Thread: Pesticides banned in Europe are widely sold in the global south

People from the global south are very much aware of how the environmental struggle has become a tool of political coercion. So, whenever I’ve see news saying that the EU-Mercosur won’t be ratified cus “The EU cannot accept how awful the environmental situation in Brazil”

I know this couldn’t be far from the truth specially because an article from @reporterb revealed that Brazil is the second largest buyer of pesticides manufactured on European soil, but banned for use in the European Union and England.

That is hardly a surprise but for the first time, Brazil's importance in this market is revealed. There were 10.000 tons in 2018, and 12.000 in 2019. Most of the pesticides forbidden in Europe are so because of the deadly side effects they cause on humans and the environment

Here’s a list of EU banned pesticide exports dataset 2018-2019
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSbJPEpMfyhuLYNmgqW7RZVCdG6LQgtDNVlZOKJEsV39Kr9Ju_3TQTpEtUSmI1PQ3j19KI77B9KWdwT/pubhtml

Interesting to point out that more than half (77%) of the pesticides exported to Brazil were from Syngenta's factory in England, where the company produces the paraquat pesticide.

Paraquat was banned in 2007 in the European Union, after research indicated that exposure to the pesticide is associated with Parkinson's disease.

Although it prohibits its use, the EU allows the import of rice with up to 0.5 milligrams of paraquat per kilogram. In other foods, the fixed limit is the minimum that the technology can detect.

Yes, what is happening in many countries from the global south is horrible, Bolsonaro is terrible and has no regards about the environmental destruction in Brazil.
But I’m tired to hear some white saviour narrative, about how a bunch of eco-capitalist will save the Amazon

Especially because many of those people are more than happy to literally sell poison to my homeland. There are simply no solutions to the environmental crisis within the capitalist system.