Professor Dr. André Leu, D.Sc., is one of the founders of Regeneration International and has served as its International Director since 2017. From 2011 to 2017, he served as the President of IFOAM-Organics International, the only worldwide representative organization for the organic sector.
André is an expert in nature-based ecological agricultural systems, having spent over 50 years as a regenerative organic farmer focused on agroecology. He has worked in and visited countries developing food and farming systems across Asia, the Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa.
Andre has published four books: The Regenerative Agriculture Solution, Growing Life, Poisoning Our Children, and The Myths of Safe Pesticides. He has also written extensively for magazines, newspapers, scientific journals, conference proceedings, newsletters, and websites and has participated in numerous media interviews across TV, radio, and online platforms.
He lectures and teaches at universities, institutions, and workshops worldwide, and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Regenerative Agriculture at South Seas University. He speaks at conferences, seminars, workshops, and United Nations events on every continent. He engages with governments, United Nations agencies, industry representatives, farmers, consumers, and NGOs about the multi-functional benefits of regenerative agriculture.
André and his wife Julia live on their organic tropical fruit farm in Daintree, Australia.
Qualifications:
Doctorate of Science, Environmental and Agricultural Systems, Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Resources, Rajamangala University of Technology, Chonburi, Thailand, 2022
Graduate Diploma in Adult Education, University of Technology Sydney, 1992
Bachelor of Arts Communications, with a Double Major in Social-Political Theory and Video Production, University of Technology Sydney, 1989
André Leu Pesticides Series
Pesticides in Food Cause Brain Damage in Children
Two recent studies reveal that even tiny amounts of chlorpyrifos, a common pesticide that leaves residues on produce, can cause brain damage in unborn and developing children. This exposure occurs from consuming fresh fruits and vegetables that have been treated with this toxic insecticide. The latest review into Autism has ignored the effects of pesticides in the development of this and related diseases. Exposure to small amounts of pesticides in food can harm the brain’s normal development, leading to a range of serious issues observed in children, including autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other developmental and behavioral challenges.
There Is No Need to Poison Our Food – Higher Yields in Regenerative and Organic Agriculture Based on the Science of Agroecology
Regenerative and organic agriculture based on agroecology science can help countries become self-sufficient in food, boost exports, create trade surpluses, and improve everyone’s economic well-being. These systems produce higher yields, especially during climate extremes like drought and heavy rainfall.
Glyphosate and GMOs Are Damaging Our Health. It’s Time to Ban Them
Research shows that GMOs and glyphosate cause multiple serious chronic diseases. Over 50 years of regulation since glyphosate’s introduction in 1974 clearly highlight regulatory failure. Authorities should fulfill their duty to protect the public by banning these substances.
Organic Food – Protecting Our Children
Currently, for consumers, the only way to avoid synthetic pesticides is to eat organically grown food. Most children are exposed to pesticides either directly by consuming food with pesticide residues or indirectly through the placenta and breast milk, as a result of pesticides in their mothers’ food. Multiple scientific studies show that consuming organic food is the most effective way to protect children, as most pesticide exposure occurs through the consumption of food from industrial farming systems.
Hormone System Disruption
Testing shows that most foods and, consequently, people worldwide carry a mix of pesticide and chemical residues. Regulatory authorities then contend that any residue levels below the ADI or MRL are too low to pose health risks. This model assumes that the toxic effect declines in a steady, linear fashion with lower doses until the compound is no longer toxic. It is based on Paracelsus’s maxim, the sixteenth-century physician and father of toxicology, who stated, “All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison.” This has been summarized as, “The dose makes the poison.”
The Industry Misinformation and Deception on Pesticides, Food Additives, and Chemical Safety Testing
In the previous articles in this series, I showed that the official requirements set by regulatory authorities for specific testing of pesticide-induced diseases in children are nearly non-existent. The developing fetus, young children, and adolescents going through puberty are three critical stages in human development that are completely overlooked in the guidelines for diseases, endocrine disruption, and cancer.
The Special Needs of Children, the Developing Fetus, and Newborns
Many scientific researchers have voiced concerns that the current methods for testing pesticides and toxins (including vaccines) are severely inadequate for children. The U.S. President’s Cancer Panel (USPCP) report, written by prominent scientists and medical specialists from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Cancer Institute, stated, “They (children) are at special risk due to their smaller body mass and rapid physical development, both of which magnify their vulnerability to known or suspected carcinogens, including radiation.”
Serious Deficiencies in the Regulation of Toxic Chemicals
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is a global epidemic of noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs), which include heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. You cannot contract these diseases from others. The primary causes are environmental factors and lifestyle choices. This means we can prevent them by altering our habits, food choices, and farming practices; reducing industrial pollution; and avoiding environmental exposures and lifestyle factors that contribute to them. Pesticides and chemicals are strongly implicated in this global epidemic; however, researchers and health professionals largely overlook the extent of their role.
André Leu Books
More André Leu Articles
Why I Became a Leader and Founder of the International Regenerative Movement
This is an edited version of an article commissioned by the editor of The Organic Standard (TOS), who was curious about why, as a long-time leader in the organic sector and a former President of IFOAM-Organics International, I became one of the leaders and founders of the international regenerative movement.
Vapor Pressure Deficits – Regenerating the Local Climate
Avoiding bare ground by maximizing vegetation cover is crucial for reducing VPDs and increasing SOM. SOM enhances the soil’s ability to capture and retain rainfall, improve fertility, and prevent the erosion of fertile topsoil during heavy rain events. Adopting these regenerative organic practices is essential for reversing the trend of increasing adverse weather events and ensuring a productive future for our farming and ranching systems, as well as providing our civilization with healthy, nutritious, poison-free food. We can avoid repeating the past’s failures.
The Benefits of the Regeneration International Standard and Certification – Growing and Selling with Integrity
Our goal is to clearly position Regenerative Agriculture within the organic agriculture paradigm of nature-based systems. IFOAM – Organic International’s four principles of organic agriculture serve as criteria to evaluate whether practices are regenerative or degenerative. Degenerative practices, which are, by definition, the opposite of regenerative, cannot be deemed regenerative.
Plant Sentience Changes Everything
I have always had a love and fascination for plants. I began growing them as a young boy at the start of grade school. I spent my childhood in the forest, learning the names of the plants and animals and understanding how they functioned as an ecosystem. I was destined to be a farmer because growing plants is fundamental to our work. Now, in my 70s, I continue to farm because my passion for growing plants and raising animals remains strong, and I will never quit. Two events profoundly influenced my approach to agriculture. In 1973, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird published ” The Secret Life of Plants,” which confirmed what I had known as a child: plants are sentient beings that communicate.
Reversing the Loss of Soil Organic Matter – The Elephant in the Room and Solution to Closing the Emissions Gap
The climate change debate’s ‘ Elephant in the Room ‘ ignores 100 Gt of yearly CO2 emissions from soil carbon loss. Soils contain over 2,700 Gt (billion tons) of carbon, the largest terrestrial source. Implementing regenerative agriculture can reverse climate change by eliminating CO2 emissions from SOM loss caused by industrial agriculture. Regenerative agriculture captures CO2 in the soil and enhances SOM. This can be accomplished by stopping ecosystem destruction, restoring forests and pastures, and discontinuing synthetic nitrogen fertilizers by replacing them with cover crops. These are easy-to-achieve, shovel-ready solutions.
Why We must Reclaim Our Movement’s Language from Corporate Takeover
Watch this presentation by Regeneration International’s Steering Committee Dr. Vandana Shiva, and international director Dr. André Leu to hear their message on the importance of reclaiming our movement’s language from corporate takeover.