12
Sep
Countries in Global South Exert Leadership and Face Challenges in Human Rights, Health, and Environmental Protections
(Beyond Pesticides, September 12, 2024) In a year with 74 national elections on the calendar, legislators and executive branches alike are in contention on the future of business-as-usual pesticide use and manufacturing. Be it Kenya or Brazil, the European Union and Mercosur (South American Trade Bloc), there is a growing contingency of farmers, advocates, researchers, and public leaders who desire a pathway forward in strengthening pesticide restrictions and supporting alternatives to chemical-intensive agriculture and land management, including organic. As leadership shifts and domestic conversations mount ahead of the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan and the 2024 National Organic Standards Board meeting this fall, environmental and health advocates say it is vital that world leaders acknowledge the decades of grassroots advocacy and market development that led to the growth of organic systems in service of building capacity for nutrition, public health, biodiversity, and climate resilience while advancing food security.
Kenya
Earlier this month, the Kenyan parliament introduced a resolution to ban hazardous pesticides including glyphosate-based herbicide products such as RoundUp sold by Bayer/Monsanto, leading to a fiery debate on the state of agricultural uses. Hon. Gladys Boss, Deputy Speaker for the National Assembly, speaks to the rationale for introducing the petition:
“The issue of carcinogenic pesticides and Round-Up herbicides is of significant concern to our country. This challenge is known in all levels of Government. The “Pesticide Atlas”, a document developed by 20 scientists from the University of Nairobi, confirms that 267 pesticides banned in Europe and America are still in use in Kenya. The Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) is responsible for approving pesticides and yet, banned pesticides [in other nations] are still on our list. The offender here is the Pest Control Products Board. I have submitted a Petition to the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock, requesting for the removal of the Pest Control Products Board from office due to their failure, which has endangered Kenyan lives.†(p.10)
Following the submission of this petition, the National Assembly Health Committee charged the PCPB to review the list of allowable pesticides and update regulations to remove toxic pesticides from the market. There is expected to be a follow-up after an August legislative recess. The Pesticide Atlas project—led by Friends of the Earth Europe with support from Friends of the Earth Germany, Pesticide Action Network Europe, and Heinrich Böll Foundation and edited by renowned food systems researcher and advocate Anna Lappé, PhD—analyzes the intersectional harms posed by toxic pesticides, as well as the industry interference in scientific risk assessment and regulatory oversight processes that lead to rampant pesticide use reflected in trade, agricultural, health, and environmental policies. Given that the Gates Foundation-funded Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa’s (AGRA) headquarters is based in Kenya, advocates are interested to see what direction the government will take in regulating toxic pesticides and genetically engineered seeds.
Brazil
There are also ongoing debates in Brazil regarding the direction of the national government on how to approach pesticide regulations. Brasil de Fato reported over the summer a series of political infighting within the Administration of President Lula da Silva on reducing pesticide use—particularly, given fundamental disagreements between the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) and the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA).
Both ministries are leading administrative agencies within the Interministerial Chamber for Agroecology and Organic Food Production (CIAPO), which is tasked with implementing the National Plan for Agroecology and Organic Food Production (PLANAPO). MDA Minister Paulo Teixeira has called for the taxation of “pesticides that pose a high risk to health…in order to promote healthy eating,†receiving praise for these comments from various farmworkers, farmer advocacy, and environmental groups. Meanwhile, MAPA has postponed the rollout of PLANAPO twice so far by not allowing the National Program for the Reduction of Pesticides (PRONARA) to be included in PLANAPO, which advocates believe would undermine the effectiveness of the broader systemic plan.
Meanwhile, various political parties and organizations are challenging a law known as the “Poison Package†in the Supreme Court because of fears that it would make pesticide regulations more flexible and undermine PLANAPO. The push for this law began in 1999 with former Senator Blairo Maggi, known as “the king of soybeans,†due to his ties to the industry that is the most chemical-intensive sector of the agricultural economy in the nation. Brazil’s pesticide usage has increased by over 700 percent in the past four decades, with over 2,179 new registrations approved between 2019 and 2022, based on reporting by Scientific American and Mongabay. See the Human Rights Watch (HRW) article, “Brazil: Veto Dangerous Pesticide Bill,†for a comprehensive analysis of the adverse impacts this legislation would have on environmental, public health, and biodiversity protections.
