Representatives from 127 countries have agreed to ban endosulfan, a highly toxic pesticide used since the 1950s throughout Latin America and the world to control insects and mites in crops ranging from cotton and sugarcane to soybeans and coffee. The decision, taken April 29 at the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in Geneva, will prohibit the manufacture and importation of endosulfan for all parties to the United Nations convention by the end of April 2012. At the same time, it will allow numerous countries, including Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador, to work to eliminate stockpiles of the pesticide and find alternatives before they completely prohibit its use in 2015 or 2016. Endosulfan already has been banned in more than 75 countries... [Log in to read more]