Ten pesticide facts you need to know

Today’s consumers are better informed and more discerning than ever, particularly regarding dietary requirements and the food they feed their families. While some people are actively expressing their concerns over the use of pesticides in modern agriculture, much of this is driven by false perceptions. 

CropLife Asia, collectively known as the Plant Science Industry supporting a network of national associations in 14 Asian countries, has been actively promoting The 10 Pesticides Facts Campaign. Dr. George Fuller, executive director said: "The 10 Pesticides Facts Campaign is designed to achieve a greater public understanding of pesticides, and their valuable role in producing nutritious, affordable foods. It objectively informs the public about pesticides and the part they play in modern society."

Unknown to some, the value of pesticides goes beyond agriculture. Fact Number One: Pesticides is a broad term that includes all products used to control insects, diseases, weeds, fungi and other pests.  

Fact Number Two: Pesticides help safeguard public health by controlling pests that cause disease and property damage. Many waterborne and insect-transmitted diseases are held in check by pesticides. Because of pesticides, for example, the plague and the yellow fever have become long-forgotten diseases. The risks of malaria, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus are now reduced to a considerable extent. Homes and buildings are easily protected from termites, fleas, cockroaches, and other pests. 

Fact Number Three: Pesticides help farmers increase crop productivity by 20-50 percent and are therefore a valuable tool for the sustainable production of high quality food and fibers. Clearly, without pesticides, crop yields would drop. Even with the use of current pest management technology, insects, diseases, and weeds are estimated to destroy approximately one-third of the world food supply. Without pesticides, losses could rise to at least 60 percent. 

Fact Number Four: Pesticides help ensure that consumers have access to food that is more affordable than ever before. With the protection of crop yield and quality, other costly inputs like labor and fuel are reduced and farmers are able to grow more of their products. In the absence of pesticides, food prices would soar and the number of individuals suffering from malnutrition would increase. 

The economic benefit is the most obvious. Fact Number Five: Pesticides are essential for realizing the full economic benefits of modern farming. Without pesticides, even the highest quality seed, fertilizer and irrigation systems will not deliver their potential productivity. 

Fact Number Six: Pesticides have helped raise the standard of living and quality of life for farmers and their communities. Pesticides have removed the hardship of hand weeding, and given farmer families the choice to pursue education and opportunities away from farming.

Just as the benefits of pesticides are real, so are the risks. By their very nature, pesticides can be dangerous. Fact Number Seven: The safety of pesticides for consumers, users and the environment is based upon comprehensive safety assessments and defined uses. Scientists have grouped pesticides into categories, which by law must appear on the product label to let buyers know the toxicity of the product. Toxicity categories act as signal words on the pesticide label and are based on studies on the short-term response of the test animal to a single large exposure to the pesticide, although studies on the response of the animal to repeated or continued exposure are also conducted. 

Fact Number Eight: Pesticides are among the most rigorously regulated chemicals in the world, and re-registration processes ensure that their safety is regularly assessed based upon latest science. With ultra-modern detection equipment, we can now detect trace amounts of substances at one part per quadrillion. Regulatory bodies ensure that certain pesticide residues on our food are within the range of acceptable risk. Pesticide producers are required to perform toxicity tests on laboratory animals to find the daily intake level a person can consume during an average lifetime without significant health risk. The tolerance level for residues on treated crops at harvest time should be within the range of acceptable risk. 

In the area of environmental protection, CropLife Asia points to Fact Number Nine: Pesticides enable farmers to produce more crops per unit area with less cultivation, thus conserving natural resources. Without pesticides, pristine environment would have to be ploughed to accommodate more crop acres, and the additional cultivation would result in widespread loss of wildlife habitat. Farmers would have to till fields more frequently, which would lead to more soil erosion. 

What about the environmental consequences of pesticide use? Registrant companies are required to provide data about the pesticide’s movement in soil, water and air to allow authorities to assess the environmental risks posed by a proposed pesticide. The ecological effects of the use of the product are considered seriously. 

With all the stringent regulations, Fact Number Ten comes as no surprise: The cost of research, development and registration of a new pesticide is in the vicinity of $200 million. In reality, only one in 20,000 substances makes it from the laboratory to the farmers’ field.

With balanced information, consumers should be better able to draw a risk-benefit comparison and analyze the arguments for and against pesticide use.