A compilation of studies, carried out by farmers, challenges the idea that farmers are more victims of pesticides than other people.
The agricultural professions would be the first victims of pesticides, these products used in many cultures to avoid destruction by insects. However, according to a recent monograph published by the collective Save France’s fruits and vegetables (1), cancers are not the leading cause of death among farmers, far from it. If the primary goal of this investigation is to wring the necks of the prejudices surrounding these professions, it is also a strong alarm signal to improve their working conditions.
As the main argument, the collective wishes to highlight life expectancy among farmers. Using figures from the study The state of health of the French population in France published by the DREES, we can underline the longevity in this profession. In fact, and despite the arduousness of the work, farmers find themselves in the upper middle class, alongside business leaders and well above workers and the inactive, for example.
Farmers live longer
These figures are to be linked with those of the Agrican survey (led by the MSA, the agricultural social security), which argues that the risk of dying from cancer while farming is lower by 26% compared to the rest of the population. The reason ? A much lower than average addiction to tobacco (-50%), considered the leading cause of preventable death in France. Since 2003, only 47 cases of diseases linked to phytosanitary products have been detected in the agricultural world, ie 1 in 1000 occupational diseases.
Animals are the main cause of accidents
According to the study, the main causes of occupational accidents in agriculture are far removed from pesticides. First, animals are responsible for 20% of incidents, right in front of exterior floors and building elements. On the other hand, the use of treatment chemicals only concerns 3.3% of the problems.
Thus, we can underline that the main injuries caused by occupational accidents in agriculture are fractures, cracks or superficial injuries. The hands and upper limbs are the most affected. moreover, among the chemicals considered “at risk” in agriculture, pesticides are not characterized as the most dangerous either. Indeed, the first exposure is that related to fuels, phytosanitary products arriving only in second position.
However, we must not forget some realities related to pesticides. During 2014, the National Assembly had voted a bill aiming to keep spraying far from schools and hospitals while the WHO classified certain molecules present in garden pesticides as carcinogenic. More recently, the family of a winegrower who died of cancer had filed a complaint against X for “manslaughter”. The pesticide used to treat his vines contained arsenic …
(1) Collective brings together market gardeners and arborists in the field
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