A review of brazilian bill N. 6,299/2002 on pesticide regulation and its impacts on food security and nutrition

Abstract

Brazilian legislative proposal n. 6,299/2002, addressing pesticide regulation, represents an attempt to loosen and weaken the regulation of these substances, threatening the rights to food and a healthy environment as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. This article reviews the bill and its more troublesome provisions through the lenses of food security and nutrition as well as national environmental law principles and provisions. Within this background, the paper concludes that Bill n. 6,299/2002 works against previously achieved progress in providing alternative policy pathways for sustainable agriculture in Brazil. It clashes with environmental law principles, neglecting precaution and prevention, representing a regression in terms of protection levels, while undermining human rights to food and a healthy environment. The methodology includes a literature and documentary review, along with inductive reasoning.