23rd October 2026
Poisoning our planet
In this chapter Goulson reflects on the impacts of pesticides – including herbicides, fungicides etc – on the environment. These do not just target the pest the farmer has in mind but anything and everything else they come into contact with, both directly and via the food chain. Based on the work of extensive research, Goulson tells us that the conclusion is that ‘applying about 4 million tonnes of over 1000 different pesticides to our planet every year … is poisoning everything.’ (P68 Eat the Planet Well)
One example he quotes is research that explores how fipronil and imidiacloprid which are banned for use on crops but is used in flea treatments for cats and dogs, passes via pet hairs used to build nests into the chicks of bluetits and other small birds leading to death and deformities.
Goulson also draws our attention to a yet other consequences of pesticide use. When pesticides are used to kill weeds in arable fields there success has the unintended consequence of removing the essential food supply for moths, butterflies, their caterpillars etc, diminishing their numbers and the biodiversity dependant upon them.
