Who We Are
PAN is a catalyst for food system transformation. We use grassroots science, strategic communications and coalition organizing to build power with communities across the U.S. and around the world to confront the harms of industrial agriculture and build solutions. We are one of five regional centers who cooperate to transform systems of food and farming across the globe.
Our Mission
PAN’s mission is to end reliance on hazardous pesticides and achieve health, resilience and justice in food and farming.
Our Vision
We work toward food and farming systems that lead to this tomorrow:
- Our bodies and children are free from pesticides and the diseases they cause.
- Our soil, water and air are clean and are held safe for future generations.
- Agriculture supports vibrant, thriving local economies, communities and ecosystems.
- Worldwide, the work of producing food is honored and compensated fairly.
- Workers all along the food chain are treated with dignity and earn a living wage.
- No one’s life is cut short or constrained by poverty, racism or other forms of structural or systemic violence across the food system.
Values & Aspirations
At Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North America, we work to create a just, thriving food system. PAN works with those on the frontlines to tackle the pesticide problem — and reclaim the future of food and farming. We establish partnerships with impacted communities, support grassroots and coalition organizing, and facilitate relationships and networks of partners and other allies— state, national and international—in order to build a more powerful movement.
We aspire to live out the following values in our work:
Collaboration
By sharing our skills in science, communication and organizing through equitable relationships with impacted communities, we provide scientific tools and processes they can own and use in the service of self-identified campaigns.
Diverse approaches lead to wise and appropriate solutions to complex problems. Diversity builds resilience. We embrace and actively seek a wide-range of viewpoints, striving to create meaningful and respectful space for partners, staff and board members with different identities and life experiences.
Equity
People have the right to food that is safe, healthy, accessible and culturally appropriate. We support people's’ right to determine their agricultural policies and actively seek to name and counter systemic oppression in our food system, working with those communities most impacted to shift policies and practice that support healthy, regenerative, just food and farming. By listening to, learning from and amplifying the voices of our partners, we bring the stories and struggles of those impacted by pesticides to the fore in our campaigns.
We try to examine our own power and privilege in all situations. PAN is strengthened by sharing leadership and leveraging power to support campaigns and partners in frontline communities. We work to actively curtail the impact of our own power and privilege when they are a disservice to equity.
Solidarity
PAN remains true to our origins in the Global South through active alliance with PAN International and partners in the Global South. Our campaigns are rooted in — and honor — this long history, and our work moves forward with respectful partnerships and honest communication. As a global network, we strive for international equity.
We take action to deepen our understanding of oppression and to stand in solidarity with others who are dedicated to building a just world. We commit to being a visible ally and taking public positions not only on oppression within the food system, but also within the broader social justice movement.
