Statement: On War in Ukraine
During a time of tragic wars with the senseless loss of innocent lives, we reflect on how we can best sustain ourselves and respect life. While war is not unique to Ukraine, we have been exposed daily to the effects of the Russian invasion in Ukraine perhaps like never before.
Feeling powerless to deal with the corrupt use of deadly power and force is deeply troubling. The destruction of life, and all that is necessary to sustain life, is horrifying.
As an environmental and public health organization, we stand with those who support and nurture life and respect its fragility. We look forward to an end to the Russian war on Ukraine and other wars around the world that are not as widely covered in mainstream media. We look forward to a rebuilding process in Ukraine and other war-torn countries that honors life and moves the world away from a dependency on oil, which is so often an underlying context for support or indifference to those pursuing war.
In these troubling times, we see bright spots in communities across the country where people are engaging in the important process of eliminating petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers. In so doing, people are playing an incredibly important role in avoiding conflicts supported by oil, as well as fighting public health diseases, biodiversity collapse, and the climate crisis.
—The Beyond Pesticides Team and Board of Directors