Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

foodwatch.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 315 posts

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#161

Post by CalRobert »

beAbU wrote: post #159
CalRobert wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was surprised after moving to Ireland to discover that you can break the law and nothing will happen. I went through hell with planners (idiots who don’t believe in climate change and hate eaves) while people around me put three mobile homes on their land as well as building two permanent homes with no permission (and ripping out ancient hedgerows) and successfully got retention. Why even bother?

2 months ago there was a story about a huge family mansion in Meath being demolished after a court found they did not have the proper planning permissions, and the council was unwilling to grant the permissions after the fact. Also just last week a judge ordered the demolition/removal of 26 mobile homes from a site in Dublin set up without permissions. Friends of mine recently got planning permission for a house they…

True, and we did find that we could at least talk to our TD pretty easily, which was good for a sympathetic ear but didn't change much.

Might be worth noting that the house you mention was built 20 years ago. https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/housing-planning/2026/05/...

And indeed, rules against mobile homes are actually enforced in Dublin, but outside the pale we definitely had a different experience.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#162

Post by DocTomoe »

moi2388 wrote: post #15

Oh you import food from third world countries and it’s terrible? Who would have guessed. Better keep pushing the farmers in the EU away for more of these great “trade deals”

In the end, it is up to the consumer.

Local variants exist. But supermarkets are convenient and cheap.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#163

Post by vladvasiliu »

jimnotgym wrote: post #131
franciscop wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know someone close who grows oranges in Spain. He has to go through hell, had to rework multiple times the fields so that they pass the strict Spanish regulation for organic produce. They get evaluated not only on the final product being pesticide free, but also on the full process being compliant, with heavy fines for non compliance. This is fine-ish, except that the imported oranges get checked only seldomly (if…

This is a common complaint in the EU, since enforcement is by ones own government, everyone believes that they are the only ones being held to account. It may or may not be true in general, but it sure gives that impression

The way I understand it, at least here in France, the complaint isn't exactly that some other random EU country has lax enforcement of the EU laws. Rather, it's about the various trade agreements with non-EU countries not known for their strict rules. The latest one being with Mercosur, and the main gripe being with Brazil (presumably because of their huge output, not sure if they're considered worse than the others by whatever metric). Another usual suspect is "ukrainian chicken".

Sure, the agreements say that whatever is imported needs to comply with this or that standard, but customs rarely inspect these. So you end up importing produce which is much cheaper than the local-grown one and which also doesn't comply with the strict local laws. That's where the "unfair competition" happens.

Sure, I bet French farmers aren't too happy to see tomatoes or whatever grown in other EU countries with cheaper labor flood the local market. However, anecdotally, I never see produce from eastern Europe here in Paris. Non-French usually means Spanish or Netherlands if it's EU, or northern Africa if not. You can mayyybe find son specialty cheese or meat from abroad, but outside the very common Italian varieties and Gouda, it's really not easy to find in regular supermarkets.

However, for some reason, apples from freaking Chile and South Africa seem very common, even in season, although apples grow fine here, including that specific variety (pink lady). And when I do find locally-grown ones, they're usually at the same price.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#164

Post by DocTomoe »

darth_avocado wrote: post #26
moi2388 wrote: post #15

Oh you import food from third world countries and it’s terrible? Who would have guessed. Better keep pushing the farmers in the EU away for more of these great “trade deals”

Are these EU farmers that are being turned away growing tea and spices?

Some do, especially in Portugal and the Azores, for tea. And I grow my own peppers and chillies in cold Germany - why would we not be able to do so on an industrial scale?

Or you buy your tea from other first-world countries, such as Japan.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#165

Post by DocTomoe »

dirck-norman wrote: post #23
burnt-resistor wrote: post #5

There are all kinds of toxic residues and contaminants in the US food supply because there's a lack of testing, lack of regulation, lack of enforcement, and a lack of the precautionary principle. Meanwhile, farmers will continue spraying RoundUp on oats just before harvest, rice grown in the US will contain arsenic from naturally-occurring contaminated soils, and almost all bread contains toxic crap banned in the res…

There is some weird obsession on the internet about proving the U.S. is the worst at everything. Believe me, the majority of “The rest of the world” does not protect its citizens from harmful food contamination.

