Bihar tragedy: UN body urges countries to ban hazardous pesticides

Milan: Developing countries should speed up the withdrawal of highly hazardous pesticides from their markets following the death of 23 children from contaminated meals in India, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization said on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_996785” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  23 children died after consuming poisonous midday meals in Bihar. AFP.[/caption] The children in Bihar died earlier this month after eating a school meal of rice and potato curry contaminated with monocrotophos, a pesticide considered highly hazardous by both the FAO and World Health Organization. “Experience in many developing countries shows that the distribution and use of such highly toxic products very often poses a serious risk to human health and the environment,” the FAO said in a statement. Reuters