Aux armes vos (eco)citoyens.........

Living in the heart of rural France, you soon realise just how strong the agricultural lobby is. Packaging often carries little 'homages' to the farmers saying how grateful we must be to them. Generous EU and government subsidies mean that the lot of a French farmer is often a happy and quite generous one. Not for our local farmers rusty old tractors. They often have the most up to date models, huge combine harvesters and often a new top of the range 4x4.

In our area there is a farming lobby group called CF47 who have large poster boards dotted around the country. From time to time, posters go up with seemingly random quotes on them usually to try and reinforce in some subliminal way just how much we need the farmers. The last one was 'N'ayez pas peur' (don't be afraid). Of what or whom, they didn't let on.

The current one though has caused something of a stir. It says 'Nous cultivons votre sante' , a little play on words because 'cultiver' means to improve as well as to grow. So this translates as 'we are improving your health'.

I've mentioned in previous posts how unhealthy French produce really is. After the US France is the biggest user of pesticides in agriculture and recent EU surveys of pesticide and herbicide residues on both fresh and processed produce puts France firmly at the top of the list. The average French field is sprayed approximately 12 times a year with herbicides and pesticides. More than once I've bought food in the market on which you can actually feel the residue and if you lick it, it tastes bitter. Yet still people flock to France for it's wonderful fresh produce!

Our particular departement is also the biggest grower of GM crops and conservative estimates suggest that over 80% of crops in ours and neighbouring departments are contaminated due to cross pollination.

The organic market is very small in France. Less than 8% of produce in France is organic but it is growing and there is a rise in the activity of 'ecocitoyens' or eco-warriors as we'd probably call them.

Which brings me back to the posters. Mysteriously, overnight, big fluorescent yellow stickers have appeared on them saying 'Quoi? Avec OGM et pesticides?' (What, with GM and pesticides?) Hooray, is someone finally taking notice? No-one has so far claimed responsibility and the local press are all a-buzz with theories.

Whoever it is, at least it is bringing attention, if only on a local level, on the whole chemical issue. While President Bling Bling has banned some chemicals, there are still far too many in use. My neighbour can't grow anything within 5 feet of her fence as the ground it too contaminated from the chemicals used on the adjacent fields and when he's spraying on a windy day, I feel like we need gas masks to venture out.

So much for fresh country air!