“Today earthworms do not exist in the law”, warns an agronomist who launches the Earthworm Protection League

Christophe Gatineau wishes to include earthworms in the law, in the same way as pollinators for example, in order to protect them, in particular, against pesticides.

“Today, earthworms do not exist in the law”, regrets Christophe Gatineau, agronomist from Haute-Vienne, on France Bleu Limousin, Tuesday April 23. He launched the “Earthworm Protection League” on Monday, to mark Earth Day, to protect these essential animals in the food chain. “It’s the culmination of eight years of work”he explains, with the aim of “protecting the habitat of the earthworm, and since their habitat comes from our food, it means preserving our food and those who produce it”explains Christophe Gatineau.

The earthworm is “absolutely essential in the making of the earth”, assures the agronomist. “In relation to global warming, in relation to the state of the soil. It is through the galleries that it can dig and this allows water and air to infiltrate. Air is essential for plant growth, and water of course”describes Christophe Gatineau. “Above all, it allows water to infiltrate and limit flooding, limit runoff, because when water runs off cultivated soil, it carries away the earth and it carries away this resource which is very rare on the planet.” “Without soil, there is no more food”, he alerts.

However, earthworms are in danger where we need them most, warns the agronomist, that is to say in cultivated soils. “Since the arrival of chemistry in agriculture, there has been a decrease in earthworm populations, which poses a real concern for the future of our agricultural soils.”

Evaluate the “toxicity of pesticides”

Christophe Gatineau wants to include the protection of earthworms in the law, in the same way as pollinators for example, to “that we can then evaluate the toxicity of pesticides and provide this information to farmers.” “The law requires that manufacturers test their products on pollinators and aquatic environments, but not on earthworms”continues the agronomist. “A farmer today who has the choice between a fungicide or a herbicide cannot choose the least toxic one for his soil life. He does not have the data because the law does not oblige him to do so.”

Christophe Gatineau cites a fungicide “banned in France in 2018, which we knowingly knew from its marketing in 2000 that it was 100% fatal for earthworms. It contributed to the collapse of populations. ANSES had launched an alert but we couldn’t act. It’s still a paradox, on the one hand we have essential animals and on the other hand these animals don’t exist. he concludes.