As Maria Laura Canineu, formerly HRW Director in Brazil (now deputy director of the Environment and Human Rights Division), puts it, “Instead of opening the floodgates for dangerous pesticides, President Lula should veto the bill and improve regulations to protect Brazilians’ lives and the environment.â€
European Union-Mercosur
The issue of pesticide regulations is a common thread in discussing different agricultural, environmental, public health, and occupational safety laws in different countries. As a result, some pesticides that are outlawed in the European Union are still sold to countries including Brazil and Kenya or, in the case of the deadly and destructive weedkiller paraquat, sold in the United States despite being banned in China—the country that acquired the company that began the production of paraquat-based herbicides in 1955. These inquiries around environmental injustice versus chemical-intensive agricultural support systems have led to tense trade relations, including between the European Union and Mercosur.
Mercosur is a trading bloc that represents Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, a significant slice of South American economic interests and agricultural production. The EU-Mercosur deal reached an agreement in December 2019 after two decades of negotiations, yet five years later, it remains unclear whether respective member states will ratify this deal for a variety of reasons, including agricultural and pesticide policy. According to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “European farmers are represented by a lobby that, by even the standards of Brussels, enjoys remarkable access to both the European Union’s executive and legislature.â€
France has been skeptical of an EU-Mercosur deal primarily due to internal pressures from farmers who are frustrated with EU-wide pesticide and agricultural policies, as well as price competition with South American producers. European Parliament members representing The Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens) submitted the report, “The EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement, its impacts on Agriculture,“ which discusses the implications of an EU-Mercosur Deal on agricultural, environmental, and pesticide regulations. The report points out weaknesses in pesticide regulations among Mercosur member states, including the use of banned pesticides and antibiotics by farmers in the bloc (with special emphasis on Brazilian producers) as well as concerns around price competition that aligns with CSIS analysis. The Greens are calling for a complete redrawing of the 2019 deal to account for these discrepancies.
With the reelection of Ursula Von der Leyen as President of the European Commission, it remains an open question as to the direction of EU agricultural policy and trade agreements as President-elect Von de Leyen considers the next Commissioner of Agriculture following the end of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski’s tenure. Analysis led by US Times Mirror indicates that some of the likely candidates will come from Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece, or The Netherlands. Organic advocates and farmers, as well as the general public, recognize the benefit of an appointment from the first three nations considering the growth and prevalence of organic producers and infrastructures in those nations relative to other nations.
For example, Greece saw a 78% increase in organic farmland in the last year with approximately 17.6 percent of total agricultural land farmed organically, with Portugal at 19.1% and Luxembourg at 6.2%, based on analysis from IFOAM Organics International. The Netherlands sits at just 4.2% of the total share and, according to analysts, the nation’s vision for the future of agriculture “focuses on innovation, scale production, and less organic farming.†Moreover, the appointment of a Dutch Commissioner would likely conflict with ambitious EU targets including the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F) and European Green Deal (EGD)—with the goal to have at least 25 percent of European farmland run on organic land management practices by 2030.
Call to Action
As different countries pave new approaches to pesticide regulations, many of which are beginning to take seriously the consequences of failing to pass holistic climate policy that considers public health, biodiversity, and environmental justice, advocates continue to call on strengthening organic land management and agricultural systems. See Keeping Organic Strong to learn how to engage in the Fall 2024 National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting. Also consider subscribing to Action of the Week to engage with elected officials, agency rulemaking, and other actions as they pertain to pesticide regulations, environmental protections, climate resilience, and public health.
Sources: The Hansard, Brasil de Fato, Center for Strategic & International Studies, European Parliamentary Research Service
