Pesticides: farming chemicals make insects sick at non-deadly doses – especially in hot weather

By Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment), University of Sussex

The various regulatory systems for approving pesticides in operation around the world are crude and flawed. This has long been clear to scientists and it is deeply worrying, as this regulation is supposed to protect people and the environment from harm.

The EU regulatory system for pesticides is arguably the most rigorous in the world, yet it has repeatedly approved the use of pesticides that have subsequently been found to cause harm to humans or wildlife, leading to eventual bans. It often takes decades for the harm to accumulate before it is recognised.

The history of…

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