As a non-American, that mostly is a reaction to rabid US jingoism, as in the US claiming themselves as "Numba 1" in everything, when usually, they are in the 10s or 20s at best.

And to many Americans this is even worse: If you are not best™ or worst™ ... you are unremarkable, 'E pluribus unum'.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#166

Post by Ekaros »

verisimi wrote: post #123
franciscop wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know someone close who grows oranges in Spain. He has to go through hell, had to rework multiple times the fields so that they pass the strict Spanish regulation for organic produce. They get evaluated not only on the final product being pesticide free, but also on the full process being compliant, with heavy fines for non compliance. This is fine-ish, except that the imported oranges get checked only seldomly (if…

Organic food can use organic pesticides.

Which might or might not be safer than synthetic ones. Fundamental job of pesticides and herbicides is to kill stuff. Just because it appears in nature does not mean it is safe.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#167

Post by s_dev »

CalRobert wrote: post #122
franciscop wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know someone close who grows oranges in Spain. He has to go through hell, had to rework multiple times the fields so that they pass the strict Spanish regulation for organic produce. They get evaluated not only on the final product being pesticide free, but also on the full process being compliant, with heavy fines for non compliance. This is fine-ish, except that the imported oranges get checked only seldomly (if…

I was surprised after moving to Ireland to discover that you can break the law and nothing will happen. I went through hell with planners (idiots who don’t believe in climate change and hate eaves) while people around me put three mobile homes on their land as well as building two permanent homes with no permission (and ripping out ancient hedgerows) and successfully got retention. Why even bother?

There is a lot of truth to this but things are changing e.g. those houses without planning permission getting torn down. That simply would not have happened two decades ago.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#168

Post by vladvasiliu »

mhitza wrote: post #41
nozzlegear wrote: post #16

The report itself[†] blames the pesticide residue on a "boomerang effect" from EU countries: EU countries export these banned pesticides to third countries, those countries use the banned pesticides on the food they grow, and then the EU countries import that food. In effect, EU companies are still profiting off of the sale and use of banned pesticides on food that Europeans will eat. [†] https://www.foodwatch.org/fi…

That is one reason why I, at least try to, check the label and avoid products with non-EU ingredients. Also one of my worries with the mercusour trade deal. And any deal that involves meat imports from the US, with specific laxer regulation requirements (at least what Trump would like).

I think the biggest scandal in this whole thing, which isn't talked about enough, is just how much of a joke enforcement of labelling is.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#169

Post by Bewelge »

CalRobert wrote: post #151
Tade0 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I jokingly refer to this as the Catholic principle: "sin first - confess and repent later" as it's a common theme in countries that are/were traditionally Catholic, including my own. It's really just places culturally untouched by Calvinism, Puritanism and the like, all of which put emphasis on order. The last thing to attempt bringing order to them were various forms of authoritarianism and they didn't last. I think…

Maybe I'm a Calvinist. I'm definitely happier in the Netherlands. My general experience was that Irish laws existed mostly for show and if you followed them you were a chump. Unless you wanted to smoke a joint now and then, of course. Ireland supposedly cares about nature too, but you can still buy truckloads of turf off the side of the road in Offaly. Good luck getting those rules enforced. When we still lived in Du…

You may have a point but you're discrediting yourself by using extreme hyperbole.

Authoritarianism would be you and your family getting picked up and interrogated sometime at night for this critical comment you just made.

And saying "crime is legal" when referring to cars parked on the sidewalk or you having had a bad experience with a neighbours dog? I think if you reflect a little you'd realise that these are the kind of "crimes" you probably have committed yourself countless times.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#170

Post by spwa4 »

Saline9515 wrote: post #137
Hikikomori wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the EU have a centralized food testing agency?

It does have a food safety agency, but this is a classic international trade problem that is solved at the border since the EU is a trade union.

Or in this case - purposefully NOT solved.

Who wants to bet "Mercosur" agricultural products won't be checked at the border and will - surprise - turn out to have "issues". Has the forced labor agriculture in South America been solved yet?

Nope: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_South_Ame...

I guess not. Will the EU check? Hah!

Has nature protection been solved yet?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_Brazil

Nope. Will the EU check? Hah!

The EU makes their companies to compete against slavery. First in China, religious-ethnic slavery. Now in South America, also mostly ethnic slavery.

Post reply on HN