Applied to crops to manage pests and diseases, pesticides are widely used within agriculture across the UK. However, their increased prevalence has raised a wave of concerns throughout the country about the environmental and health impacts of their usage, linked to ongoing declines in human health and animal populations. Today, we celebrate Georgina Downs – a British journalist championing the campaign against the use of toxic pesticides in industrial agriculture. We take a closer look at Georgina’s work below, as she is named for the second year running in the UK Enterprise Awards 2025. Leading Specialist in Pesticide Awareness Campaigning 2025: Georgina Downs In 2016, Georgina Downs launched a petition calling upon the Prime Minister to ban all crop spraying of pesticides near to residents’ homes, schools, and playgrounds. The petition has been signed by many thousands of rural residents also reporting health impacts caused by crop spraying in their localities, as well as a number of high-profile environmentalists including English barrister Michael Mansfield KC; the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley Johnson; Jonathon Porrit; Gordon Roddick; Caroline Lucas, and Ben Goldsmith, among others. For more than two decades, Georgina Downs has demonstrated a tireless and unwavering dedication to the cause, often sacrificing elements of her personal and social life in order to achieve her campaign’s mission. Since embarking on her journey, Georgina has successfully established herself as a significant and prominent figure in the advocation for stricter pesticide policies and controls – not only throughout the UK and Europe, but also globally – and she has had a number of historic campaign victories and achievements along the way. Georgina’s work has brought much-needed attention to the significant gaps in pesticide regulations, particularly concerning the long-term exposure and acute and chronic adverse health effects on rural residents and communities living near crop sprayed fields. Georgina’s inspirational journey was sparked by her experiences following her family’s house move in 1983. Moving from Pagham, West Sussex, to a house in Chichester which sat by a number of agricultural fields. The nearest surrounding fields were initially used for grazing livestock but within a year of the family living there they were converted to growing crops, and which were, unbeknownst to Georgina and her parents at the time, being heavily sprayed with harmful pesticides. Georgina began to suffer from a number of health conditions. What started as blisters in her mouth and throat soon led to Georgina losing the ability to walk and muscle wasting. It goes without saying that such related health problems for any rural residents exposed to agricultural pesticides could obviously have been avoided if toxic chemicals weren’t sprayed across our fields. Following complaints lodged with the Health and Safety Executive that didn’t result in any changes, Georgina realised in 2001 that it was time to take matters into her own hands. She sought out to change Government policies and regulations on pesticides – considering that she had uncovered that there was a complete lack of any protection for rural residents and communities from the use of these toxic sprays on farms. She pursued a legal case against the Government and produced powerful and compelling films to display the devastating adverse health effects of these chemicals. Georgina had already given up a promising career in musical theatre due to her ill health and has instead dedicated her time over the last two and a half decades to the cause, and founding and running her highly successful and multi award winning campaign the UK Pesticides Campaign (UKPC). Having been widely recognised for her dedication and tenacity, and for continuing to press for a pesticide-free countryside environment, Georgina has been on the receiving end of environmental awards and nominations for her commitment to the cause. To name a few, Georgina won Cosmopolitan’s 2006 Heroine Award, and the 2008 Daily Mail’s Eco Woman of the Year Award; was voted as the most inspiring pioneer in The Observer’s Secret Pioneer poll in 2008, securing more than 61% of the votes; was listed second in The Guardian’s 25 People of the Year 2008; and was named in the Inspirational Women: Role Models feature in Vogue the following year. Furthermore, Georgina has been registered with both the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists since 2006 and has also frequently written articles on the pesticides scandal and the protections still needed for rural residents and communities. Featured in The Green Times and on the Natural Health News website, amongst others, her words have been shared around the world. Additionally, many external articles also demonstrate her focus, drive, and passion for her campaign – for example, The Daily Mail, Independent, The Sunday Times, and The Ecologist. Georgina’s advocacy has undoubtedly influenced public discourse and policy discussions on pesticide safety and side effects. Not only does Georgina fight for the health and safety of those living in rural communities, but she fights for the health of anyone exposed to these poisonous chemicals, including those consuming crops that have been treated with harmful pesticides. For her determination and unrelenting devotion to her campaign, Georgina Downs was awarded in 2024’s UK Enterprise Awards, and she has now also been further crowned with the welldeserved title of Leading Specialist in Pesticide Awareness Campaigning for 2025. Contact: Georgina Downs Company: UK Pesticides Campaign Web Address: www.pesticidescampaign.co.uk X: @GeorginaDowns43 Medium: medium.com/@georginadowns/about Mar25285
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