Every year, pesticides are estimated to cause tens of millions of cases of accidental poisoning. Many of these poisoning cases are in the developing world where awareness of the dangers is lacking. Symptoms of pesticide poisoning can range from short-term headaches and nausea to convulsions, unconsciousness or death. Longer-term effects include damage to nervous systems, respiratory and skin diseases, cancers and birth defects.

What's Your Poison? highlights the shocking evidence between pesticides and damage to human health in developing countries.

This report is one of a series documenting EJF’s international investigations into the social, economic and environmental impacts resulting from shrimp production and consumption.

Shrimp farming has had major impacts on coastlines (particularly mangrove forests) and coastal communities worldwide. Shrimp is becoming a more affordable food-stuff in industrialised nations but the true cost of shrimp is that paid by the rural poor in producer countries.

Describes our trip to Vietnam to learn more about the Vietnamese shrimp farming industry, as part of our campaign for sustainable shrimp production.

In 2001, the UN FAO and World Health Organisation estimated that developing countries spend US$3 billion annually on pesticides. However, one-third of these pesticides did not meet internationally accepted quality standards. Developing countries are used as a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals, many of which are banned throughout much of the rest of the world because of the serious threats they pose to human health and the natural environment. Cambodia is one such country.

This report outlines EJF’s program to combat the misuse of pesticides in Cambodia and limit the effects on people, wildlife and the natural environment.