Stop
glyphosate
And 3 other agrotoxics. It is the new challenge of
Coop
On the fronts of sustainable agriculture
, environmental protection
and citizens
, food safety. The first pesticide-free fruits in question are cherries, already available in the 1,100 stores of the
leader
Italian large-scale retail trade (GDO).
Melons, grapes, clementines will follow in the coming weeks, according to seasonality. Up to emancipating from agrotoxics in the ‘blacklist’ the 35 fruit and vegetable supply chains (15 already in 2019) under the Coop brand. A volume of fresh produce that will reach more than 100 thousand tons of fruits and vegetables (worth more than 325 million euros), 116 suppliers and more than 7 thousand farms within three years.
Agrotoxics, Coop Italy’s ‘blacklist’
In addition to
glyphosate
– whose dangerousness has also recently been reaffirmed in terms of damage to the microbiome and DNA
– Coop Italy has most recently agreed with its suppliers to eliminate three more molecules that are hazardous to the environment and health. Also taking into account the so-called ‘drift effect,’ which involves the spread of poisons into the atmosphere, water and soils. These are.
– Terbuthylazine,
– S-metolachlor,
– Bentazone.
The ban on glyphosate and Co. follows the ban on other molecules, decided by Coop well before the legal bans, such as
– ethoxyquin,
– diphenylamine,
– benomyl and carbedazin,
– vinchlorzolin,
– procymidone,
– pyrimicarb,
– methomil,
– chlormequat,
– forclorfenuton,
– imidacloprid.
Coop Italy, a pioneer in sustainability
The drastic reduction of the use of chemicals in agriculture was initiated by Coop over 30 years ago. In 1988 first involved agricultural suppliers in adopting the integrated farming method, which uses insects, among other things, for biological pest control. According to a model that on this basis was developed precisely in Italy and regulated through a voluntary UNI standard (whose application became mandatory in 2012 in our territory, in 2014 throughout Europe).
A second backlash against agrotoxics occurred in 1993. Coop launched a pesticide reduction campaign that garnered an eloquent consensus of more than one million signatures. Since then, the Italian large-scale retail leader’s policy has continued expeditiously in the wake of environmental sustainability. With concrete reflections on branded products, in which pesticide residues have been 70% below legal limits for years.
The ban on glyphosate
and 3 other herbicides is thus yet another piece of a coherent policy oriented on the long term, from generation to generation. Under the banner of environmental and social sustainability, food safety, animal welfare. Coop Italy has over the years, with unprecedented swiftness, pulled off a series of reforms that are as revolutionary (and onerous) as they are valuable to the community. Always at the forefront of addressing emerging risks and countering social injustice. Some examples to follow:
– Reduction of plastic in packaging,
– ban on the killing of male chicks
of laying hens, the infamous ‘minced chicks’,
– elimination of antibiotics
in fish farms
, laying hens and poultry
. With the campaign‘Let’s Breed Health, aimed at mitigating the phenomenon ofantibiotic resistance,
– elimination of palm oil
from all branded products in the aftermath of the Efsa warning,
– fight against caporalato and illegal labor
, with the‘Good and Fair‘ campaign.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
