“Banned at home, sold abroad: The EU’s pesticide hypocrisy”, 29 May 2025

In Europe, pesticides like paraquat, cyanamide, and acetochlor are banned — deemed too dangerous for human health or the environment. Yet each year, EU-based companies continue to manufacture and export tens of thousands of tons of these substances to countries where no regulation prohibits their use, primarily in the Global South… Despite domestic restrictions, the EU remains a major exporter of banned pesticides. In 2018 alone, European countries exported over 81,000 tons of pesticides containing 41 substances prohibited within the bloc. More than 75% of this volume went to low- and middle-income countries where legislation does not prohibit their use. Among the hazardous chemicals still flowing from Europe’s factories is ethoprophos, a neurotoxic insecticide banned in the EU in 2019 due to links to developmental disorders but still sold abroad for use on crops like bananas and pineapples. Or chlorothalonil, a fungicide labelled as “probable human carcinogen” by EU authorities. Despite its ban, it remains in use in countries like Kenya, Brazil, and India. “Out of 230 active pesticides ingredients, only 134 are approved in Europe, 19 are not listed in the EU database, and 77 have been restricted or withdrawn due to chronic health risks, their persistence in the environment, or toxicity to fish and bees”, comments John Kariuki, Slow Food Coordinator in Kenya.

Even more striking is diquat, a close cousin of the infamous, highly toxic paraquat, whose “popularity” took a hit after Brazil’s ban in 2020, in response to studies linking its use to Parkinson’s disease, the seriousness of accidental poisonings in the country, and information showing farm workers’ exposure to the weedkiller would exceed safe levels even if they were wearing protective equipment. But diquat is ready to take up the torch. Although it was banned in the EU in 2019, and despite the rising number of reported poisonings in recent years, diquat remains a top export. In 2023, Syngenta exported over 8,500 tons of banned pesticides from the UK, with diquat-based products making up the majority. These chemicals don’t stay abroad. Food grown with EU-banned pesticides frequently finds its way back to European grocery stores. In 2022, 69 banned active substances were detected in food sold in the EU — especially in imported tea, coffee, and spices. In effect, Europeans are eating what their own laws forbid to be grown on home soil. The human consequences of this toxic trade are devastating. According to UN human rights experts, hazardous pesticide exposure is responsible for an estimated 200,000 acute poisoning deaths each year, with the vast majority occurring in developing countries. Beyond fatalities, studies also indicate a staggering burden of hundreds of millions of non-fatal pesticide poisoning cases annually, affecting communities globally. Farm workers across the Global South are on the frontlines of chronic exposure with risks ranging from toxic inhalation, chemical burns, to long-term illnesses. Chemicals like chlorpyrifos, still used in Indian rice farming and tea plantations, are known for their links to developmental neurotoxicity. In Kenya, dimethoate, banned in the EU, is regularly used on vegetables exported to European markets, with documented health risks for both farmers and consumers. Nearby communities, too, face daily harm. In Costa Rica, for example, pesticide drift from banana and pineapple plantations routinely blankets villages, contaminating homes, schools, and water supplies. “Every time the planes pass, my eyes burn,” one resident told The Guardian in a 2024 article. In places like Cameroon and the Philippines, similar patterns of chronic respiratory issues, skin conditions, and cancer clusters have been linked to pesticide exposure. This is not an isolated problem — it’s a global public health crisis.

The environmental cost is equally alarming. Soil and groundwater contamination degrade ecosystems and render farmland less productive over time, locking farmers into cycles of chemical dependency. Biodiversity destruction is accelerating, and nowhere is the crisis more alarming than with pollinators. Neonicotinoids — banned in the EU for their devastating effect on bees — continue to be exported and used elsewhere. With an estimated 75% of global crops dependent on pollination, the collapse of bee populations directly endangers food production, ecosystems, and the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers… The EU has acknowledged this problem — at least on paper. In its 2020 Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the European Commission promised to ensure that “hazardous chemicals banned in the EU are not produced for export.” Yet five years later, and despite a joint call by several EU Member States to end this practice, the Commission’s promise remains largely unfulfilled. A binding proposal has yet to materialize, and opposition from the chemical lobby remains fierce. Meanwhile, some Member States have taken the lead. France implemented a national ban on the export of certain banned pesticides in 2022, though reports indicate that loopholes have allowed continued exports. Belgium has adopted a similar ban set to take effect in May 2025, and Germany is moving towards enacting comparable legislation. While these national efforts are commendable, they result in a fragmented legal landscape, undermining the EU’s collective stance on sustainability and chemical safety…