Trump Administration Kowtows to Chemical Agro-Industry
Trump Administration Kowtows to Chemical Agro-Industry
The European Union today confirmed it will ban the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops early next year, citing the risk of brain damage to children – evidence the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ignored in scuttling a proposed ban on the chemical.
In August, the European Food Safety Authority, or EFSA, said there is “no safe level” of exposure to the insecticide, which drove today’s decision. The EFSA also cited possible damage to DNA. Chlorpyrifos will no longer be allowed for sale in the 28 member countries of the EU after the end of January.
The EPA was poised to ban chlorpyrifos early in 2017. But after the 2016 election, Dow launched an aggressive campaign to block that decision.
Dow, the pesticide’s main manufacturer, donated $1 million to President Trump’s inauguration festivities…
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The Most Revolutionary Act 
Yet more evidence that the chemical, pharmaceutical, GMO, and agriculture industries are various heads of the same hydra. They are all subsidized and supported by governments, bankers, and the stock market. Taxpayers and innocents globally are paying for their own poisoning.
It also occurs to me that pesticides and herbicides that are banned in one country still may enter that country with food imports. For instance, while DDT is banned in the US, it is still sold in other countries, so can potentially be present in any food from that country.
I have a copy of a September 20, 2019 NYT article about banana field workers in Nicaragua who were poisoned (sterilized) by the pesticide Nemagon, produced by Dow, Shell Oil, and Occidental Chemical (now Oxy-Chem). The companies claimed the courts in Nicaragua were biased, so now the litigants are trying to sue in France. It’s a gray area whether those poisoned in one country can claim standing to sue in another, but the corporations don’t have that limitation. They can sell wherever they like.
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Wow, I wasn’t aware of the case in Nicaragua, Katherine. There have been a few cases of “toxic trespass” in the US. However they really need to be brought by strong community groups to be effective.
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