Pesticide Action Network NEWS Advancing alternatives to pesticides worldwide • www.panna.org Year-End 2013

Momentum Is Building Corporate control of our food system is challenged This fall, you, PAN and our movement stood up to the world’s largest pesticide and genetically engineered (GE) seed corporations. Their political clout is faltering, and their grip on our food system is weaker today because we’ve faced them together at the ballot box, in legislative bodies and in court to demand a fair, green and sustainable food system.

Victory likely on Kaua’i We helped a diverse coalition—from farmers to parents and teachers to physicians—pass a landmark bill on October 16 that, if upheld, will provide more transparency about pesticide use and greater protections from hazardous pesticides in Kaua’i, especially for children. As we go to press, the mayor has vetoed the bill, but we are hopeful the county council will override him. The island is a global epicenter of GE seed production, led by BASF, Dow, Dupont-Pioneer and Syngenta. Because they are designed to withstand increased pesticide use and more haz- ardous pesticides, GE crops have led to a dramatic boom in pesticide exposure in Kaua’i and across the U.S. Because Hawai’i’s virtually year-round growing season is ideal for raising experimental crops in open fields, a lot was at stake for these corporations. “Almost any corn seed sold in the U.S. touches Hawai’i somewhere in its development,” Mark Phillip- son, a Syngenta executive, recently told The New York Times. Photo: Reuters Consequently industry pushed back hard, running an expensive, A farmer holds native maize during a protest in Mexico aggressive public relations campaign to oppose the county’s City against the growing of genetically engineered corn. In legislation. This small island community’s pending victory over October, the movement “Sin Maíz, No Hay País” (Without powerful corporations could be a model for future organizing Corn, There is No Country) won an injunction prohibiting efforts across the country. further experimental planting of GE corn. Mexico extends protection of maize In Mexico—the birthplace of modern corn—a 1998 ban on Maine passing conditional laws. Corporate spending in Washing- growing GE corn failed to prevent contamination of native ton revealed how desperate the Big 6 and Big Food manufacturers maize by industry field trials, which were still permitted there. are to keep GE ingredients secret. Still, Monsanto and others pushed for even more field trials. But farmers, human rights organizations and sustainable agriculture Building movement momentum groups effectively advocated for keeping the moratorium on The progress we are making is possible because of an expanding planting GE corn for sale. On October 10, a federal judge sus- network of alliances that links farmers and farmworkers, children pended all GE corn cultivation, including field trials, citing risks and parents, communities large and small, and indigenous peoples to farming and the environment. across North America and around the world. Together we’re strengthening the global movement to fix our food system. Washington bill calls for truth in labels On November 5, voters in Washington state considered an initiative establishing the right to know what’s in their food and how it’s grown. The bill faced a state record $22 million in opposition funding by Monsanto, DuPont and other giants. Though polls showed the bill leading before November 5, as we Inside This Issue write this, industry’s last minute blitz of deceptive ads appear Doctors/Nurses Speak Out p. 2 to have turned the tide. Still, despite a loss in Washington, the PAN’s Annual Report p. 3 movement is gaining momentum nationally. Over 25 states have taken up labeling efforts since California narrowly lost last Gary Hirshberg Profile p. 4 November. New England took the lead, with Connecticut and Doctors and Nurses Speak Out on Pesticides All across the country, health professionals have joined us in speaking up about how pesticides can harm children’s health. Policymakers are listening.

In Kaua’i, concerned pediatricians helped make the case for standards to protect communities from pesticides (see front page). The doctors explained The Science to county council members just how harmful for your conversations about pesticides pesticide exposures can be, especially for young PAN’s report A Generation in Jeopardy takes a look at the latest children. science linking pesticides and children’s health harms— and Pediatricians in Hawai’i were following the lead presents steps we can take to prevent these harms. Here’s a of the national American Academy of Pediatrics sample of what we found: (AAP). In a powerful policy statement on the • Exposure to pesti- harms of pesticide exposure, the academy urged doctors to “work with schools and government cides in the womb agencies” to press for application of least-toxic and early childhood pesticides, and to “promote community right-to- can harm a child’s know” measures to better protect families from developing brain and pesticide spraying. nervous system. AAP also encouraged pediatricians to counsel fam- • MRI technology ilies to avoid pesticides whenever possible. documented changes in brain structure in This fall, the American College of Obstetricians infants exposed to and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a similar reso- pesticides in the lution, highlighting the harms pesticides and other womb. chemicals pose during pregnancy. The governor of California recently signed a new bill into law based • When a mother is on ACOG’s recommendations. exposed to organo- phosphate pesticides Now when women are pregnant in California, during pregnancy, the along with the usual warnings about tobacco and risk of her child being alcohol, they’ll be told how pesticides and other diagnosed with ADHD or autism goes up. chemicals can harm their developing fetus. The law also encourages OB/GYNs and midwives to • Pesticides can also increase risk of certain childhood cancers, counsel their patients to avoid unnecessary chemi- including leukemia and brain cancer. cal exposures. Want to know more? These are big steps. Here at PAN we’re excited that doctors and nurses are taking such a strong, public Fill out and return the enclosed coupon to receive a free copy stand on the harms of pesticide exposure. They are of A Generation in Jeopardy. You can also download the report adding their voices to yours in this vital national at www.panna.org/kids. conversation.

