Bayer AG

For years, Bayer AG has benefited from Brazil's pesticide problem and the health damage it has caused to indigenous communities – as stated by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) on the occasion of the chemical giant's annual stockholders' meeting on April 28. "Under several governments, the country's agricultural sector has been transformed to monocultures and high pesticide use," explained Yvonne Bangert, the STP's expert on indigenous peoples. "The immense costs of this form of agricultural business are borne by the small farmers, many of whom belong to the indigenous communities in the region. The profits go to Brasilia and to Leverkusen.

The German chemical company has been the world market leader in the pesticide business since the takeover of the US seed producer Monsanto. It tends to follow a logic of double standards: pesticides that are banned in the EU are produced in Germany, but they are exported to countries like Brazil, where they are used to grow export products such as soy, corn, sugar, or cotton – which are then shipped back to Europe. "Through this perfidious mechanism, Europe is exporting health threats, environmental pollution, and human rights violations," Bangert criticized. Indigenous people often live in the immediate vicinity of extensive cultivation areas, where pesticides are sprayed by airplanes, literally carrying the toxins to their doorstep. Soils and water bodies are demonstrably contaminated, not only in the countryside but also in many Brazilian cities.

Brazil imports the most pesticides worldwide, and 49 percent of them are so-called highly harmful pesticides (HHPs). "Environmental laws have been heavily deregulated in recent years: To the benefit of the companies and to the detriment of all those directly exposed to the toxins," Bangert emphasized. Since Jair Bolsonaro took office, the situation has turned even worse: Last year alone, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina approved 503 new pesticides, many of which are banned in Europe. In the years up to 2016, around 200 were approved every year – which is already a high number.

However, it is not only the politicians who are responsible, she said: "Bayer must guarantee that it meets its corporate duty of care," Bangert demanded. "Especially in countries like Brazil, where the government does not protect its people adequately, companies bear a special responsibility for the consequences of their actions. We therefore urge Bayer to think of the local population and to develop long-term business models that do not require trade in HHPs.