(article, Culinate staff)
The latest campaign from the Pesticide Action Network is against chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide used on fruit trees and such crops as cotton and corn. As PAN noted, "Ten million pounds of chlorpyrifos are applied to apples, peaches, sweet peppers and many other crops in the U.S. every year. The vast majority of us — including children — carry breakdown products of the chemical in our bodies." Chlorpyrifos was banned for home use in 2001, but is still allowed for agricultural use. This month the Environmental Protection Agency, in response to a lawsuit filed by PAN back in 2007, is reviewing the health risks of chlorpyrifos. So PAN is calling for petition signers in support of its campaign against the chemical.