News • Sustainable Farming Campaign
UN calls for an end to the use of pesticides
The United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has produced a damning and far-reaching report on the global use of agricultural pesticides, which she classifies as a threat to human rights.
Noting that pesticides cause 'an array of harms', but have nevertheless been 'agressively promoted', the Special Rapporteur, Hilal Elver, finds that while few people are untouched by pesticide exposure, the harm they cause falls most heavily on people living in developing countries.
Current regulation has proved inadequate to protect people, food or the environment from the threat these chemicals pose. But it is possible to produce healthier, nutrient-rich food, with higher yields in the longer term, without polluting and exhausting environmental resources, and with no or minimal use of toxic chemicals. The Rapporteur therefore calls for dangerous pesticides to be phased out. Read her report in full here.
Sustain campaigns for a fairer, greener and healthier food system. Find out how to support our activities here.
Published Friday 24 March 2017
Sustainable Farming Campaign: Sustain encourages integration of sustainable food and farming into local, regional and national government policies.
