP Glyphosate successfully collected 1.07 million valid signatures, calling for a ban on glyphosate, greater transparency on industry toxicity testing, and a phase-out of the pesticide.
(5) Dario Dongo, Marta Strinati. Sustainable pesticide use, civil society demands for reform. FT (Food Times), 4.9.22.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
 Save Bees and Farmers. The European Commission declared the success of JEV. ){kind=link}