Why do we still use pesticides?
Assignment:
To do/questions:
- View the video and summarise it.
- What are the arguments AGAINST the use of pesticides according to the Pesticide Action Week leaflet?
- What are the arguments FOR the use of pesticides (cf. "Why do we still use pesticides?")?
- Translate the following information taken from http://www.pesticideactionweek.org/:
La France, champion des pesticides …
- La France est le 1er pays européen utilisateur de pesticides et le 3ème au monde
- La consommation de pesticides a augmenté de 2.6% depuis 2008, malgré le plan Ecophyto 2018 qui prévoit une diminution de 50% de pesticides d’ici 2018
- 96% des cours d’eau sont pollués
- Plus de 50% des fruits et légumes (non bio) contiennent des résidus de pesticides
- L’épandage aérien est toujours pratiqué grâce aux nombreuses dérogations
… et mauvais élève pour les alternatives
- La France est au 19ème rang européen pour sa production bio
- Seulement 3.9% de la surface agricole française est en bio alors que le Grenelle de l’Environnement avait fixé l’objectif de 6% en 2012 et de 20% en 2020
Assignment:
- If you are against the use of pesticides, write a PAW postcard to someone to convince them of your point of view.
- Give a 60-second speech giving arguments FOR the use of pesticides.
Assignment 1
ReplyDeleteROUX-BLONDELET Marie, Monsanto Company
Member of the Pesticide Action Week
Headmaster,
I would like to send you my impressions about your ways of producing and exploiting our natural resources. You are obsessed with turnover but you do not realize the harm you have done to humanity. Using all these chemicals and pesticides is killing millions of animals, our fresh air, our wonderful land feeder and obviously our water and food. Can’t you realize that if you want to continue your work, you have to reduce your chemicals amount? This is necessary. You will be able to feed everybody with fewer pesticides because you produce more than we need. This results wastes and real negative impact on our environment. Imagine if this nature did not exist; you could not live! This Nature is here to feed you; it permits you to have a work and to feed your family. Don’t make undergo anymore to this nature all this pain, respect it and preserve it. In one way or another, your actions won’t be efficient and we will soon find an alternative. If you continue your exploitation with the same rhythm, in a few years, you won’t be able to work anymore and it will be too late! Be aware that if we insist, if we aware people, it is because there is a danger and real bad consequences for the future. We will leave to our children an earth without resources; they won’t be able to answer to their own needs.
Just think about it,
Cordially, Marie Roux-Blondelet