Lobby calls for tougher controls.

The article reports that environmentalists are calling on the European Parliament to impose tighter controls on pesticides to protect the development of children. The plea was made at a meeting organized by the Health and Environment Alliance and the Pesticides Action Network in Belgium. The green lobby argues that the European Union pesticide directive does not make consideration of the special needs of children. It was also argued that a cut in pesticide use was necessary to halt the decline in biodiversity.