ACB presents at the SAHRC's national investigative hearing on South Africa's food systems

On 16 March, 2026, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) made a presentation at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)’s national investigative hearing into SA’s food systems. ACB research co-ordinator on pesticides, Zakiyya Ismail, presented on "Systemic Failures in South Africa's Pesticide and GMO Regulatory Framework – Implications for Constitutional Rights," which was followed by a discussion between the commissioners and ACB executive director Mariam Mayet. Ismail argued that the government is failing to manage the use of hazardous chemicals, referring to ACB’s Pesticide Compendium – a 20-year database of studies demonstrating the harms to humans and the environment (https://t2m.io/Pesticide_Compendium) – and the recent tests that the ACB commissioned, revealing that glyphosate exceeded the maximum residue limits in some staple foods in South Africa, which has led us to reaffirm our call for a ban (https://t2m.io/Glyphosate-call-for-ba...) and underscore the need to move away from an industrial food system that is reliant on heavy use of agrotoxins. Follow this link to read ACB’s three written submissions sent in advance of the SAHRC's hearing: https://acbio.org.za/gm-biosafety/acb... Follow this link to view the full hearing proceedings on the SAHRC’s YouTube channel:    / @sahrc1