We are taking legal action over pesticides in Germany

We are taking legal action against the German government and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) for failing to comply with the EU rules on pesticides. Germany should have implemented a plan to reduce pesticide use thirteen years ago, following the introduction of the EU directive.

Without a national law implemented, there is no framework for safer alternatives or for reducing the use of pesticides in the country, so we’re taking them to court and demanding that Germany takes the health of its environment and its citizens seriously.

Why are pesticides harmful?

A significant reduction in pesticide use is vital. Pesticides are well known to be harmful to humans, wildlife and ecosystems. 

Long-term exposure has been linked to some cancers, with the World Health Organization classing them as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’, hormone disruption which can eventually lead to fertility issues and birth defects, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and respiratory problems like asthma. 

The impacts on biodiversity are even more wide-spread and immediate. Pesticides do not discriminate between their target pests and other animals. Insects that we need to pollinate our food like butterflies, bees and ladybirds can be harmed, or eventually killed. Ingested pesticides can then move up the food chain other species feed on these smaller insects. Hedgehogs, birds, amphibians have all suffered population declines that can be partially linked to pesticide use.

When wildlife suffers, ecosystems do, too. When pesticides harm the organisms that live in soil, like earthworms and microbes, soil health declines, reducing agricultural productivity, while pesticide run-off contaminates our waterways, leaching into drinking sources, or vital freshwater and marine habitats. 

What needs to happen next?

Germany now needs to urgently come up with a plan to implement the EU’s Sustainable Use Directive (SUD) from 2009, into national law. The goal of the SUD is to reduce the use of pesticides and make the principles of integrated pest management mandatory. 

Integrated pest management involves looking at pest control holistically, protecting plants as much as possible, promoting natural mechanisms for pest reduction such as encouraging birds and mammals that eat the pests, and causing as little disturbance to agricultural ecosystems as possible.

The SUD follows the motto “As much as necessary, as little as possible" – meaning chemical pesticides are only to be used when all safer alternatives have been exhausted. And it’s imperative that this motto underpins every country’s national implementation of this directive – including Germany’s.

Our lawsuit is aiming to close this gap between guidance and legally binding legislation that limits pesticide use.

Moreover, farming needs to be a sustainable profession in every aspect – not just in the case of pesticide use. Degrading the soil with monocultures, while climate change continues to cause further environmental decline, cannot be a long-term plan. The agricultural system must be regenerative and support the livelihood of all farmers, as well as the environment.