Buycott! GMO soy, palm oil and American meats. The campaign launched by Égalité and GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade) is gaining support. Following the memberships of the Association of Virtuous Municipalities, European Consumers,
Coalition Against Land Grabbing
, Disability Pride Italy, the No Pesticides Group with its 58,000 members also joins us.
#Buycott! palm oil and GMO soy, No pesticides joins our campaign
‘We as a No Pesticides group enthusiastically join the #buycott campaign. As with the petition against palm oil first launched in 2013 by our friend Dario Dongo, we want to contribute to the success of an initiative that fully reflects our values and intentions. We cannot accept that Italian and European producers of dairy and cheese, meats and cured meats still use GMO soybeans impregnated with the poisons that come from land grabs and deforestation. Our values are universal because they concern human rights, starting with the health of the smallest creatures, and the environment.
We need to get busy with everyday choices, even when we shop for groceries, to reject all products that come from the prime causes of land robbery and deforestation, which are precisely palm oil and GMO soy. This means #iovotocolportfolio, this means doing the ‘climate strike’. Universal health rights must be protected in every part of the planet, where agroecology must be advanced in supply chains at all costs. Until a merely extractive industrial agricultural system based on abuse, which disregards environmental balance and the welfare of future generations, is overcome. Égalité!‘
#NoPesticides, our fight for health and the environment.
The abuse of agrotoxics is at the center of the peaceful struggle that the No Pesticides Group is relentlessly pursuing with our close-knit support. ‘In science and conscience‘, we try to open the eyes of politicians and administrations-as well as citizens-to the serious health and environmental risks associated with exposure to these substances. The ‘glyphosate case‘ – the most widely used herbicide on the planet, declared carcinogenic by the Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) but not also by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) – is just the tip of theiceberg of what is happening at home as well. (1)
The situation in Italy-as we have repeatedly pointed out-is particularly critical. Adding to the already alarming official data on the consumption of agrotoxics-2.4 times higher than the European average (2)-is the evidence of their illegal trafficking and reckless use in vast agricultural areas controlled by agromafias. As has only recently emerged in the Agro Pontino.
The residues of the poisons thus percolate, into two-thirds of surface water and even into one-third of groundwater, or groundwater. Where DDT and atrazine are still found, banned for half a century and a quarter century, respectively. (3). According to what was also reported by Legambiente, in the dossier ‘Stop Pesticides. (4) We are all guinea pigs, for the global pesticide and seed monopolists. Although research in toxicology highlights new risk factors-such as interaction with the microbiome-to be considered when evaluating such substances.
Pesticides, chronic exposure and disease
The health risks associated with chronic (i.e., constant and repeated) exposure to pesticides are substantiated by numerous scientific studies, validated by several United Nations agencies, among others. Including UNICEF, which highlighted the dangers to children and minors. We refer specifically to:
- occupational exposure by virtue of the production, transportation, preparation and application of pesticides. The main factors involved in this type of exposure include intensity of application, frequency, duration and method, compliance with safety regulations, and use of personal protective equipment. As well as the physicochemical and toxicological profiles of pesticides in use. Family members of those who use pesticides can also face serious risks from accidental spills and leaks, improper uses of equipment, contact with clothing used, and failure to follow safety requirements and guidelines,
- environmental/residential exposure. It is widely documented that living near places where pesticides are used, manufactured or disposed of can significantly increase human exposure through inhalation and contact with air, water and soil. Of particular note is also the ‘drift’ effect. That is, the aerial dispersion of pesticide mixture particles that do not reach the target, but spread to the surrounding environment. Thus, in the presence of intensive cultivation bordering private residences or public places (schools, kindergartens, parks, etc.), contamination of residents and the population there is possible. This type of contamination is especially important if the spreading is done with sprayers and in windy conditions. (5)
Pesticide exposure leads to a statistically significant increased risk of chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. As well as reproductive disorders, male infertility, metabolic and hormonal dysfunction, autoimmune disorders, and kidney dysfunction. The main action of pesticides is indeed neurotoxic. (6) And it is no coincidence that their industrial development has historically stemmed from the testing of chemical weapons intended for humans. Endocrine interference (7) and carcinogenic effects are also added in the medium and long term. (8)
Dario Dongo and Giulia Caddeo
Notes
(1) See report edited by Pietro Massimiliano Bianco (2017). GRE- International Society of Doctors For Environment – Pesticides Action Network – European Consumers, page 34, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hOFz60XkDbrDQHtTPtKKJpsycVCRAnWO/view
(2) Data referring to UAA (Utilized Agricultural Area).
(3) Legambiente, 2/18/19, press office.
(4) ISPRA. (2018). National water quality report
(5) See footnote 1, pages 10 et seq.
(6) ‘Embryo-fetal, infant and adult neurological toxicity is one of the most important effects of pesticide exposure. For acute exposures to organophosphates, for example, there are not only immediate sensory and motor central nervous system symptoms, but also long-term neuropsychiatric sequelae such as deficits in stimulus detection and information processing, deficits in attention and memory, and increased incidence of depression. Similarly, chronic exposure to these agents has also been found to be associated with neurobehavioral abnormalities including anxiety, depression, psychotic symptoms, extrapyramidal symptoms, deficits in short-term memory, learning, attention, and processing‘. See footnote 1, pages 14 et seq.
(7) ‘This term, first introduced in 1991, covers all substances of different natures (heavy metals, dioxins, PCBs, pesticides, flame retardants, bisphenol A etc.) that interfere with synthesis, secretion, transport, action, metabolism or elimination of hormones’ See footnote 1, page 14 et seq.
(8) ‘The ways in which pesticides exert carcinogenic action can be either by direct DNA damage (DNA fragmentation, adduct formation, chromosomal alterations) or, more frequently, through epigenetic modifications, i.e., alterations in gene expression or cellular phenotype without altering the DNA sequence.’ See footnote 1, pages 14 et seq.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in law, master in Food, Law & Finance. You have explored the theme of green procurement and urban food policies in the International Cooperation and Peace sector of the City of Turin.
