“Open letter to the governments of banana producing countries in Latin America and to the European Unión”, February 2020

…For years, we have expressed our concern about the use of agrochemicals in banana production, because not only European consumers are affected but, above all, banana workers and rural populations living near plantations…

[T]he [Special] Rapporteur [on the right to food] particularly highlights the dangerous working conditions that prevail in the agricultural sector, which threaten the lives of agricultural workers. The agricultural sector is one of the most dangerous due to regular exposure to pesticides and long working days with extreme temperatures and without adequate access to water, with additional risks for women...Most agricultural workers are excluded from national protective legal frameworks, so they cannot exercise their fundamental rights of assembly or association and have no access to remedies. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges that undermine the ability of agricultural workers to exercise their right to food…

Over two million workers die every year from occupational diseases, nearly one million from toxic exposures alone...

In consideration of the above background, we reject the fact that the large banana producers, traders, and exporters, in order to maximize their profits, want to maintain production patterns that threaten the health of the rural populations living in the banana plantations' areas of influence, of the agricultural workers, of the consumers in general, and of nature…