Pesticide Risk Management Quotes

Hazards in Food Consumption

o Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposure Study
The dose estimates suggest that consumption of organic fruits, vegetables, and juice
can reduce childrens exposure levels from above to below the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agencys current guidelines, thereby shifting exposures from a range of
uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk. Consumption of organic produce appears to
provide a relatively simple way for parents to reduce their childrens exposure to OP
pesticides.
Parents of children with conventional diets were more likely to report some pesticide
use while living in their current residence than parents of children with organic diets.
One-third of the conventional diet families and one-sixth of the organic diet families
reported some use of OP pesticides for residential pest control, but this didnt seem to
change the analysis
o The Pesticide Action Network (2013) reported that nearly two thirds (63%) of supermarket own-
brand loaves and top brand-name loaves analyzed in 2013 contained traces of 1 or more
pesticides.
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Managements Global Pesticide Harmonization Analysis
o Pesticide legislation varies greatly worldwide, because countries have different requirements,
guidelines, and legal limits for plant protection. Developed nations have more stringent
regulations than developing countries, which lack the resources and expertise to adequately
implement and enforce legislation.
o Individuals in high exposure risk occupations such as farm workers are particularly vulnerable to
pesticide poisoning. This risk is further heightened in developing countries because a larger
percentage of the population work in agriculture and are exposed to more toxic pesticides that
are banned or restricted in developed countries
o Conclusion Globally harmonized pesticide standards would serve to increase productivity,
profits, and trade and also enhance the ability to protect public health and the environment.
o Improper pesticide application, including incorrect selection, overuse of pesticides on
agricultural commodities, or harvesting crops before the residues have washed off after
application, can lead to a high amount of residues on produce that consumers are eating.
o Pesticide use in Africa is mostly targeted at high-value cash crops for export (Sola et al. 2014).
Although many African states have developed pesticide laws to a greater or lesser extent,
member states present various challenges to sound pesticide management, because national
regulatory agencies are often underfunded and lack resources to enforce regulations, and some
countries do not have a pesticide registry system
o Furthermore, those exporting their produce to numerous foreign markets are faced with even
greater costs, because they have to abide by several standards according to the export
destination. Importing countries with stricter regulations can cause significant losses in trade for
exporting countries
Sub-Saharan cultures are increasingly dependent on imports as a result of climate
change and farming infertile soil
Wargos Green Intelligence
o Many different types of bans are possible. Production, formulation, sales, export, and use may
each be prohibited independently
o Poor nations need DDT more than rich nations
Poverty is perhaps the best predictor of malaria; 90 percent of all deaths from the
disease occur in AfricaEffective control of malaria is expensive to discover which
 insects are carry the disease, to understand their habitats, and apply insecticides, as well
as to provide rapid access to quality medical care when people fall ill
The fact isnt that rich nations dont need DDT, its that theyve largely eradicated their
problems through mass DDT application In the 1950s, DDT was sprayed over tens of
millions of acres of rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands, both coastal and
freshwater. Every acre treated by aircraft was sprayed with a combination of one pound
of DDT and one gallon of kerosene.
DDTs low cost, persistence, and low level of acute toxicity made it very attractive to
producers, consumers, and public health officials alike
o Early benefits of DDT
As early as 1945, the USDA reported that beef cattle treated with DDT gained on
average fifty pounds over those left untreated (and thus prone to horn fly infestations).
Other studies in Illinois claimed to prove that DDT was responsible for a 10 to 20
percent increase in milk production. The American Chemical Society supported this
assertion, arguing that insecticide use controlled parasites and thereby increased annual
milk production by several million quarts, and beef production by a billion pounds per
year, creating a combined increase in farmer income of $800 million.
Ethics of Pesticide Usage
o Current Legal Standards for Testing
Companies have to prove safety of their chemical, rather than the government proving
danger of the chemical
For this reason, chemicals are tested one at a time
o Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
Catholic Social Teaching Principle, championed by Latin American Christian forces in the
20th Century, and initially a Jesuit ideal
When instituting public policythe moral test of any society is how it treats its most
vulnerable members. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of
the nation. We are called to look at public policy decisions in terms of how they affect
the poor.
o Hugh Lehmans (of the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada) Ethical Aspects of Pesticide Use
Distinguishing Moral from Legal Grounds
Is DDT more permissible in times of famine than in times of plenty? Just
because something is legally permissible does not make it ethically sound, and
vice-a-versa.
Consequentialist vs. Nonconsequentialist
Consequentialist Is there no alternative action in the same context that
produces a greater amount of good and a lesser amount of bad?
Nonconsequentialist The consequences of our acts are not the be all and end
all. Consequences can be a factor in determining the rightness of an act, but
even when the consequences of two acts or act-types are the same, one might
be wrong and the other right.