The year 2023 is ending.

The time has come to look back at all the work we’ve accomplished and to take stock. The time has come to look ahead to where we want to take you dear readers, dear subscribers, Pioneers or future Pioneers, partners, suppliers, collaborators of myfood, dear all.

That’s why we’ve taken a big decision.

As some of you know, myfood is a company with a mission, which means that its corporate status includes a social and environmental purpose. That’s why it was created, that’s what drives us all every day:

To give people back the ability and freedom to easily produce their own healthy food.

Why should we do this?

• For our health and that of our loved ones,
• For our environment,
• For the future of us all.

We’d like to think that everyone reading this today is aware of our history, our values, our commitments, and our deepest convictions. That’s why today we’d like to go into greater depth on several important subjects.
It will not have escaped anyone’s attention that the world is undergoing profound change. Over the next few years, our lives will continue to be turned upside down by a whole host of factors.
We believe it is our duty to support you in this evolution, to support this community that has been created around strong, powerful values and that continues to grow, in Europe and internationally.

You are the members of our ecosystem, without whom myfood would be nothing.
We hope that this sharing, which is not always easy to integrate or digest, and sometimes even to admit, will be of value to you.

This is our end-of-year gift to you: knowledge and the sharing of essential information.

A look back at the news: what’s happened over the last few weeks?

It’s fair to say that November has been a tough month for all those who protect human life and health:

• On Wednesday 22 November, the European Parliament rejected legislation aimed at halving the use of pesticides by 2030. There is now almost nothing left of the EU’s Green Deal.
• Six days earlier, on Thursday 16 November, the European Commission re-authorized the massive use of glyphosate, the most widely used pesticide in the world, for 10 years.
• At this very moment, France and Brussels are debating SDHI pesticides, fungicides that are controversial because of their carcinogenic risks and the development of neurodegenerative diseases in humans.

A real environmental problem

Climate change and environmental modifications are facts that we can now all see daily. But the most serious factor that we would like to draw your attention to is one that you can observe every day, but which is not consciously acknowledged:

The collapse of biodiversity:

Today, everyone can see that there are fewer and fewer insects sticking to the windscreens of our cars as we drive along, and that birds are becoming rarer in the sky outside our windows and in our gardens. For those of you who follow this kind of news, you will also have learned that bees and other key pollinators are in rapid decline.

Why do we consider the widespread collapse of living things to be the most important fact to consider?

First, what is the collapse of life? What are we talking about?

The collapse of biodiversity is an ecological crisis that involves the extinction of species (plant or animal) worldwide, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in each habitat, and the disappearance of ecosystems. According to several studies, this loss highlights the sixth major extinction crisis underway on Earth. Definition.

Why is this serious now and for our future?

Apart from the fact that animals and wildlife are disappearing, which may be more than enough to motivate most of us, there are many other consequences:

If the living world continues to be impacted in this way, we will suffer:

• An increase in human and animal diseases, as well as an increase in the speed of contamination.
• Accelerated forest dieback throughout Europe. Several factors combine to explain this phenomenon: repeated droughts, insect pests (bark beetles, etc.), fungi and other parasites (ash chalarosis, chestnut blight, etc.).
• A steady decline in our overall quality of life (which is already evident).
• Falling agricultural yields, which means ever less food, ever more expensive and ever unhealthier.

Why are living things disappearing so quickly?

This brings us to the heart of the matter and the core of Myfood’s motivations. If you read the summary of the IPBES report, the IPCC for biodiversity (living things), you will see that 5 major factors have been identified:

• Changes in land and sea use
• Direct and intensive exploitation
• Climate change
• Pollution
• Invasive species

Admittedly, these factors are the reasons for the collapse of life on Earth. Unfortunately, the most important factor – the cause of the collapse of life on Earth – is not mentioned at all. It is hidden, buried among the others. And that’s the problem of problems, the top problem at the very top of the pyramid.

The main cause of the collapse of biodiversity is very simple:

It’s the poisons that we dump by the millions of tons every year all over our natural and living environments. Poisons that have only one function, that were designed to do only one thing: kill.

The main cause of the decline in biodiversity on Earth is synthetic pesticides.

Each of these poisons for all living things in general has its own specialties and specific targets:

• Herbicides to kill plants.
• Fungicides to kill fungi.
• Insecticides to kill insects.
• Neonicotinoids to kill insects.
• Rongicides to kill rodents.

These toxic pesticides can be found absolutely everywhere, in our bodies, in our blood, in the placentas of pregnant women, in our food, of course, in our water, in the rain, in the soil (of course) in the air and in all natural environments, even those where humans have never or rarely set foot.

As you know, these poisons endanger human health, and have long been a public health disaster. We are all affected in one way or another: cancers, malformations, allergies, chronic illnesses, etc. most likely caused by these biocides, which are increasingly being recognized by the courts and sometimes even by the state.

Glyphosate, here we go again!

At the time of writing, the European Commission has deliberately chosen to re-authorize glyphosate, the world’s best-selling and most widely used pesticide, for a further 10 years, even though it is dangerous to human health and to living organisms. Although phasing out glyphosate is a complex issue in agriculture, postponing the problem will only make it worse. The certainty that its use will continue to have an impact on biodiversity and future generations is no longer in doubt.

This is one of the main reasons why co-founders Matthieu and Mickaël decided to set up myfood in 2015.

Political action on a national scale is complex, given the stranglehold of the lobbies (the agrochemical industry, producers, and sellers of pesticides). On the other hand, giving all citizens a chance to regain control over their food is achievable. Each one of us can do our bit to bring about positive change in the food production system before it’s too late.

That’s why we wanted to warn you at the end of 2023.

It’s not over yet.

Why have we decided to warn you today?

By becoming aware of this reality, perhaps many of you will decide to act, no matter what.

What can you do now?

Above all, we invite you to investigate all these subjects, because nothing is ever certain. There is no inevitable collapse. A collective awakening is under way and the sum of our initiatives could turn the situation around.

We also have a long list of resources to help you (at the bottom of the article). But you can of course save time and discuss it with your advisers and ask them any questions you may have.

In addition, there are several actions that are simple to implement:

• Eat organic food and use short distribution channels.
• Produce (under glass, of course) and cook yourself.
• Banning the use of toxic products in the home – there are alternatives.
• Be vigilant about brands in shop.
• Eat quality local meat sensibly.
• Plant trees and flowers on your land
• Don’t over-mow or over-work the soil?

If you liked or were interested in this article, please let us know. All the members of Myfood wish you a wonderful festive season.