Excess for rapeseed: Agriculture demands return to poisonous pesticides!

Excess for rapeseed: Agriculture demands return to poisonous pesticides!

Niederösterreich, Österreich - The discussion about the use of neonicinoids in agriculture is increasing. On May 26, 2025, the Environmental Protection Organization Global 2000 said serious concerns about the demands of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture to grant an exception to these insecticides from the EU-wide ban. The chamber argues that declining rapeseed harvesting and reduced availability of rapeseed for food oil, animal feed and biofuels can only be compensated for by using neonicinoids. According to Global 2000, however, these pesticides, which are considered to be dangerous, endanger the pollinator insects and are therefore incompatible with sustainable agriculture.

Helmut Burtscher damage, environmental chemist at Global 2000, the Chamber of Agriculture sharply criticized the fact that their interests seem to be more identified with those of the chemical industry than with the matters of farmers. Rapeseed plays an important role during its flowering as a source of food for honeybees and other pollinators. However, the use of neonicinoids makes these plants a threat to the insect populations that are indispensable for pollination.

risks of neonicinoids

neonicotinoids are among the most frequently used insecticides worldwide and are strongly criticized because of their harmful effects on bees. Four out of five neonicinoids have now been banned in Germany, and the application in rapeseed has been prohibited since 2013. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed the harmfulness of these insecticides for game and honeybees. Particularly worrying is the fact that these substances not only damage the nervous systems of insects, but also impair their reproduction and orientation.

The debate about the use of neonicinoids is not new. As early as 2013, a restriction of its use was decided at the EU level, and a judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of May 6, 2021 confirmed the partial bans for clothianidine, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. These substances may only be used in emergencies. In view of the repeated references to the harmfulness, there is a clear demand for environmentalists: a general ban on neonicotinoids and similar pesticides to protect biodiversity and the ecosystem.

long -term effects on biodiversity

The harmful effects of neonicinoids are not limited to bees. Studies from Great Britain document massive loss in wild bees, and in northern California there is a decrease in the types of butterfly that correlates with the approval of these insecticides. The endangerment of the pollinators has direct consequences for agriculture, since a decline in pollinator populations could also endanger the income in the long term.

Global 2000 also indicates the problem of eternity chemicals that can contaminate groundwater and agricultural products. Recently, a comprehensive burden of Austrian wine with the PfAS chemical trifluoracet (TFA) was determined, which illustrates the urgency of the debate about the responsible use of chemical substances in agriculture.