Toxic Pesticide Bans: US Lags Behind EU, Brazil and China

According to a recent study many pesticides that have been banned or are being phased out in the EU, Brazil and China, are still widely used in the U.S.

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Findings overview

Of the 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides used in US agriculture in 2016:

-Approximately 322 million pounds were pesticides banned in the EU

-Approximately 40 million pounds were pesticides banned in China

-Nearly 26 million pounds were pesticides banned in Brazil

-More than ten percent of total pesticide use in the USA was from pesticide ingredients either banned, not approved or of unknown status in all three of the other nations.

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Why is the U.S. lagging behind other nations in banning toxic pesticides? 

The primary reason is that rather than the government regulating and banning dangerous pesticides, the U.S. depends on Big Chemical corporations to self-regulate.

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“These findings suggest that the USA utilizes voluntary, industry-initiated cancellation as the primary method of prohibiting pesticides, which is different from the non-voluntary, regulator-initiated cancellations / bans that are predominant in the EU, Brazil and China.”

-Nathan Donley, The Center for Biological Diversity


 

Journal Reference: Nathan Donley. The USA lags behind other agricultural nations in banning harmful pesticides. Environmental Health, 2019; 18 (1).

Study: DOI: 10.1186/s12940-019-0488-0  / Overview


 

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