[GPI]

Euro pesticides vote could cause more to grow veg at home?

HARD-pressed families’ fruit and vegetable bills will triple under controversial EU plans being decided this week.

The number of crops grown in Britain is set to be slashed if bureaucrats give the go-ahead, experts warned last night.

That would inevitably mean rocketing prices for staple foods such as potatoes, peas, broccoli and cauliflowers.

A 2.5kg bag of potatoes would rise from £1.98 to a crippling £5.94 by this time next year and a humble white loaf could cost £2.52, according to the National Farmers’ Union. Medical experts warned that the health of struggling Britons could be at risk as they may no longer be able to afford to eat a balanced diet.

The rising prices would be sparked by a Brussels vote this week on a change in the way pesticides are assessed. The EU will vote on Wednesday on the plans for registering potentially dangerous pesticides. The scheme would see the chemicals assessed on the basis of “perceived hazard” as opposed to proven scientific risk.

The organisation points to a study by Cranfield University estimating that the proposals could remove up to 85 per cent of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides currently in use.

The report warns of reduced crop yields thanks to fewer products to protect plants. Mr Temple said: “There aren’t any viable alternatives. If you lose a product and there is no alternative then you are really struggling.

“This won’t immediately spark new products because that’s not the way it works. The products we are using are safe. This is politics rather than science.”

Other groups are supporting the EU’s proposals.

Emma Hockridge, policy officer at the Soil Association, said: “We are against pesticides.

“Organic farmers in this country have successfully shown that products can be grown without using such chemicals.”

Read more here...... http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/69180

If this vote is passed, will it cause more people to grow their own fruit and vegetables at home, rather than pay extra? Interesting times ahead......