Farmworkers.

Latino Groups Vow to Fight for Ban on Pesticide Linked to Children’s Health Problems

Farmworkers and Latino civil rights groups say they're not backing down from a decadeslong fight to ban chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide associated with possible neurological problems in children. Latino groups did claim a victory after Corteva Agriscience, the nation's largest producer of the pesticide, said it would stop making it.

February 11, 2020 | Source: NBC News | by Nicole Acevedo

“The fight to ban this chemical that poisons farmworkers and all consumers from the food we eat is not finished,” the president of the United Farm Workers said.

Farmworkers and Latino civil rights groups say they’re not backing down from a decadeslong fight to ban chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide associated with possible neurological problems in children.

Latino groups did claim a victory after Corteva Agriscience, the nation’s largest producer of the pesticide, said it would stop making it. Corteva maintains its product is safe, and told Reuters its decision was based on declining sales, not health or safety concerns.

Corteva’s announcement that it is halting the production of the pesticide, used to kill insects and worms on contact by attacking their nervous systems, came after California banned its use Thursday. California, the biggest agricultural state, became the second state after Hawaii to ban chlorpyrifos.

Several studies have linked prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos to lower birth weight, lower IQ, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other developmental issues in children.