[Challenges for the construction of 'Health and Environment "in view of its Thematic Group in the Brazilian Association of Collective Health].

'Health and Environment' is the nucleus of knowledge and practices surrounding the relations between society and nature, mediated by the mode of production and human labor, which help to understand the determination of the health-disease process of different social classes and groups. This paper discusses the challenges to build this field from the perspective of its Thematic Group of the Association of Collective Health. The three core themes of the 2nd Brazilian Symposium on Environmental Health are taken as the theoretical framework for analysis.

[Neoliberalism, pesticide consumption and food sovereignty crisis in Brazil].

The adoption of neo-liberal economic models in Latin American countries between the late 1980's and early 1990's has led to, among other impacts, a significant change in the rural production model, with a clear incentive to exportation-oriented agribusiness, especially that based on extensive monoculture (soy-bean, corn, cotton etc.). This change, primarily focused on rural production increment, was supported by the implementation of new production technologies, especially the use of chemical agents for crop protection and pest control.