Um debate sobre o agrotóxico Paraquat 1970-2017

Abstract

Brazil is one of the most largest consumers of pesticides worldwide. According to an INCA survey conducted in 2015, the brazilian population makes use of a variety of foods that use high levels of pesticide residues, even consuming indirectly the amount of 7.3 liters per person, annually (INCA, 2015). The increasing use of pesticides in agricultural and urban areas, coupled with the little care and precautions taken by the population, brought negative consequences for the environment and human health, polluting water, soil and air. The banning pesticide Paraquat in Brazil sparked heated debates mainly in agriculture, since the pesticide is used in large quantities in a technique of soil management and planting, known as no-tillage. This technique is propagated as a sustainable technique by farmers, technicians and companies selling the herbicide, generating a controversial relationship: how can a banned pesticide be ally to a sustainable practice? Using the approach of Environmental History, will be analyzed the debates about the ban on paraquat in Brazil and the large amount of pesticide use in the no-till system, putting in stave the supposed sustainability of the management system.