“It amounts to breaking the thermometer to cure the fever and it doesn’t work,” says doctor Pierre Sujobert

The Ecophyto 2030 plan, intended to reduce the use of pesticides in France, was presented on Monday by the government.

“It’s like breaking the thermometer to cure the fever and it doesn’t work”, estimates Tuesday May 7 on franceinfo Pierre Sujobert, professor of hematology at Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University and at the Hospices Civils de Lyon. The doctor is at the origin, with CNRS researcher Marc Billaud, of the column in the newspaper The world to alert on the new Ecophyto plan announced by the government.

In all, 400 researchers and 200 caregivers signed this text. On Monday, the Ecophyto 2030 plan, intended to reduce the use of pesticides in France, was presented by the government, with the main measure being the establishment of a new indicator, demanded by farmers but criticized by defense associations. of the environment.

franceinfo: What do you criticize about the plan presented Monday by the government?

Pierre Sujobert: Under the display of a desire to produce a new Ecophyto plan, what the government is proposing is to change the indicator for measuring pesticides. It’s like breaking the thermometer to cure the fever and it doesn’t work. For example, if we replace 10 kg of DDT (an insecticide) with 1 kg of imidacloprid (another insecticide), the new indicator proposed by the government will show a 90% reduction in the quantity of pesticide. However, the effect on pollinators such as bees will be worsened by around 800 times because the new product – even if it is less heavy – is much more toxic.

“The members of the Ecophyto scientific council have produced eloquent articles which show that by changing the indicator we will falsely believe that we have reduced the impregnation by pesticides when this impregnation will remain major.”

Pierre Sujobert, professor of hematology at Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University

at franceinfo

What do you think of the compensation for victims contained in the plan?

We are of course the first to encourage compensation for victims of pesticides but it is also an admission of the insufficiency of the Ecophyto plan. What we want is for there to be no more victims at all and not just to repair the damage. There is an association, an epidemiological link, completely demonstrated, between the use of pesticides and certain cancers, particularly pediatric but also adult.

There are dangerous pesticides that have been removed from the market thanks to these scientific studies and we are pleased about that but we absolutely must continue in this direction because otherwise, we in hospitals will continue to see patients arrive with cancers that could have been avoided.

What you’re saying is that we have the knowledge but that leaders don’t listen enough?

It is difficult to understand Emmanuel Macron’s strong commitment at the start of his five-year term and the decisions taken on the Ecophyto plan. The issue of pesticides goes beyond agriculture. It must engage scientists and epidemiologists. We must also listen to the voice of farmers who are developing pesticide-free agriculture, listen to the voice of collaborative projects like the one just launched by the CNRS for pesticide-free agriculture.

It is about our health, that of our children and the habitability of our planet. The toxic effects of pesticides are not limited to the occurrence of cancer in humans, there is also the threat to biodiversity. We can only regret that such serious political decisions could have been taken without broad consultation of all stakeholders.