Böll.Feature Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

If we look at biodiversity loss, time is really running out. Especially the young generation is complaining about this. Why are farmers not adapting quickly enough? And what can be done to mitigate the biodiversity and climate crises that are exacerbated by industrialized agriculture? The agricultural sector in Europe is highly subsidized. But is the money from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) being used wisely? Will the European Commission succeed in initiating a trend reversal or is one catastrophe – the war in Ukraine – being played off against the other?
A Podcast with:
• Ariel Brunner - Head of EU Policy „BirdLife Europe“, Brussels, Belgium
• Silvia Bender - State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), Berlin, Germany
• Dr. Jörn Wogram - Director of the Pesticides Department of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Dessau, Germany
• Bernhard Krüsken - Secretary General of the German Farmers' Association, DBV, Berlin Germany
• Martin Häusling - MdEP Greens, Brussels, Belgium
• Nina Holland - Researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Brussels, Belgium
• Marilda Dhaskali - EU Agriculture & Bioenergy Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, Brussels, Belgium
Shownotes:
Original research; The conducted interviews and original sound recordings come from Europe (Berlin, Brussels and the region of Brandenburg).
Open Letter to the EU Commission on Pesticide Reduction and Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy:https://www.birdlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Joint-open-letter_F…
“Sustainable Use Regulation: https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/pesticides/sustainable-use-pesticides_…
Study: Federal Environment Agendy (UBA) sees room for improvement to achieve the goals set in the European Green Deal: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/press/pressinformation/eu-regulation-…
 
This podcast is an English adaptation of the German podcast series "Stummer Frühling" published in December 2022.

While in summer 2022, the EU Commission presented ambitious plans to reduce pesticide use in Europe, it encounters massive resistance by the pesticide industry and, very recently, the conservative EPP group in Parliament. Even in the (re)approval process of glyphosate, the arguments of the industry seem to impress the authorities. In a clever way, economic arguments are being highlighted, following typical public relations playbooks, in order to prevent binding reduction targets. At the same time, toxicologists are criticizing that still today – despite the scandals around glyphosate in the past – authorities are using studies that do not follow scientific standards and even contradict OECD guidelines. Is all the progress being nullified due to the war in Ukraine?
A Podcast with:
• Nina Holland - Researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Brussels, Belgium
• Peter Clausing - Toxicologist at PAN Germany, Brandenburg, Germany
• Siegfried Knasmüller - PhD. Ao. Univ.- Prof. Mag. Dr. Medical University of Vienna Center for Cancer Research, Vienna, Austria
• Silvia Bender - State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), Berlin, Germany
Shownotes:
Many years of original research; The conducted interviews and original sound recordings come from Europe (Berlin, Brussels and the region of Brandenburg).
According to the "Farm to Fork Strategy" (as part of the “European Green Deal"), the EU wants to reduce the use of pesticides and their toxicity by 50% by 2030. Here is the proposal from the EU Commission to the Sustainable Use Regulation: https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/pesticides/sustainable-use-pesticides_…
The study by Viennese gene toxicologists examining the methodology of the industrial studies (in German): https://www.global2000.at/sites/global/files/Analyse-Glyphosat-Studien
 
This podcast is an English adaptation of the German podcast series "Stummer Frühling" published in December 2022.

When the book „Silent Spring“ was published 60 years ago, author Rachel Carson shaped the environmental movement as we now know it. But globally, the use of pesticides is still rising steadily, with devastating impacts on human health and the environment: in Europe biodiversity is declining rapidly. Already ten years ago, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic. Now the European Commission finally wants to act and reduce the use of pesticides by 50 percent until 2030 and reassess the approval of glyphosate. But the pesticide lobby, together with the conservative EEP group in Parliament, is up in arms against binding reduction targets and blames the war in Ukraine to justify the need for high-input agriculture. In this episode, we will learn about pesticide scandals in recent years and how millions of Europeans are raising their voices against toxic pesticides.
The podcast includes interviews with:
• Nina Holland - researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Brussels, Belgium
• Jeffrey Smith - consumer activist and author, Iowa, USA
• John Barton - Corporate Communications Officer at Monsanto (today: Bayer), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
• Dr. Kate Guyton - Senior Toxicologist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France
• Christopher Portier - Toxicologist, Switzerland
• Karl Bär – Parliamentarian The Greens, Berlin, Germany
• Veronika Feicht – Umweltinstitut München, Munich, Germany
Shownotes:
Many years of original research; The conducted interviews and original sound recordings come from Europe and the USA.
Study: “Loud lobby for a silent spring” by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO): https://corporateeurope.org/en/2022/03/loud-lobby-silent-spring
Study: „Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’” by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): https://ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment
Study: „Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production“ by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): https://ipbes.net/assessment-reports/pollinators
New York Times article: „Attack of the „Super Weeds“: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/magazine/superweeds-monsanto.html
Evaluation Study: „The Carcinogenicity of Glyphosate“ by Kate Guyton, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/129121/PH%20Glyphosate_Guyton.pdf
 
This podcast is an English adaptation of the German podcast series "Stummer Frühling" published in December 2022.

Everyone who has ever been to one of the Southeast Asian urban centers knows that traffic is a big problem. It is a problem for life quality of the city citizens as the endless traffic jams are health hazards and time consuming. Beyond this, transportation also cause emissions that contribute to climate change. However, solutions to free the streets from cars are yet to be implemented.
By Johanna SonJohanna Son, a Filipino journalist/editor based in Bangkok for 17 years, follows a mix of regional issues, including ASEAN. She also works on programs around the capacity-building of journalists from Asia.
Picture: Ines Meier/Lizenz: cc-by-nc-nd

Where are ecological concerns in the ASEAN development paradigm? They are stuck in the word “sustainable”. Despite the haze agreement and protocols on maritime policies, ASEAN has fallen short of reacting to climate change.
Despite international commitments as the Paris Agreement, it does not manage to put words into regional action. As long as limits of growth are not integrated into the overall ASEAN vision, single projects like saving orang-utans will lead nowhere but deeper into the ecological crisis.
By Johanna SonJohanna Son, a Filipino journalist/editor based in Bangkok for 17 years, follows a mix of regional issues, including ASEAN. She also works on programs around the capacity-building of journalists from Asia.
Bild: Ines Meier/Lizenz: cc-by-nc-nd

The haze agreement is the first agreement in ASEAN on an explicit environmental issue. It has entered into force 2003 in order to manage forest fires and reduce environmental destruction as well as air pollution with joint regional efforts.
However, in 2015 Singaporean citizens saw themselves confronted with a major haze, zero visibility and a thick smoke smell coming over from Indonesia. Today, the struggle between environmental, regional foreign and economic policy has still not been decided despite these immediate consequences.
By Johanna SonJohanna Son, a Filipino journalist/editor based in Bangkok for 17 years, follows a mix of regional issues, including ASEAN. She also works on programs around the capacity-building of journalists from Asia.
Bild: Ines Meier/Lizenz: cc-by-nc-nd