Food and Pesticides

Pesticides are among the most widely used chemicals in the world. In fact, every Canadian carries pesticide residues in his or her body.

In June 2007, the David Suzuki Foundation released Northern Exposure: Acute Pesticide Poisonings in Canada. The report found that thousands of Canadians are acutely poisoned by pesticides each year, with children under 6 at the most risk. This is unacceptable.

What's New

Pesticide Free? Oui! looks at Quebec's cosmetic pesticide legislation, and offers recommendations for improvement. It also advises how to ensure new provincial legislation is most effective.

Take Action now to get your province pesticide free!

More Food For Thought

The Food We Eat: An International Comparison of Pesticide Regulations, authored by David R. Boyd, closely examines this issue, and provides eight recommendations for how Canada can close the wide gap between our regulations and those in the U.S., the E.U. and Australia.

Canada allows more exposure to pesticides than many industrialized nations
Canadians should enjoy a level of protection from environmental threats that is equal to or better than the highest standard enjoyed by the citizens of other industrialized nations. But when it comes to governing pesticide use and exposure, Canada does not fare very well.

Review of the Pest Controls Act--Is Canada reluctant to improve pesticide standards?
The recent adoption of the Pest Control Products Act requires that Canada review any pesticide that is banned in an O.E.C.D. member nation. That should have been good news. But the Federal Government appears to be dragging its heels to meet or beat international leaders.

Read the David Suzuki Foundation's letter to the Minister of Health and the Pesticide Management Regulation Agency ^PDF(June 28, 2006)
Read the government response^PDF(June 26, 2007)
Read the David Suzuki Foundation's letter to the Minister of Health ^PDF (July 9, 2007)

Canada-U.S. trade agreement pushes to allow more pesticide residues on your food
Although Canadian standards for pesticide residue on food are already less protective than in Europe and Australia, Canada's Maximum Residue Limits for pesticides were flagged as a trade barrier in the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" -- a trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the U.S..

The Federal Government is considering to further weaken pesticide controls in order to "harmonize" with the United States--in other words, allow more pesticides on your food. The David Suzuki Foundation has asked the federal Minister of Health to assure Canadians that pesticide residue limits will not be undermined by the trade agenda.

Read the letter to the Minister of Health about "harmonizing" Maximum Residue Limits with the U.S..^PDF(May 17th, 2007)
Read the Health Minister's Response ^PDF(July 5, 2007)

Further resources

Download Northern Exposure or The Food We Eat

Learn more about how to grow healthy gardens, lawns and food.

Don't Stop to Smell the Flowers! Where pesticides intersect with flowers and children.

Read David Suzuki's Science Matters column about pesticide legislation in Canada.