Support a healthy and fair food system with a year-end donation Join the PAN Sustainers Circle by pledging a regular monthly or quarterly donation to ensure PAN’s success in the coming year. Pledging provides reliable funding and shows your commitment to a resilient and fair food system, grounded in science and rooted in our commitment to justice and equity. Pledge $15 a month or more, and we’ll thank you with a set of organic, fairly traded dried fruits and nuts from Equal Exchange. Limited availability. Learn more at www.panna.org/YEGift.

2 Pesticide Action Network News Year-End 2013 2012–2013 Annual Report How Your Support Was Used Program Impacts Financial Report Programs & Administration In fiscal year July 2012–June 2013, PAN, PAN recognizes all grants, pledges and & Fundraising Coalitions our partners and allies won new protections contributions in the year they are commit- from highly hazardous pesticides and chal- ted. Our overhead expense (administration lenged control of our food system by the and fundraising) was 13.5% of total unre- Big 6 pesticide corporations. stricted revenue (12.1% of expenses) in our fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. For more information, please see our audited financial statements and our IRS Form 990, available at www.panna.org. IRS Form 990 is also available on GuideStar.org.

Statement of Financial Position Statement of Activities for the year ended June 30, 2013 June 30, 2013 Temporarily Assets Unrestricted Restricted Total Cash 836,982 Revenue and Support Short-term investments 247,679 Grants 245,000 1,315,000 1,560,000 Accounts receivable 60,123 Contributions 619,145 572,920 1,192,065 In July, PAN won restrictions from EPA on Grants receivable, net 452,800 Contracts - 126,468 126,468 chlorpyrifos, a brain toxicant linked to learning Inventory 21,890 Program service fees 7,477 5,950 13,427 disabilities. Prepaids and other receivables 38,500 Investment income 1,169 - 1,169 Undepreciated furniture & equipment 65,998 Unrealized loss on investment (2,762) - (2,762) Deposits 10,506 Other 9,350 12,411 21,761 Total Assets 1,734,478 Contributed goods & services 33,335 26,212 59,547 Highlights of the year include: Net assets released from restrictions 1,804,783 (1,804,783) - Liabilities & Net Assets Total Revenue and Support 2,717,497 254,178 2,971,675 Moving beyond fumigant pesticides : Liabilities Allocation of Support As a result of PAN’s 2012 victory getting Accounts payable 14,024 Program Accrued liabilities 77,351 Arysta to pull cancer-causing fumigant Core programs 1,831,084 - 1,831,084 Custodial fund accounts 322,999 methyl iodide off the U.S. market, in Coalitions 519,576 - 519,576 Total Liabilities 414,374 January, EPA cancelled use of the strawberry Total Program 2,350,660 - 2,350,660 pesticide. Our state coalition is working with Net Assets Administrative 87,798 - 87,798 Unrestricted 292,115 Development 236,542 - 236,542 California agencies and legislators to invest Temporarily restricted 1,027,989 Total Expenses 2,675,000 - 2,675,000 Total Net Assets 1,320,104 in alternatives to all fumigant use. Change in Net Assets 42,497 254,178 296,675 Total Liabilities and Net Assets, Beginning of Year 249,618 773,811 1,023,429 Expanding pesticide monitoring in Net Assets 1,734,478 Net Assets, End of Year 292,115 1,027,989 1,320,104 the Midwest: We trained 26 volunteers in Iowa and Minnesota as Drift Catcher operators and equipped community allies for Board of Directors as of June 30, 2013 water sampling. We’re working with these partners Polly Hoppin Lupe Martinez Guy Williams on state and local policy campaigns in 2014. President Center on Race, Poverty G.O. Williams & Assoc. Lowell Center and the Environment Gaining on GE labeling; delaying new GE Nse Obot Witherspoon crops: In November 2012, PAN helped drive Mary Brune Ana Duncan Pardo Children’s Environmental Health Vice President Network California’s groundbreaking labeling initiative to Denise O’Brien a near win. In May, USDA announced it would Lucia Sayre Iowa farmer & organizer Executive Director Secretary Judy Hatcher undertake in-depth environmental assessment of Physicians for Social Chloe Schwabe 2,4-D and dicamba herbicide-resistant crops, effec- Responsibility Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach tively delaying their approval until at least 2015. Susan Baker Treasurer Jennifer Sokolove Protecting bees at home and abroad: After Trillium Asset Compton Foundation intense campaigning by PAN UK, PAN Europe Management Janelle Sorenson and allies, the EU placed a two-year moratorium on three bee-harming pesticides. In the U.S., we’ve turned up the heat on EPA to protect honey bees. Our Mission Pesticide Action Network North America works to replace the use of haz- Increasing international support of ardous pesticides with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives. agroecology: In May, PAN activists from sev- As one of five PAN Regional Centers worldwide, we link local and interna- eral countries convinced delegates to the UN’s tional consumer, labor, health, environment and agriculture groups into an Stockholm Convention (POPs treaty) to endorse international citizens’ action network. This network challenges the global “eco-systems based approaches to pest control” as proliferation of pesticides, defends basic rights to health and environmen- the priority for replacing neurotoxic endosulfan. tal quality, and works to ensure the transition to a just and viable society.

