Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières has launched an online petition against the use of dangerous pesticides.
Every year 200,000 people die for pesticides intoxication. Southern countries are the most affected, as certain products – which are banned in the EU as they are extremely toxic – are still allowed and widely used.
Pesticides are dangerous not only for the environment, but also for the people, for farm workers and their families. They impact on health is alarming: higher risk of cancer, neurological disorders, reproductive disorders, child malformations when their mothers are exposed… We can no longer tolerate this!
Why are they used in Southern countries, while they are banned in the EU and United States? The UNEP’s Rotterdam Convention is supposed to protect the populations from dangerous chemical products. The Convention provides, in principle, the possibility for a country to decide which hazardous chemicals are allowed on its territory and to deny those that cannot be handled safely. Now, 73% of these dangerous products are pesticides. However, farmers in many Southern countries get an easy access to those pesticides.
Ask with us the effective implementation of the Rotterdam Convention! Sign the online petition:
www.petition-pesticides.org
Download the dossier on dangerous pesticides (French only).
