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This Juneteenth, Support Efforts for Environmental Justice by Eliminating Pesticide Use
(Beyond Pesticides, June 19, 2025) Juneteenth, officially recognized as a federal holiday since 2021, commemorates the arrival of Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas, to free enslaved people per the Emancipation Proclamation that was issued two and a half years prior. While June 19, 1865, does not mark the legal end of slavery nationwide, it was a crucial moment in the fight for freedom and continues to highlight the ongoing fight for human rights, equality, and environmental justice. Â
As Beyond Pesticides has previously shared in the Daily News, this commemorative day is a time for individuals and organizations to acknowledge and reflect on their past and current actions or inactions that perpetuate systemic racism. The father of environmental justice, Robert Bullard, Ph.D., defines environmental racism as any policy or practice that unequally affects or disadvantages individuals, groups, or communities based on their race. Dr. Bullard states that, until the 1980s, environmental conservation and pollution were separate. Many environmental organizations prioritized the preservation of “wilderness†rather than urban areas, predominantly comprised of POC, who continuously experience the disproportionate impacts of pollution and the effects of environmental racism. Â
Sharing the ScienceÂ
A recent study regarding the intersections of urban planning, wildlife management, and the histories of systemic bias in People and Nature shows how marginalized and vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted and experience exacerbated injustices within cities. “Our review shows that wildlife affect nearly all aspects of urban life for people, including economics, participation in decision-making, patterns of urban space, human health, psychological well-being and cultural discourses,†the authors report.Â
The study finds that “the effects of pests and pesticides are often unequally felt by marginalized communities due to a variety of social, economic and political factors†and that these communities are “often more negatively impacted due to exposure to zoonotic diseases, pesticides and rodenticide use.†(See additional research here, here, and here.) The researchers continue, sharing: “On a broader scale, pesticides often affect these neighbourhoods from production to utilization to disposal. Pesticide manufacturing facilities, for instance, are often built nearer to vulnerable populations or the only available housing for lower-income individuals is closer to the sites of former manufacturing locales—a classic illustration of environmental racism.â€Â
There is a wide body of science linking this disproportionate exposure to health effects both in the U.S. and around the world. Not only are marginalized communities more likely to be exposed to toxic chemicals in urban settings, but farmworkers, their families, and those living closer to agricultural fields are also at risk. According to USDA, this group of individuals is comprised mainly of POC, representing another link of disparities in environmental justice. (See Daily News coverage here.)Â Â Â
A case study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reports that: “Latinx communities face disproportionate environmental injustices and are targeted due to systematic economic and political inequities. This research evaluates the ease at which links between industrial releases and risk of adverse health effects can be defined to influence policy change in Houston, TX.†In analyzing geospatial data, the study shows that Latinx communities house the heaviest polluting industrial facilities in Houston and, as a result, “face the highest potential risk of adverse health effects due to exposure to a multitude of chemicals.â€Â
The study also includes that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies,†with fair treatment described as “no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental, and commercial operations or policies.†Under the Trump administration, these policies have ended, and EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice has been dismantled, according to news reports.Â
Despite these definitions, included in recent years in EPA actions (although now ended under the Trump administration), they have fallen short of the stated goal. The study finds that “BIPOC, working-class, and lower-income communities disproportionately experience environmental health injustices, with Latinx populations in particular facing heightened health risks due to industrial pollution.†The authors describe how the prevalence of industrial and manufacturing facilities in these communities leaves POC disproportionately exposed to chemicals and causes them to live “in a ‘toxic normal’, where seeing or smelling hazardous chemicals in daily life is routine.†(See studies here, here, here, here, and here.)Â
Additional research highlights these disproportionate risks in POC that lead to certain negative health effects. A recent review in Current Cardiology Reports notes that “African Americans are exposed to a multitude of environmental CVD [cardiovascular disease] risk factors at higher rates than Whites†as a result of socioenvironmental contexts. (See additional research here.) The authors highlight that these factors “may occur in the natural environment (e.g., pollution, heavy metals, and pesticides), the built environment (e.g., neighborhood conditions and accessibility of healthy food), and/or the social environment (e.g., access to healthcare services, quality of patient-provider interactions, and population density).â€Â
