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We were driving through what has become an increasingly sparse Iowa landscape on our way from one place to another when we noticed a sign with the farm name proudly displayed — "XYZ Farms."

As I wind up my 25-year tenure at PAN, I’ve been reflecting on what’s kept me in this work for so many years.  Because, honestly, the work we do is hard. The changes we’re working toward don’t happen overnight, and some may not occur within our lifetimes.

I have been watching, on and off throughout the last few weeks, as one of our neighbors methodically removes all of the bushes and small trees that populate a fence line between their field and another neighbor’s field.

Being a parent has shaped my 25 years at PAN in fundamental ways. The more I learned, the the more protective I felt of our daughter Linnea, and the more horrified I was about the millions of children around the world who are regularly exposed to dangerous pesticides.

On International Day of No Pesticide Use, December 3, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and our partners from around the world delivered over 187,300 petition signatures from more than 107 countries to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Director-General Qu Dongyu.