Dirk de Bekker is a leading Dutch investigative journalist in the field of pesticides and environmental affairs. He has reported extensively on European and global pesticide use for television, radio and investigative journals, both in the Netherlands and abroad. He has directed and presented various popular science programmes for the Dutch public broadcaster, NPO. His book is the result of seven years of in-depth research, including over four hundred interviews and extensive archival work. Photo credit: © Luciano Ölz