They continue, saying, “These environmental conditions persist over time via racial segregation and political fragmentation, which are subsequently correlated with poor economic outcomes. Disinvested communities then have fewer resources to help buffer against negative health outcomes.†(See study here.)Â
Another review in Birth Defects Research reports that women of color working in agriculture, such as on tea plantations, are frequently exposed to pesticides that “may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes and may result in altered function of the placenta, fetal growth restrictions, low birth weight (LBW) of babies, and sex-specific differences in the fetal development. These adverse effects may pose a potential risk of poor health, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and congenital birth defects leading to neurobehavioral disorders in childhood, and even cancer later in life.†(See more on reproductive dysfunction and women’s health here and here.)Â
Children and adolescents in or from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) also experience disproportionate risks to hazardous environmental exposures, according to a technical report in Pediatrics. “In many LMICs, toxic environmental exposures—notably outdoor and household air pollution, water pollution, lead, hazardous waste disposal, pesticides, and other manufactured chemicals—are highly prevalent and account for twice as great a proportion of disease and deaths among young children as in North America,†the authors state.Â
They continue, saying: “In LMICs, environmental hazards account for twice as great a proportion of deaths in children younger than 5 years as in high-income countries—26% versus 17%. Pollution is a major risk factor and is responsible for an estimated 9 million deaths annually in persons of all ages—3 times as many deaths as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Nearly 92% of pollution-related deaths occur in LMICs. Environmental threats to children’s health in LMICs are worsening, and ambient air pollution and contamination by pesticides and other toxic chemicals are growing especially rapidly.†(See research here and here.)Â
These impacts are a result of the significant social, ethnic, racial, and economic inequities that contribute to the global distribution of environmental hazards. As the researchers point out, “In countries at every economic level, disease caused by hazardous environmental exposures is most prevalent among poor people and historically marginalized groups, an inequitable pattern of exposure and disease termed ‘environmental injustice.’â€Â
Yet another study, published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, “addresses the developmental inequities linked to pesticide exposure, particularly in Brazil, focusing on its impact on the gut microbiome and neurodevelopment,†according to the authors. While highlighting the impacts of pesticides on the gastrointestinal tract, this article also “explores the unequal regulatory landscape for pesticides, emphasizing the disparities between more-regulated and less-regulated regions.â€Â
The researchers continue, saying: “Brazil serves as a case study to illustrate how inconsistent global pesticide standards contribute to developmental inequity, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. The findings underscore the need for sustainable agricultural practices and stronger international regulatory coherence to ensure safe food production and to protect neurodevelopment, especially for children in low- and middle-income countries.â€Â
Organic SolutionÂ
Amid the overwhelming evidence of disproportionate risks to POC in marginalized communities from pesticide exposure that result in deleterious health effects, showcased above in various studies as well as in research spanning many decades, there is a solution that addresses significant aspects of environmental justice.Â
An article in Sustainable Agriculture highlights “how food security, rural economic resilience, ecological restoration, and environmental justice can be achieved through a repaired agricultural microbiome. Microbial repair must reverse the damage done by legacies of agricultural intensification to restore the microbiome’s ability to deliver key agricultural and societal functions.â€Â
The authors note: “In the case of agriculture and the microbiome, repair needs to confront how histories of colonialism and industrialization shape the uneven environmental and health burdens generated by the modern food system, which are largely borne by poorer and other underserved communities… The repair of the agricultural microbiome must be attentive to how the social injustices of the food system can be repaired through the microbiome.â€Â
This speaks to the power of organic agriculture and land management, which focuses on soil health and the soil microbiome as the foundation for a holistic, systems-based solution. In adopting organic practices, all ecosystems and organisms are supported, which also removes disproportionate risks to POC, farmworkers and their families, and the general public. Â
As shared in previous Daily News, Beyond Pesticides’ executive director Jay Feldman said, “By eliminating toxic pesticide use, we will provide critical protections for community health, particularly for children, the elderly, and vulnerable population groups, which includes people of color in the highest risk population group.â€Â
