This year marks 15 years of campaigning by PAN UK against the impacts of cotton pesticides. During this time alternatives to chemically-intensive cotton production have been successfully developed. Numerous IPM schemes demonstrate the success of pesticide reduction initiatives, and organic cotton production and sales are burgeoning. Cotton can – and should – be produced sustainably, without the use of pesticides.

However, US$2 billion’s worth of chemicals is still sprayed on the world’s cotton crop every year. A new report, The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton, produced by the Environmental Justice Foundation in collaboration with PAN UK shows the serious hazards still faced by cotton workers the world over (page 4). Cotton is still sprayed with the most toxic pesticides and tens of thousands of workers are still poisoned each year. In this issue we highlight the plight of cotton workers in Uzbekistan (page 3). Cotton has become increasingly central to the Uzbek economy and now represents 60% of their hard currency export earnings. Unfortunately, this dependency goes along with human rights abuses, health problems and environmental degradation. Agricultural regions of Uzbekistan suffer from high levels of developmental retardation, hypothyroidism, immunodeficiency and chronic kidney and lung diseases. The finger is firmly pointed at the high pesticide use in these areas.

In this issue we also highlight the problem of ‘inerts’, the chemicals mixed with pesticide active ingredients to make the final formulation which is sold. While active ingredients undergo a battery of tests, ‘inert’ ingredients or formulations are subject to much less rigorous testing. Yet many ‘inerts’ are, or used to be, used as active ingredients themselves. Around half of those used in the United States are known to be at least moderately hazardous, and some are known to increase the toxicity of the pesticide active ingredient. In the United States the Northwest Coalition Against Pesticides has taken legal action against the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Freedom of Information Act to require them to reveal the identity of the inert ingredients present in pesticide formulations. Read about their progress (page 12).

The European Union has developed proposals for a Thematic Strategy for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. This directive will govern pesticide use within the EU for over a decade and is a key opportunity for concerned citizens and stakeholders to present their views. Sofia Parente of PAN Europe guides readers through the EU, its processes and procedures. She outlines the new proposal on pesticides currently being discussed with advice on how to make your voice heard (page 5).

This issue carries the first in a new series of factsheets on crop production (page 18). It focuses on potato production in Europe, giving indicators of conventional production, including which pesticides are used. It also provides information on potato pests and diseases along with guidelines and examples of integrated pest management and organic techniques..