Research highlights a wide range of workable alternatives that reduce dependence on pesticides: Integrated Pest Management (IPM), biological control, ecological engineering, protective netting, natural insecticides, and mutual insurance schemes that protect farmers’ incomes.

Over the last decade, the European Union has built a framework of directives and regulations designed to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides and promote a transition toward sustainable farming.These laws should define how Europe will protect the health of its citizens and its ecosystems.

By 2008, European beekeepers had organised through the Task Force on European Beekeeping Coordination, calling for pesticide risk assessments that matched real-world conditions. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) responded. Between 2011 and 2013, its Bee Guidance Document introduced a revolutionary framework—one that finally considered not only acute toxicity but also chronic, larval, and sublethal impacts across different bee species.