Campaing Text

No pesticides on our plate for all living beings: Ban agricultural poisons

Agricultural pesticides harm us and our environment, and they should be banned.

Pesticides harm human health; they cause neurological damage and endocrine disruption, lead to many cancer types, infertility, developmental disorders in children, biodiversity loss by effecting bees and other living beings, damage ecosystems, pollute our water and air, thus, we demand a hasty ban on 13 active ingredients commonly used in pesticides, which are listed as ‘extremely hazardous’, ‘highly hazardous’, and ‘possible carcinogen’ by the World Health Organization.

Many pesticides are found in breast milk, umbilical cord and meconium of newborns and even baby food, and pose the highest threat to babies and young children. They cause increased risk of miscarriage and premature birth in pregnant women, as well as birth defects, leukemia and other cancer types, autism and respiratory diseases in newborn babies.

Many similar pesticides are banned, but only many years after their adverse health effects are identified and thus, after many years of exposure to them; the authorities have failed to fulfil their responsibilities. Even after years of scientific evidence pointing their adverse effects, nothing has been done to ban these 13 active ingredients in question.

As the No Pesticides on My Plate Civil Society Network, which constitute more than 100 organizations and initiatives, and including thousands of citizens who signed this petition, in light of the evidence for adverse effects of these pesticides, we demand that the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry take into account, and take proper action towards our following demands:

1. 13 active ingredients used in agriculture, listed as ‘extremely hazardous’, ‘highly hazardous’ and ‘‘possible carcinogen’ by the World Health Organization (difenacoum, ethoprophos, cyfluthrin, beta-cyfluthrin, zeta-cypermethrin, fenamiphos, formetanate X formetanate hydrochloride, methiocarb, methomyl, tefluthrin, zinc phosphide, glyphosate, malathion), must be banned primarily and immediately.
2. We ask the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to take necessary actions aiming to ban all pesticides by 2030, and to move towards pesticide-free, eco-friendly food production methods; and to develop policies, which support environmentally safe farming practices and smallholder farmers using these practices, and which encourage farmers to use eco-friendly and pesticide-free methods.
3. We demand increased controls and audits on pesticide use in agricultural food products in Turkey, and results of these audits to be made transparent and public.

Note: Pesticide use is of relevance to the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning because of their effects on human health and the environment. However, this campaign is focused on active ingredients used in agriculture, labelled as ‘extremely hazardous’, ‘highly hazardous’, and ‘possible carcinogen’ only, thus, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is our sole addressee, because of their authority on evaluation, licensing and assessment of these pesticides.