Atlas

Pesticide Atlas

Facts and figures about toxic chemicals in agriculture

In beer and in honey, on fruit and on vegetables, in grass on playgrounds and even in urine and in the air – traces of pesticides from agriculture can be detected everywhere. That pesticides negatively impact human health, biodiversity, water, and soil is not a new insight by any means The new and first Pesticide Atlas reveals new facts and data on global pesticide use and trade, its impact on people, their health and biodiversity, and alternative solutions.

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Pesticide Atlas 2022

Atlas

The Pesticide Atlas raises awareness, provides comprehensive information and fosters nuanced debate around agrochemicals used for pest control. It sheds light on different aspects from scientific research, including the impact of pesticides on soils, waters, biodiversity and health, and highlights alternative models with a more stringent implementation of integrated pest management where synthetic substances are only a last resort option.

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All articles from the Pesticide Atlas 2022

Pesticide Atlas 2022: Foreword

12 brief lessons about pesticides in agriculture

Pesticides and agriculture: dangerous substances

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Parts of global crop production are lost to pests and plant pathogens each year. Pesticides have been designed to prevent these yield losses – but they also give rise to new problems.

By Lisa Tostado

Corporations: big profits with toxic trade

Pesticide Atlas 2022

The global pesticide market is growing – and there are only a few corporations that are dividing it up among themselves. They are increasingly investing in countries in the Global South, where pesticides are less strictly regulated.

By Carla Hoinkes

Pesticide use in the EU: noxious status quo for people and planet

Pesticide Atlas 2022

The European Union is one of the world’s biggest markets for pesticides. Policies to reduce their use have not been very successful so far. The lack of standardized data makes monitoring and comparing countries difficult.

By Lisa Tostado

Approval procedures: underestimated risks

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Before they are put on the market, pesticides go through an approval process in which their impacts on human health and the environment are tested. But their indirect effects on food chains and biodiversity receive little attention, neither do the effects of pesticide mixtures that are hard to predict.

By Carsten Brühl and Johann Zaller

Health: severe consequences

Pesticide Atlas 2022

385 million people fall ill every year from pesticide poisoning. The United Nations intend to improve the worldwide handling of pesticides to prevent harm, but there is little effective legal regulation.

By Wolfgang Bödeker

Soils: impact on the invisible ecosystem

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Insufficient attention is being paid to pesticides accumulating in the soil, where they exert direct and indirect adverse effects on soil life – sometimes for decades.

By Johann Zaller

Residues: toxic side dish

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Pesticide use leads to residues in food to which many people are exposed – especially in the Global South. But as an import, contaminated food can also end up on European plates.

By Dr. Silke Bollmohr and Susan Haffmans

Biodiversity: extinction in full swing

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Experts have been warning for years that biodiversity is at stake. Pesticides have been identified as one of the causes for why the abundance of animals and plant species is deteriorating so quickly and disastrously.

By Katrin Wenz

Beneficial insects: nature's little helper

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Insects such as ladybugs or predatory wasps act as natural enemies against pests and as effective plant protectors. They are good for the environment and help cutting costs – but their habitats are under threat from pesticide use.

By Henrike von der Decken and Moritz Nabel

Water: go with the flow

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Studies regularly reveal how pesticides contaminate rivers, lakes, coastal waters and groundwater. The pollutants often originate in agriculture and enter surface water via infiltration, surface runoff and drift.

By Dr. Silke Bollmohr

Long-range transport: gone with the wind

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Pesticides rarely stay in the place where they have been applied. Wind can move dust, particles, and droplets to residential areas close to agricultural land – or carry it to places many kilometres away. Approval processes are largely ignoring this problem.

By Johanna Bär , Johannes Heimrath and Anna Satzger

Insect decline: an ecological armaggedon

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Insects provide pollination services to flowering plants, control pests and ensure abundant harvests. For a long time their populations have declined dramatically – causing disaster for humans and nature. Pesticides are considered a major reason for the decline.

By Dave Goulson

Hardly hazardous pesticides: a global human rights concern

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Substances that are proven to present a particularly high level of acute or chronic risk to health or the environment are commonly referred to as Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs). Far too rarely are these substances withdrawn from circulation – especially in the Global South they cause great harm.

By Dr. Silke Bollmohr and Susan Haffmans

Genetic engineering: modified crops, more pesticides

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Genetically modified crops were supposed to reduce the use of chemicals in agriculture, reduce workloads, and increase crop yields. These promises could not be kept.

By Martha Mertens

Smallholder farmers: new markets, less regulation

Pesticide Atlas 2022

In Africa, fewer pesticides are used than in other regions of the world. Nevertheless the 33 million smallholders are increasingly becoming the focus of pesticide companies. There they also sell what has been banned in the European Union.

By Layla Liebetrau

Imports and exports: banned but sold anyway

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Many pesticides are banned in the European Union. It is illegal to use them in EU Member States, yet it is allowed to produce and export them to third countries – where they pose great risks to people and their environment.

By Dr. Silke Bollmohr and Susan Haffmans

Glyphosate: a manufactured controversy

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Bayer and other companies are fighting for the re-approval of glyphosate in the EU. To do so, they must prove that their pesticide active substance is not carcinogenic. But the studies presented are old – and point to the opposite.

By Helmut Butscher-Schaden

Gender: at the forefront of the exposure

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Women working in agriculture often have lower levels of income and lack decision-making power. There is urgent need for gender equality to achieve food security and protection from pesticide exposure.

By Ilang-Ilang Quijano

Youth survey: change wanted

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Young people in Germany are worried about pesticide use in agriculture and call on politicians to take action. They demand more emphasis on ecological management of fields and plead for stronger support for farmers.

By Dr. Anke Zühlsdorf , Dr. Dominic Lemken and Prof. Dr. Achim Spiller

Brazil: more cultivation, more pesticides, more exports

Pesticide Atlas 2022

As one of the world’s largest importers of agrochemicals and exporters of agriculture goods, Brazil sets record for pesticide consumption. A significant part of the pesticides used there is produced in the European Union – and highly hazardous.

By Larissa Mies Bombardi

Digital transformation: who really benefits from digitalization

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Agricultural robotics, drones, and algorithm-driven technologies for a new way of farming are becoming big business. They are supposed to help farms cut pesticide use, but there are serious doubts whether this will work.

By Heike Holdinghausen

EU policies: objectives are not enough

Pesticide Atlas 2022

Even though the EU’s pesticide legislation is the most sophisticated, it has failed to achieve a reduction in use. The EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy seeks to change that. Many questions remain.

By Clara Bourgin and André Prescher

Pesticide-free regions: good examples

Pesticide Atlas 2022

All over the world, projects are proving that an ecological future is possible: More and more cities, states, and regions are trying to slash pesticide use; or even ban chemical agents completely from their fields and land.

By Ulrike Bickel

All infographics from the Pesticide Atlas 2022

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