The transition away from petrochemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers safeguards the public health of all individuals, as well as protects wildlife and mitigates the current crises of biodiversity and climate change. Eliminating the disproportionate risks of chemical exposure also puts an end to institutional biases that codify environmental racism.Â
Let today serve as a reminder to create an equitable and sustainable world for all. As shared in last year’s Juneteenth Daily News, this holiday coincides with National Pollinator Week and represents a time to renew our commitment to environmental justice. This can be achieved by seeking the adoption of transformative solutions that recognize the urgency to address disproportionate harm caused by toxic pesticide production, transportation, use, storage, and disposal. Â
We affirm on Juneteenth and during National Pollinator Week the urgent need to support healthy ecosystems through organic land management. These ecosystems are necessary to sustain all life on earth, but are being catastrophically harmed by escalating existential pesticide-induced health crises, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency—all disproportionately affecting people of color in the U.S. and worldwide.Â
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🌱 National Pollinator Week for Thursday! Juneteenth and Environmental Justice!Â
As Pollinator Week coincides with the Juneteenth celebration, the time is now to renew our commitment to environmental justice while seeking the adoption of transformational policies and practices that recognize the urgency to address disproportionate harm inflicted by toxic pesticide use.Â
What can we do? Transitioning to organic land management, such as with the Parks for a Sustainable Future program, and purchasing organic food supports the health of landscapers and farmworkers. Use the following Action of the Week forms to protect these workers who are disproportionately harmed, as well as to preserve children’s health through access to organic lunches.Â
You can also speak up for environmental justice and urge your U.S. Representative and Senators to ensure funding for meaningful programs that aim to protect those essential workers who grow our nation’s food, as well as the health of their loved ones. This includes the following programs as poignant examples:Â
- The Bioecological Center for Research on Children’s Health project, funded by the EPA, which was designed to identify, understand and address the cumulative impacts of exposures to environmental toxins (pesticides, heavy metals, particulate matter) and non-chemical psychosocial stressors (poverty, food insecurity, trauma, discrimination, etc.)  on the health, development, and growth of farmworker children. Working in collaboration with the Florida State University (FSU) health clinic in Immokalee, the project would have examined threats, implemented strategies to improve health outcomes for farmworker children, and collaboratively established a Center in Immokalee to continue the research, outreach, and services to the community.  Â
- The Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) program, funded by NIOSH, monitors pesticide-related incidents of injuries, illnesses, and death at the state level, tracking worker pesticide exposure incidents. By providing technical support to state health agencies to train medical professionals on how to diagnose and treat pesticide poisonings, SENSOR strengthens the network of health experts who can help advise farmworkers, pesticide applicators, parents, and others to prevent harm from pesticides, often with disproportionate adverse effects in people of color communities.  Â
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides. Â
Sources:Â
Cusworth, G. et al. (2025) Microbial repair and ecological justice: A new paradigm for agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44264-025-00062-4.Â
Gama, J., Neves, B., and Pereira, A. (2025) Developmental inequity and the impact of pesticide exposure on gut and brain health in developing nations – a Brazilian perspective, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-024-04229-1.Â
Kumar, S. et al. (2025) Pesticide Exposure in Agricultural Workplaces and Resultant Health Effects in Women, Birth Defects Research. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bdr2.2460.Â
McInturff, A. et al. (2025) Pathways between people, wildlife and environmental justice in cities, People and Nature. Available at: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10793. Â
Moody, D. et al. (2025) Multilevel Racism and Discrimination and Cardiovascular Disease and Related Biopsychosocial Mechanisms: An Integrated Scoping and Literature Review and Future Research Agenda, Current Cardiology Reports. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11886-025-02238-3. Â
Wheless, H. and Hoepner, L. (2025) Access to Interpretable Data to Support Disproportionate Health Risks from Industrial Releases: A Case Study on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Datasets and Their Application to the Latinx Communities of Houston, Texas, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/291. Â
Zajac, L., Landrigan, P., and the Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change (2025) Environmental Issues in Global Pediatric Health: Technical Report, Pediatrics. Available at: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/155/2/e2024070076/200639/Environmental-Issues-in-Global-Pediatric-Health.Â