Pesticide Action Network News Year-End 2013 3 Educating Consumers, One Yogurt Cup at a Time Longtime friend and PAN supporter Gary Hirsh- berg is co-founder and chair of Stonyfield Farm, the Londonderry, New Hampshire–based organic yogurt maker. Known for educating his customers about the bene- fits of eating organic and avoiding pesticides in their diets (including parents buying yogurt as a first food for their infants), Gary is blunt:

There is no question that organic is the right choice for children. Research published over the last four to five years has demonstrated that pesticide exposures to the very young are much higher than previously understood, and yet scientists still have no idea about what are the cumulative or synergistic effects of these exposures. Recent studies do point to seri- Photo courtesy of Stonyfield ous potential harms from individual pesticides, even PAN’s work is so important because it helps at very low exposures that are well below the “safe people understand how they can reduce their own dosage” levels. These safety standards are still based mainly on adult exposures, and don’t fully consider exposure and risk, and puts pressure on government potential effects on children. to do a better job regulating pesticides. Before co-founding Stonyfield, Gary was a trustee of Gary Hirshberg, co-founder of Stonyfield Farm the Rural Education Center, a small organic farming • school in Wilton, New Hampshire. Looking back at that role and his work at Stonyfield, he reflects: issue is of incredible importance to us. PAN’s work to save our Today, we still consider ourselves to be educators who just pollinators and push for the removal of neonicotinoids from happen to be in the yogurt business. We didn’t realize it the market is so important for the future of so much of our at the time, but we were testing a hypothesis: Could we food production.” continue to educate about saving family farms, promoting sustainable agriculture and lessening our society’s resource Gary also chairs the national “Just Label It” campaign and is consumption and “ecological footprint” while running a passionate about educating the public about the role of pesti- successful, profitable business? Could we communicate on a cides in GE crops. “The proliferation of genetically engineered yogurt cup instead of a blackboard? Could we think about crops has absolutely led to a dramatic increase in pesticide use, the grocery store as a classroom? which should come as no surprise since the patent holders for GE seeds are also agrichemical companies,” he declares. “If In 2012, Stonyfield partnered with PAN in helping more than consumers knew more about the explosion of herbicide use 150 food co-ops across the country bring conversation and that accompanied GMO proliferation, the marketplace will literature about honey bee colony collapse to their customers. demand alternative practices that reverse these trends.” While Stonyfield has not felt the impact of honey bee decline yet, Gary realizes that “nearly all of the fruit in our yogurts on the web Read our extended conversation with Gary comes from plants that are pollinated by honey bees, so this Hirshberg at www.panna.org/pan-conversation-hirshberg

Connect Online 8 Sign up for Action Alerts and the GroundTruth blog at www.panna.org/subscribe.

8 Join us on Facebook our CFC number is 11437 and Twitter PAN, 1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 1200 • Oakland, CA 94612 • 510.788.9020 • www.panna.org Printed with soy-based ink on New Leaf Reincarnation: 100% Recycled, 50% PCW, Processed Chlorine Free.