The New Dark Age

A petition signed by over two million people has reignited the debate in France over the so-called “Duplomb law”, which was passed by the lower house of the French parliament on 8 July. The record-breaking petition labels the new law a “scientific, ethical, environmental and health aberration”. The reason? Among other things, it facilitates the conditional reintroduction of acetamiprid, despite many scientists considering this neonicotinoid insecticide to be not just toxic to biodiversity but harmful to human health. France led the way in banning it in 2018. The new law – named after the right-wing lawmaker Laurent Duplomb, who proposed it – triggered a wave of concern from when it was first mooted, with some 1,200 French doctors and scientists warning the French government in an open letter about the dangers it represented to public health. Also, France’s National Council of the Order of Physicians (CNOM) has issued its own hard-hitting statement on pesticides. The CNOM asserts that “from a medical point of view”, there is no doubt that pesticides are “substances that could expose the population to major risks” and that “these warnings cannot be ignored”. It also deplores “the persistent gap between available scientific knowledge and regulatory decisions”. GMWatch

In Guernsey, a ban on the amateur use of glyphosate products came into effect locally in January 2023. The utility’s annual Water Quality Report showed this quickly had an impact on water being collected. “Pesticide sampling in 2023 identified a decrease in average glyphosate concentrations in streams and reservoirs by approximately half compared to the five-year pre-ban average, with more densely populated northern catchments in particular decreasing by a significant magnitude,” said the report, which covers 2023. “These initial results support the water quality reasoning for the introduction of the ban. However, it will be important for Guernsey Water to continue monitoring for glyphosate in the years to come, as well as for other pesticides should islanders seek to use alternative products.” Guernsey Press

The plant-based “fake meat” alternatives market is declining as consumers have begun to shift back towards real meat and dairy, according to an article in Food Navigator. The article explains that that the main reason is health: consumers increasingly associate plant-based options with ultra-processed foods, which many distrust. Conversely, meat and dairy have been consumed for thousands of years and are associated with naturalness. The article claims another driver for the shift is that consumers are increasingly placing less importance on sustainability. But in reality, the sustainability rating of all ultra-processed foods, and especially “bioreactor” fake meat and dairy, is rock bottom. Some fake meat is made from genetically modified bacteria or yeast. GMWatch comment on article in Food Navigator

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