An audio feature by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, INKOTA-netzwerk and PAN Germany on double standards in the international trade of pesticides and pesticide active ingredients.
 
The two German agrochemical giants Bayer and BASF are deeply involved in the international trade of highly hazardous pesticides and the active ingredients used in pesticides. Double standards enable the corporations to market their pesticides and active ingredients in the global South, even if they are no longer approved, or even banned, in the EU for health or environmental reasons. Glufosinate, spirodiclofen and (beta-)cyfluthrin – complicated names conceal concrete dangers for people who are exposed to these chemicals through agricultural use. 

The audio feature takes us on a journey through the pesticide jungle and repeatedly raises the question of responsibility for the global problem of pesticide poisoning. Through impressive contributions from activists from South Africa and Mexico, the devastating effects in both countries become tangible.

Report: https://www.rosalux.de/en/doublestandards

The audio feature is based on the studies "Toxic Exports" (2019), "Hazardous Pesticides from Bayer and BASF" (2020), and "Double Standards and Hazardous Pesticides from Bayer and BASF" (2021).
Produced by Studio Lärm with Colette Solomon (Women on Farms, South Africa), Jan Urhahn (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Germany), Peter Clausing (PAN Germany), Simphiwe Data (Khanyisa, South Africa), Ermilio Alonso und Leydy Pech (both are members of the Maya community collective in Hopelchén on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico), Neky (not her real name, Mexico), and Wiebke Beushausen (INKOTA-netzwerk, Germany).
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Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wuppertal_Friedrich-Ebert-Str_0084.jpg

Double Standards and Hazardous Pesticides from Bayer and BASF

Joy As Resistance: It’s a curious feature of autocratic regimes that forms of joy are usually banned. We explore how democratic governments in Africa are continuing in that same tradition.
In this weeks episode we speak to Wanuri Kahiu a Kenyan Film Director and founder of AfroBubblegum whose film about same sex love, Rafiki (2018) was banned in Kenya.

Podcast Credits
Think African is brought to you in  cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and African Arguments.

Graphics and Artwork: Neo Rakgajane
Script/story Editing:  Rasmus Bitsch
Sound Editing: John Bartmann
Additional Sound Recording: Carl Odera
Soundtrack/Music: The Good People
Writer/Host: Jedi Ramalapa

Think African Episode 09

Nairobi's population is expected to grow to 5.94 million people by 2030, resulting in increased waste generation. The Dandora dumpsite (Kenya's biggest dumpsite) receives approximately half of the waste. 

Soil around the dumpsite contains higher concentration of various heavy metals. Contaminants from the dumpsite decreases the strength of soil and quality. Soil contamination also effect the survival of vegetation around the dumpsite. Greenhouse gas emissions from the dumpsite escape to the environment and contribute to the already worrying global warming. The dumpsite has further reduced green spaces that would have been for purpose of growing food. 

Despite these obstacles, Charles Lukania, Growth4Change coordinator, Michael Okoth, Chamie Organics, and Charo Otieno, Chamie Organics shared with us how they are using hydroponic techniques to ensure they are food secure if not self-sufficient as well as land restoration. 

Find out more: www.routetofood.org
Join the Route to Food Alliance: routetofood.org/join-alliance/
Follow us on Twitter: @routetofood
Friend us on Facebook: @routetofood
Questions, comments, opinions? Email us on info@routetofood.org

Listen in!

Episode 4: Youth in Food Systems | The viability of hydroponics

In this episode of the Cha Kula Podcast, we delve into the repercussions of current food production and consumption on the environment, emphasizing the imperative shift towards agroecological practices in the face of Climate Change. 

Joining us in the studio are Dr. Anika Molesworth, a farmer, scientist, and advocate known for her contributions to agriculture and climate change awareness, and Sylvia Kuria, a certified organic farmer, trainer, and supporter of small-scale farmers in cultivating their organic kitchen gardens.

Agrifood systems persistently grapple with susceptibility to shocks and disruptions stemming from conflict, climate variability, extreme weather events, and economic contractions. Coupled with widening inequalities, these challenges continually test the ability of agrifood systems to provide nutritious, safe, and affordable diets for everyone.

The escalating factors contributing to food insecurity and malnutrition have become our 'new normal.' There is no alternative but to intensify our efforts in reshaping agrifood systems, steering them towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Find out more: www.routetofood.org /
Join the Route to Food Alliance: routetofood.org/join-alliance/
Follow us on Twitter: @routetofood
Friend us on Facebook: @routetofood
Questions, comments, opinions? Email us on info@routetofood.org
Poster by: Creatives Garage
Special thanks to: Creatives garage (Podcast Production; editing & recording).

Episode 6: Climate Change | Role of agroecology in Current Food Systems

The African Indigenous food systems  had complex models around seed preservation, refrigeration, justice, art, nutrition, and trade. And not to forget, food was central to colonization, global inequalities, and cultural sharing. 

On this episode we are joined by Wangui Kamonji, a retriever and bearer of indigenous Afrikan lifeways, recentering Afrika, Earth and ancestrality in her offerings to the world.

Find out more: www.routetofood.org
Join the Route to Food Alliance: routetofood.org/join-alliance-english/
Follow us on Twitter: @routetofood
Friend us on Facebook: @routetofood
Previous episode: https://soundcloud.com/user-737302889/episode-iii-food-security-food-as-history-and-culture
Questions, comments, opinions? Email us on info@routetofood.org

Episode V. Food Security: Food . Art . Culture . The Relationship.

Who doesn’t need food? We all need food not just for enjoyment but for our survival. With this at the back of our mind, Route to Food Initiative gives a 360-degree view of issues affecting food security and the Right to Food. This is a platform where we will engage, motivate, chide, discover more about food as a human right. From thought leaders who have interacted with these issues firsthand including farmers, researchers, journalists, policy experts, entrepreneurs and you. 
The Cha Kula podcast brings you conversations about food in Kenya from an economic, social and political lens. 
If you’re curious to find out more, check out www.routetofood.org

Episode 6: Climate Change | Role of agroecology in Current Food Systems

Cha Kula Podcast

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