Crop Chemophobia: Will Precaution Kill the Green Revolution?

169 Pages·2011·2.892 MB·English

by  Jon Entine, Claude Barfield, Euros Jones, Doug Nelson, Alexander Rincus, Richard Tren, Mark Whalon, Jeanette Wilson

Crop Chemophobia

Crop Chemophobia
Will Precaution
Kill the Green Revolution?
Jon Entine, Editor
The AEI Press
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WASHINGTON, D.C.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Crop chemophobia : will precaution kill the green revolution? /
Jon Entine, editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8447-4361-5 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-8447-4361-5 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8447-4363-9 (ebook)
ISBN-10: 0-8447-4363-1 (ebook)
1. Pesticides—Environmental aspects. 2. Environmental risk assessment.
I. Entine, Jon. II. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.
[DNLM: 1. Food Contamination—prevention & control—Europe. 2. Food
Contamination—prevention & control—United States. 3. Conservation of
Natural Resources—Europe. 4. Conservation of Natural Resources—United
States. 5. Food Supply—Europe. 6. Food Supply—United States. 7. Pesticides—
adverse effects—Europe. 8. Pesticides—adverse effects—United States.
9. Public Policy—Europe. 10. Public Policy—United States. WA 701]
QH545.P4C76 2010
363.17'92—dc22
© 2011 by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington,
D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from the American Enterprise
Institute except in the case of brief quotations embodied in news articles, critical
articles, or reviews. The views expressed in the publications of the American
Enterprise Institute are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the staff, advisory panels, officers, or trustees of AEI.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS viii
INTRODUCTION: FOOD, PESTS, AND THE CHEMICAL CONUNDRUM,
Jon Entine 1
Toxic Limits 3
Precautionary Politics 6
The Chapters 10
Notes 12
PART I: PERSPECTIVE 13
1. EUROPEAN PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES IN THECROSSHAIRS,
Euros Jones 15
How Did the Legislative Process Evolve? 15
What Changes Were Proposed in the Negotiations? 17
The Hazard-Based Cutoff (Rejection) Criteria 18
“Endocrine Disruption” 18
Which Substances Will Be Affected by the Cutoff Criteria? 19
Cutoffs and the Derogation Clause 19
Food Safety in a European Context 20
Science and Political Contradictions 22
EU Leading the World in Food Safety? 23
The Influence of NGOs 24
The Precautionary Principle 25
The Precautionary Principle and the Hazard Criteria 26
The Impact on Agriculture and Food 26
The Impact on Research and Innovation 28
Conclusion 30
Notes 31
v
vi CROP CHEMOPHOBIA
2. THE PROBLEMS WITH PRECAUTION: A PRINCIPLE WITHOUT
PRINCIPLE, Jonathan H. Adler 33
The Precautionary Principle Defined 34
The Precautionary Principle Abroad 38
Is Precaution Safer than the Alternatives? 40
Precaution and Pesticides 41
Wealthier Is Healthier and Richer Is Cleaner 43
Precaution’s Appeal 45
In Search of Safety 46
Appendix to Chapter 2: The Wingspread
Statement on the Precautionary Principle 48
Notes 50
PART II: CASE STUDIES 55
3. THE CASE OFATRAZINE, Jon Entine 57
Studies and Regulation 59
Harm versus Risk 61
The “Endocrine Disrupter Low Dose”
Hypothesis Controversy 63
The Politics of Atrazine Research 66
A Precautionary Future? 71
Notes 73
4. THE TART CHERRY: PESTICIDES AND PRECAUTION, Mark Whalon
and Jeanette Wilson 76
A Brief History of U.S. Pesticide Legislation 77
Regulatory Changes under the Food Quality
Protection Act 79
The Impact of the Food Quality Protection Act
on the Tart Cherry Industry 80
Global Long-Term Implications 86
Preempting the Precautionary Principle 87
The Future 89
Notes 91
CONTENTS vii
5. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: DANGEROUS MISCONCEPTIONS
ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH INSECTICIDES, THE ENVIRONMENT,
AND HUMAN HEALTH, Richard Tren 93
DDT—Setting the Stage for the Anti-Insecticides Movement 97
Dangerous Misperceptions—DDT and Wildlife 98
The EPA Takes on DDT 100
DDT and Human Health 103
DDT Use Globally 104
Anti-Insecticides Movement 106
Are There Effective Alternatives to Insecticides? 107
Conclusion 108
Notes 109
PART III: PRECAUTIONARY POLITICS 113
6. PRECAUTION, CUSTOM, AND THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION,
Claude Barfield 115
Precaution 116
Customary International Law 117
The World Trade Organization, the Precautionary
Principle, and Customary International Law 119
REACH, the Precautionary Principle, and the
“Law’s Migration” 124
Notes 128
7. FEEDING A HUNGRY WORLD: OPPORTUNITY AND OBLIGATION
FOR U.S. AGRICULTURE, Douglas Nelson and Alexander Rinkus 131
Notes 141
INDEX 143
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 155
List of Illustrations
FIGURES
4-1 Summary of U.S. Pesticide Legislation from
1900 to the Present 78
4-2 EPA Pesticide Reregistration Process Implemented
under the Food Quality Protection Act 81
4-3 Ecological Impacts of Organophosphate-Based
versus Food Quality Protection Act Insecticide
Programs on Orchard Ecology 83
4-4 Trend of Average Insecticide Costs per Acre from
2004 to 2009 between Reduced-Risk and
Conventional Pest Management Systems in
Nine Michigan Tart Cherry Orchards 85
4-5 Diversity Trends in Different Modes of Agricultural
Practice, as Compared to Uncultivated Ecosystems 90
7-1 U.S. Farm Labor Levels Relative to 1950 134
7-2 U.S. Corn Yields, 1880–1970 135
7-3 U.S. Rice Yields, 1899–1989 137
7-4 U.S. Wheat Production, 1900–2009 138
TABLES
4-1 Tart Cherry Industry’s View of the Impacts of the
Food Quality Protection Act 82
7-1 U.S. Crop Losses without Insecticides 136
viii
Introduction:
Food, Pests, and the
Chemical Conundrum
Jon Entine
The plea to “save the earth” is resonant and critically important to a
sustainable future. But what does that mean in practice? Every action
indeed does lead to a reaction. This complex world is interlinked, and
well-meaning initiatives are often twisted by unintended consequences.
When it comes to public policy, prudence is important. Risks need to be
examined in the light of not only rewards but also the likelihood of gener-
ating new, unforeseen risks. Sometimes the balance between saving the
earth and saving humans can be lost. This is a book about understanding
and preserving that balance.
If the loudest voices in the environmental movement are to be believed,
we are on the edge of ecological Armageddon because of the threat of
chemical contamination posed by modern agricultural farming. “Name a
vegetable, and I’ll tell you how dangerous it is,” says Brian Hill, senior
scientist for the Pesticide Action Network (PAN), the advocacy group lead-
ing the campaign to ban many agricultural chemicals. I name broccoli, my
daughter’s favorite vegetable. His voice turns grave. “The United States
Department of Agriculture tested 671 samples in 2007,” he says. “Forty
different residues showed up. Five are known or possible carcinogens;
nineteen are suspected hormone disrupters; three can cause develop-
mental or reproductive problems; nine are considered neurotoxins.”
1