Ambiente - Salute - Diritti Umani - Nutrizione - Agricoltura

As many as 20 states have opposed a ban on endosulfan. At a meeting convened by the agriculture commissioner’s office on June 3, the states, except Kerala, said they were not aware of health problems caused by the pesticide. These include Karnataka, which has banned the pesticide, and Madhya Pradesh, agriculture minister of which recently wrote to the Centre supporting Kerala’s call for a nationwide ban.
The agriculture commissioner’s office had invited 21 states to receive feedback on endosulfan, its use and impact. The meeting was also to discuss how to implement the Supreme Court ban on the hazardous pesticide and find sustainable alternatives to it. The meeting was a follow-up to the letter the Union Ministry of Agriculture had sent to all states on April 27 seeking their views on endosulfan. It comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court ban on the pesticide on May 13, until a scientific study on its impact on the environment and animal and human health is submitted (see ‘Supreme Court bans endosulfan’, Down To Earth, May 1-15, 2011).
The states were represented by researchers from the agriculture departments or junior officers from the agriculture ministries. The meeting was also attended by “stakeholders” like Endosulfan Manufacturers and Formulators Welfare Association. But others like environmental organisations, civil society groups and organic farmers’ organisations were conveniently forgotten. (...)

The article:
http://downtoearth.org.in/content/centre-seeks-view-endosulfan

More about:
http://www.cseindia.org/node/2624

http://www.guidaindia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2268:kerala-vs-endosulfan&catid=74:ambiente&Itemid=59

http://www.sicurezzaalimentare.it/sicurezza-alimentare/Pagine/L%E2%80%99agrofarmacoEndosulfanbanditoalivelloglobale.aspx

http://www.greenreport.it/_new/index.php?page=default&id=10143&lang=it

Endosulfan victims through the years:
http://downtoearth.org.in/node/389

Basic information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosulfan
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosulfano