Reflecting back on 2019, I’m feeling inspired, appreciative — and energized.
I’m inspired by the momentum that’s building to make the changes our food system needs. California and New York took the brain-harming pesticide chlorpyrifos off the market, building on last year’s successful legislative ban in Hawai’i.
Each year on December 3, we join our PAN International colleagues across the globe to mark the anniversary of the deadly pesticide plant leak in Bhopal, India. Today is the 35th anniversary of that tragic event.
Yet another scientific study, released today, shows just how deadly our chemical-intensive farming system has become to pollinators and other insects.
I spent the first week of April in Montevideo, Uruguay with PAN colleagues from around the world, pressing for global action on hazardous pesticides. This was a meeting of the “Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management” (SAICM), an arena for international coordination on toxic chemicals which PAN has been engaged in since 2006, when the process was initiated. It’s historically been a challenge to make pesticides a global priority, but thanks to growing public awareness about the harms of pesticides and persistent advocacy by our PAN International network, this finally seems to be changing.
Once again, this Administration is proving they value pesticide industry profits more than children’s health. This is not heated rhetoric, it’s a clear-eyed observation.
Over the winter holidays, I spent a few days with my father and stepmother on the small farm where I grew up in Butte Creek Canyon. The canyon — and their farm — were nearly destroyed in the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California history.
I’m feeling unexpectedly hopeful as 2018 winds down. Though the national political landscape remains tumultuous, we’re seeing some powerful, energizing trends in the world of food and farming.
It’s hard to imagine how terrifying it must have been. Thirty-four years ago, families in Bhopal, India woke to toxic gas pouring over their city from a catastrophic leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. Somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 people died, and community activists have been fighting for justice ever since.
In the food movement, people often talk about the importance of “voting” with your dollars. While it's true that smart consumer choices can help build a healthier food system, policies and politics matter too. And often much more.
Well if it wasn’t clear before, it’s crystal clear now. This administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) isn’t protecting children.
