FINALLY...A Television Documentary on Pesticides That Is Freaking Out the [French] Wine Industry

On Feb. 2, France2TV aired a two hour documentary, entitled Chemical Products: Our Endangered Children, that has the wine industry freaking out.

The show, which was seen by 3 million French viewers, is a thorough investigation of the effects of wine grape pesticides on the health of French children.

It names Bordeaux as the place that uses more pesticides than any other, and overall the documentary paints a less than glowing (but accurate) picture of the practices vintners use that endanger the health and safety of children and residents.

According to Decanter, a protest against the wine industry's use of pesticides, particularly near schools, by parents and residents, in Bordeaux is scheduled for this weekend.

You can read a good summary from French News Online's web site here or watch the entire program (part of a series entitled Cash Investigation) on YouTube. Here it is:

 


It's interesting that the French investigative reporters had to find a "secret" database of the pesticides sold in France. Here in the U.S., such information is easy to find public information. And yet 60 Minutes et al has never touched this subject.