Circle of Poison

[3][4][5] The "circle" is complete when the toxic chemicals that were exported are then used to grow fruit, meat, and produce that are imported and available for domestic consumption.

Pesticides, they argue, are no solution to hunger-they bypass the needs of the poor who 'have neither money to buy food nor the land to grow it on'.

Moreover, they claim because agrochemical companies are profit driven, they have tailored the regulations to permit unrestricted export of dangerous chemicals.

[15] While registration does not constitute "approval" by the EPA, it means that the agency has determined that a pesticide will not cause 'unreasonable adverse effects' on humans or the environment.

[19] The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, are the two major laws responsible for pesticide control in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and are also responsible for the safety of foods containing pesticide residues to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Oranges are a cash crop that are treated with Imazalil ( Enilconazole ), a systemic fungicide used to control a wide range of fungi on fruit. In July 1999, the EPA classified Imazalil as "likely to be carcinogenic in humans," in the Draft Guidelines for Carcinogenic Risk Assessment. [ 1 ] In a survey conducted by Pesticide Action Network (PAN), they found that more than 5% of fruit, vegetables and other foods carried harmful pesticide residues which posed "appreciable" health risks to consumers. Imazalil, exceeded the safe limit on 79% of oranges sampled. [ 2 ]