back to Awards & NomineesThe Inspiration Awards - Georgina Downs

Founder of the UK Pesticides Campaign. After many years of ill-health due to exposure to pesticide use on agricultural land near to where she lived, she started the campaign in order to change the UK Government's regulations governing use of agricultural pesticides.

In 2006, she was honoured by several organisations for her ceaseless campaigning to change health regulations that would have the potential to benefit millions of people across the UK who live in areas that are affected by agricultural pesticides.

In 1984, about a year after moving into their new property in a rural area, adjacent fields were bought by a local farmer to be used for intensive agriculture. During the years that followed, The Downs family enjoyed their rural location, regularly spending time outdoors and having the house windows and doors open – including, unbeknownst to them at the time, during the spraying season in summer.

After some years, Georgina's health deteriorated. She suffered many health problems including flu-like symptoms, headaches, mouth blisters, and, most severely, muscle wastage that required hospitalisation. She attributed this to many years' cumulative exposure to pesticide spraying. Continued ill health while at college resulted in Downs deciding she had suffered enough. Researching the subject of pesticides and their effects on human health, she resolved to challenge government regulations. The UK Pesticide Campaign was started in 2001. It centres on the issue of pesticide exposure for people in agricultural areas.

Downs has gained much support from the public in rural areas, and has been honoured by several organisations for her determined campaigning. She now has a database of many hundreds of people who have informed her of their own illnesses due to their proximity to farms that use pesticides. Downs' campaigning resulted in the UK Government initially asking their own advisors - the ACP (Advisory Committee on Pesticides) - to conduct a study in 2002 into current practice and the evidence supplied by Downs. The ACP subsequently dismissed the evidence as inadequate. Late in 2004, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution was requested to conduct a study into the effects of pesticides on human health. The RCEP's report agreed with Downs' claim that current regulations are inadequate, unfortunately the report also proposed that a mere five-metre buffer zone be imposed around any agricultural land that is subject to spraying.  Downs considered this conclusion to be arbitrary and inadequate.  Downs' battle to change the regulations continues.

UK Pesticides Campaign
The Campaign centres on the issue of pesticide exposure for people in agricultural areas. Downs conducted her own research into the problem and discovered that farmers are not legally obliged to inform nearby residents of the type of chemicals used, nor how dangerous they are. Yet, these same farmers have to adhere to many safety regulations when using the chemicals, such as wearing protective clothing. Although laws exist to limit the amount of pesticide residues in soils and plants, no laws exist to protect the public from the spraying of pesticides.

The Campaign has gained support from members of the public in rural areas who have suffered illness due to their proximity to farms that use pesticides, from organisations related to environmental concerns, and from awards organisations that honour outstanding achievement. Downs now has a database of nearly one thousand cases of people living in areas where pesticides are used regularly.

The UK Pesticides Campaign has gained media exposure since its inception, with newspaper, TV, and radio reports and interviews in the UK. The Campaign is not alone in its pursuit of tighter regulations, with there being similar concerns about pesticide use in other countries such as the United States, and within the EU.

For more information please visit www.pesticidescampaign.co.uk