Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, and Human Rights at Our Table

Abstract

Written by an agronomic engineer, this article analyzes the historical impact of agrotoxins on human rights, tracing the origin of the synthetic chemical pesticide industry to the post-WWII conversion of chemical weapons companies. The author presents a chronology of mass pesticide poisonings in Latin America since the 1960s, and examines the international human-rights treaty framework applicable to this issue. The text documents cases of breast-milk contamination with DDT far exceeding permitted limits, and describes the main impacts of the Green Revolution: fossil-fuel dependence, genetic erosion, and corporate concentration over GM seed control, concluding with a call for FAO to reject GM crops.