9 July 2025: Movie : World Premiere of Toxic Harvest: The Hidden Truth about Pesticides

Exporting deadly poisons: Europe’s double standards in the pesticide trade

The use of highly toxic pesticides is banned in the European Union — but their export to countries outside the EU is not. As a result, hazardous chemicals continue to reach the Global South, where they have serious consequences for people and the environment.

Residues of these pesticides can be detected in numerous crops, and therefore also in the food of many people. However, the effects are particularly serious for those who work in the agricultural sector and come into direct contact with these substances. In many countries, there is a lack of binding protective measures or controls — with sometimes devastating health consequences for agricultural workers.

But it’s not just people who are affected: Highly toxic pesticides also pollute soil and water, damaging entire ecosystems.
The documentary Toxic Harvest, produced by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s Southern Africa Office, follows agricultural workers who have suffered health problems as a result of exposure to toxic pesticides. Experts and agro-ecological smallholder farmers explain the dangers of these substances and point out sustainable alternatives.

Together, they denounce the EU’s double human rights standards and call for binding laws that ban the export and use of highly toxic pesticides worldwide. Their message is clear:

African lives matter as much as European lives!

Philip Degenhardt, Head of the Centre for International Dialogue and Cooperation at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, will introduce the film.

After the screening, we will discuss the film with two experts:

Refiloe Joala is a researcher specializing in African food systems and Program Manager for Food Sovereignty at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in South Africa. With over a decade of experience in the development sector, she has led and supported numerous research projects and consultancy assignments dealing with the transformation of agri-food systems in Southern Africa, food and land rights, and climate change. She is co-producer of the award-winning documentary The Last Seed as well as co-producer of the film Toxic Harvest.

Dr. Silke Bollmohr is an ecotoxicologist and has worked for many years on the risks of pesticides, particularly in African countries. She campaigns for an end to double standards for pesticide exports from Germany and actively promotes agro-ecological alternatives such as permaculture. As Senior Policy Advisor at the INKOTA network, she is committed to fairer and sustainable global food systems.

The talk will be moderated by Tanja Tabbara, senior advisor for socio-ecological transformation in the Africa and West Asia Units of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Berlin. Simultaneous English–German translation will be provided.

After the discussion you are cordially invited to a reception in the foyer of the City Kino Wedding.

The event is free of charge. Since places are limited, we ask that you RSVP here.

The cinema is handicapped-accessible and offers space for 3-4 wheelchairs. Further information available here.