No Pesticides: Risks Fines and Imprisonment

In this article we would like to tell you about an out-of-the-ordinary story, far from the mainstream, concerning a French biodynamic winegrower.
The name of "our man" is Emmanuel Giboulot and he risks a fine of 30,000 euros and 6 months in prison.
Emmanuel manages 10 hectares of vineyards in the municipality of Beaune, in the Cote-d'Or, in Burgundy; this region is well known for the quality and quantity of wines produced and obviously a large part of the economy depends on this sector.
Giboulot is a biodynamic wine grower who for fifteen years has been guided by the principles of biodynamics.

Dura lex sed lex?
The reason is his failure to carry out the mandatory preventive treatment for flavescence dorée.
The decision to require winegrowers to carry out treatments – based on pesticides, of course – against flavescence dorée is obviously driven by the socio-economic problems that an epidemic would cause.

A matter of common sense
This "rule" would therefore seem to have some justification, but in the territories of the Beaune area and throughout the Cote-d'Or, monitoring has not detected the presence of Scaphoideus titanus, an insect native to North America considered to be the vector of the "disease".
Emmanuel, therefore, has not harmed anyone; on the contrary, since the area was not potentially at risk, he preserved nature and his vines by avoiding the superfluous use of substances potentially harmful to the ecosystem and human health.
The proceedings against Emmanuel did not arise from a complaint but from his clear and candid answer during one of the routine inspections – when asked the specific question, Giboulot simply answered no!

A conscious choice
His reasoning is: "In biodynamic farming, insecticidal treatment with green pyrethrum is permitted instead of systemic insecticides, but it is a non-selective insecticide and by treating the vineyard I would have killed many of the insects present at the same time – the harmful ones, but also those that are antagonists of the leafhopper and other diseases. Biodiversity in my vineyards is important for the overall balance; some vineyards have not seen systemic treatments for 40 years and are perfectly healthy. Some of my vineyards in Beaune are located near a house and even though pyrethrum has a very rapid decay rate it is not neutral. In July when everyone was treating their vineyards, the presence of pesticides in the air was clearly noticeable."

The effect of pesticides and Emmanuel's work
Law or conscience, common sense or conformity to the mainstream – the dilemma of the soldier who receives the wrong order!
Emmanuel made his choice and we do not feel it is our place to criticize him.
The use of pesticides and continuous contact with them can cause diseases such as Parkinson's disease, so widespread among the French that it has been included among the occupational diseases of farmers.
Furthermore, one should consider that pesticides travel and disperse in the air, coming into contact with unsuspecting citizens as well.
Emmanuel took a risk in order not to harm nature; he also factored in the uprooting of contaminated plants (should that have been necessary) and his decision also cost him a great deal of additional hard work.
In his view, monitoring is possible even on larger farms, but the pesticide route is the classic easy shortcut.

Health or economy?
"What surprised me most about men of the West is that they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to recover their health." Dalai Lama