Every year, the European Union exports over 120,000 tonnes of pesticides banned on its own territory due to their proven risks of cancer, neurological damage, and environmental contamination. These chemicals are shipped to countries where safety standards are often very weak, leaving farmers and families exposed without adequate protection.
Despite previous promises to end this practice, including from the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the EU increases these exports. Major pesticide corporations like BASF, Bayer, and Syngenta profit from this trade, leveraging their influence in Brussels to delay or weaken protective legislation.
U.N. expert on toxics and human rights Marcos Orellana called it for what it is: the Commission’s failure to deliver its long-promised ban on exporting pesticides banned in the EU for toxicity is a “blatant violation” of people’s fundamental right to health and to live in dignity.
Our #EndToxicPesticideTrade campaign, in partnership with a coalition of NGOs, exposes this toxic double standard and demands an immediate end to the production and export of banned pesticides. If a substance is too dangerous for European citizens, it is too dangerous for anyone.
Join us in calling for a complete ban!
