Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any
other single crop. Nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides are
sprayed on cotton fields each year — accounting for more than
10% of total pesticide use and nearly 25% of insecticides use
worldwide. In the U.S. and around the world, pesticides used on
cotton — even when used according to label instructions — harm
people, wildlife and the environment. Many of the most hazardous
pesticides on the market, including broad spectrum
organophosphates and carbamate pesticides, are sprayed on cotton
fields. Our partners at PAN-UK have been documenting these harms
for years, and working with PAN Africa and local organizations
in East and West Africa to promote safe and sustainable cotton
production and markets. In a 2002 study of pesticide illnesses
in California, cotton ranked third among California crops for
total number of worker illnesses caused by pesticides. These
numbers do not account for "bystander" events such as a 1996
incident in which an estimated