Chemical giant Syngenta is manufacturing banned pesticide Paraquat at its factory in Huddersfield. With use of the dangerous chemical now prohibited by the EU, Syngenta exports the product to the US, where slack regulation has seen its continued use.

This reeks of hypocrisy.

There’s a growing body of evidence linking Paraquat to Parkinson’s disease. We need to act now to make sure this doesn’t turn into a public health crisis. Let’s tell Syngenta that it needs to stop exporting the dangerous chemical to the US.

Syngenta - stop exporting Paraquat to the US

Paraquat has long been known to be a poison, with research showing it was responsible for a fifth of accidental pesticide poisoning cases in Burkina Faso.

But with weeds becoming resistant to Monsanto-owned Roundup -- currently the world’s most popular pesticide -- Paraquat is being marketed as an alternative.

The chemical has been banned for use in the EU since 2013. But Syngenta is still manufacturing it at its plant in Huddersfield -- with seven million pounds of the chemical used in the United States just last year.

“This is one of the quintessential examples of double standards,” said Baskut Tuncak, a UN hazardous substance expert. “Paraquat is banned in the UK and the EU, but it’s still being [exported] and resulting in serious harm.”

Companies like Syngenta have a track record when it comes to putting profits above all else. But SumOfUs members also have a track record: of coming together and holding corporate hypocrisy to account.

When residents of Flint, Michigan found out their water public water was being poisoned, nearly 500,000 SumOfUs members said enough is enough. Now we need to unite again to tell Syngenta that we won’t stand for this double standard.

Let’s hold Syngenta to account and tell them to stop exporting Paraquat to America

More information