18 Years of Empowering People for Change
Toxic Pesticide Banned In Jamaica
Use of endosulfan, an organochlorine insectide first registered in the 1950s, is being phased out in Jamaica. Michael Ramsay, Pesticide Control Authority's (PCA's) registrar, said in a recent interview that the phase-out was a requirement of various international conventions to which Jamaica is a signatory. It is also based on the fact that endosulfan has been identified as a persistent organic pollutant.
Pesticide Residues in Food : Worst Ever
* Pesticide residues found in 94% of targeted fruit and vege samples
* Prohibited endosulfan in 11 of 23 cucumber samples
* Dangerous fungicide exceeding allowable levels in 9 out of 24 Pak choi samples
* 18 different pesticides found among 24 grape samples
* Organic fruit & vege free of synthetic pesticides
The Food Safety Authority’s latest pesticide residue results are a nightmare: they are the worst results I have ever seen," said Dr Meriel Watts of Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand.(1)
World Bank warns on 'farmland grab'
Investors in farmland are targeting countries with weak laws, buying arable land on the cheap and failing to deliver on promises of jobs and investments, according to the draft of a report by the World Bank.
Land and Resources: Claiming Our Rights
Booklet 2 documents the struggles and resistance of peasants, fisherfolk, indigenous women and Dalits in asserting their control over land and other resources. The caselets convey the stories of women's organisations against land use conversions, mining companies, destruction of aquatic resources, and other similar struggles.
International study & report document pesticide health harms
Brussels, June 24, 2010 - Pesticide Action Network International (PAN) today released its report, Communities in Peril: Global report on the health impacts of pesticide use in agriculture. The report release coincided with the Brussels meeting of CropLife, the global trade association for multinational pesticide corporations like Monsanto and Syngenta. PAN's study documents that hazardous pesticides are commonly used in unsafe situations around the world, and calls for assertive action by corporations, governments and international bodies to address pesticide hazards.
Communities in Peril: Global report on health impacts of pesticide use in agriculture
This report presents the results of a wide-ranging survey of how pesticides are used in the field by communities around the world. It shows that hazardous pesticides are routinely used in unsafe situations, and supports the call by international agencies for more assertive action on pesticide hazards. The report illustrates the urgent need for significant investment and policy support for agroecological approaches to food, feed and fibre production.
Scarcity, Insecurity and Poverty: Agricultural Workers Amid the Global Financial Crunch
Of the estimated 700 million agricultural workers worldwide, as many as 70% are in Asia, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with 20%. They are found in export plantations such as sugarcane, palm, coconut, abaca, tobacco, rubber, banana, pineapple, vegetables and other high value crops including, more recently, feedstock for biofuels. And it is upon these workers that the global financial crisis has fallen most heavily.
Environmental health and farmworker groups celebrate U.S. phaseout of persistent pesticide
Today Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) and partners around the world are rejoicing over US EPA’s announcement of the end of endosulfan, an antiquated, highly toxic insecticide. The pesticide has been linked to autism, birth defects, and delayed puberty in humans.
PAN AP CONDEMNS NESTLE'S DESTRUCTIVE PALM OIL PRACTICES
Penang, Malaysia. The Pesticide Action Network Asia and Pacific condemns Nestle SA, the multinational food company, for sourcing of palm oil from unsustainable suppliers that continue to destroy rainforests in the wake of a major study by environmental group Greenpeace.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SMALL FARMERS
In the earth’s history, climate change is a natural, slow moving phenomenon. But its unpredictability and the rapidity with which it is happening now have made it a problem. Today, the threat of climate change on global survival systems has emerged as a critical, urgent issue.
