WOMEN, HEALTH & THE ENVIRONMENT
ACTION FOR CANCER PREVENTION
CONSENSUS STATEMENT

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We are Rachel's Children, named in honor of Rachel Carson, who was first to sound the alarm on the link between pesticides and cancer. We are women representing groups from Canada, Mexico and the United States, dedicated to ending the silence about the deterioration of women's health and its connection to the environment.

We are initiating a worldwide campaign to take action to prevent cancer - particularly breast cancer - as well as other diseases caused or triggered by environmental pollution. We do not accept the fact that one out of three people will get cancer and one in every four will eventually die from it.

Man-made toxins - such as organochlorines and nuclear pollutants - are being produced without regard to our lives, the lives of our families, future generations and the planet. These poisons are being disproportionately produced and dumped in neighborhoods of the poor, the disenfranchised and people of colour. The U.S., Germany, Japan, and other countries, export toxins to developing countries. In some areas, whole communities are being poisoned and destroyed.

We demand accountability from corporate polluters who are sacrificing the health of millions for billions in profit. As a beginning, we call for the phase-out of the entire class of chlorinated organic chemicals and an end to the production and use of all nuclear power and nuclear weapons. With careful transition planning, the use of hazardous materials and toxins can and must be replaced with clear production, renewable energy and health workplaces.

Women's lives and health have been compromised by the cancer establishment. We hold these agencies and institutions responsible for their inaction and failure to prevent cancer. We demand immediate action with a priority on prevention in all programs, policy and research areas.

We hold accountable our governments that are supposed to be protecting us. We challenge them to confront the polluters who are poisoning us and to stop them before millions more die. For too long, women have been excluded from decisions that profoundly affect our lives and our families. We demand our right to participate in all stages of decision making about health and environmental matters.

We have the right to live in communities where the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the places we work are clean and poison-free. We invite you to join us in our campaign to achieve these most basic of human rights.

Together, with effort, we can create the political will and awareness necessary to address the urgency of these issues.

After Rachel Carson's groundbreaking book Silent Spring was published in 1962, many critics from the chemical industry asked: "Why should Rachel Carson be concerned? She doesn't have any children."

Background:

In mid-February 1994, the Women's Environmental and Development Organization (WEDO), New York) and Greenpeace USA formally launched a project called "Women Health & the Environment: Action for Cancer Prevention" in Austin, Texas. A planning meeting was convened that brought together a diverse cross-section of 34 women's health leaders from grassroots and national women's groups and leading scientific experts from the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Marti Mussell from The Women's Environmental Network, Ottawa (613-739-8814) and Liz Armstrong from The Women and Environment Education and Development (WEED) Foundation (416-516-2600), were the Canadian participants.

At the meeting, a one-page consensus statement was drafted that reflects the purpose of this project and states the collective focus of the international planning meeting participants...

The meeting participants view a woman's right to health as a basic human right. The statement says that "We have the right to live in communities where the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the places we work are clean and poison-free". While this project has its roots in the U.S., it has already made ties with women in Mexico and Canada and recognizes the need for women everywhere to collectively call for "an end to the poisoning". Hence, the statement goes on to invite all women to join the campaign to achieve these basic human rights.

The Consensus Statement will be used to seek endorsements from organizations in our neighbouring areas and countries. The endorsement campaign will culminate at the International Women's Conference in Beijing, China in October 1994 where it will be presented to all the conference delegates. This statement has already been presented to Mexican and Canadian coalition meetings on women, health and the environment, representing more than 60 different women's groups.

For more information about the Consensus Statement and endorsement campaign or the "Action for Cancer Prevention" Campaign contact: Green pace Chicago, 847 West Jackson, 7th Floor, Chicago, IL 60607 USA. Telephone: (312) 563-6060. Fax: (312) 56306099; WEDO, 845 Third Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022, USA. Telephone: (212) 759-7982. Fax: (212) 759-8647; or in Canada contact: The Women's Network on Health and the Environment, c/o The WEED Foundation, 736 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2R4. Telephone: (416) 516-2600. Fax: (416) 563-6214.

To endorse the Consensus Statement as an organization please fill out the coupon below and return it to The Women's Network on Health and the Environment.

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We endorse the Women, Health & the Environment: Action for Cancer Prevention Consensus Statement

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Please return this coupon to The Women's Network on Health and the Environment
c/o The WEED Foundation, 736 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2R4
(416) 516-2600 (416) 531-6214 (fax 'WEED')

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