Pesticides and the Right to Food

Pesticides and right to food

In a new report by the Special Rapporteur on Food, Dr. Hilal Elver, written in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on Toxics, a clearer account is provided of global pesticide use in agriculture and its impact on human rights; the negative consequences that pesticide practices have had on human health, the environment and society, which are underreported and monitored in the shadow of a prevailing and narrow focus on “food security”, are described; and the environmental and human rights regimes are examined to determine whether the constituent rules are sufficient to protect farm workers, consumers and vulnerable groups, as well as the natural resources that are necessary to support sustainable food systems.