The Pesticide Detox : Towards a More Sustainable Agriculture

Over the past 40 years, world population, the use of modernized farming methods, and farming production have gone up. Modernized farming uses hazardous pesticides. But does it have to? Where are pesticides used? Are there alternatives? And what can be done to replace pesticides with alternative controls? More than 800 different pesticides are regularly used throughout the world. They're used to protect crop yields from diseases and pests. Just under 4/5 of all pesticides are used outside the United States. The developing countries are the part of the world where companies plan to hugely increase pesticide sales and use. But pesticides are damaging to the environment. They're not just hazardous to people who make and use them. Scientists keep on studying the effects of pesticides on animals, birds, bugs, other green things, people, places and water. But the chain of cause and effect isn't always easy to prove, show and tell. That's particularly the case when the audience is people making money from pesticide sales and use! Editor Jules Pretty says alternatives can replace pesticides. Alternatives can be based on bacteria, certain nematodes, fungi or viruses. They can include parasitoids and predators. When tested with 80 crop combinations, alternatives came up with workable results. Crop yields went up acceptably, with cut-back pesticide use and with alternatives. Pretty says that what's needed are political will, consumer awareness, and market response. But what can change national policies, international conventions, and programs? Pretty says to start on the level of appropriate taxing, education and environmental action. Specifically, for example, taking away subsidies and putting in effect high taxes would make pesticides less affordable. The list of registered pesticides could be reviewed. The most toxic pesticides could be taken off. Less hazardous alternatives could be added. Also, cooperative extension schools could be set up in the field. Agricultural colleges could have their courseload updated to cover alternatives as well as they're already covering pesticides! All three steps would make alternatives better known. Maximum residue limits could be set, checked and enforced. That would cut down the use of pesticides and increase the use of alternatives. THE PESTICIDE DETOX is a well-organized and -written book. The editor and the contributing writers include helpful charts, examples, graphs and illustrations. There's a good index and set of references. The subject is now. It's dealt with in such a way that the problems are clear. And there are actually workable solutions! What more could a girl ask? 1. Pesticide use and the environment / Jules Pretty, Rachel Hine 2. The health impacts of pesticides : what do we know? / Misa Kishi 3. Paying the price : the full cost of pesticides / Jules Pretty, Hermann Waibel 4. Corporations and pesticides / Barbara Dinham 5. Overview of agrobiologicals and alternatives to synthetic pesticides / David Dent 6. Farmer decision-making for ecological pest management / Catrin Meir, Stephanie Williamson 7. The human and social dimensions of pest management for agricultural sustainability / Niels Röling 8. Ecological basis for low-toxicity integrated pest management (IPM) in rice and vegetables / Kevin Gallagher ... [et al.] 9. Towards zero-pesticide use in tropical agroecosytems / Hans R. Herren, Fritz Schulthess, Markus Knapp 10. From pesticides to people : improving ecosystem health in the Northern Andes / Steve Sherwood ... [et al.] 11. Breaking the barriers to IPM in Africa : evidence from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal / Stephanie Williamson 12. Towards safe cocoa pest management in West Africa / Janny G.M. Vos, Sam L.J. Page 13. Agroecological approaches to pest management in the US / Carol Shennan, Tara Pisani Gareau, J. Robert Sirrine 14. Towards safe pest management in industrialized agricultural systems / Stephanie Williamson, David Buffin 15. Policies and trends / Harry van der Wulp, Jules Pretty. Annotation * Exposes the massive hidden health and environmental costs of rampant pesticide use * Presents an array of cheaper, safer alternatives to pesticides used by millions of farmers around the world * Written by leading international agricultural and biological scientists supported by The Global Integrated Pest Management Facility of the FAO Since the 1960s the world's population has more than doubled and agricultural production per person has increased by a third, largely because of widespread pesticide use. Yet this growth in production has masked enormous hidden costs -- massive ecological damage and high incidences of farmer poising and chronic health effects. Yet in recent years millions of farmers in communities around the world have been identifying harmful pesticides and developing cheaper and safer alternatives. "The Pesticide Detox" explores the potential for the phasing-out of hazardous pesticides and the phasing-in of cost effective alternatives already available on the market. This book makes clear, that it is time to start the pesticide detox and to move towards a more sustainable agriculture

hazardous Pesticides, Their Effects On Flora And Fauna, On Those Who Ingest It With Their Food, And Those Who Must Work Around It, Haunt The Efforts To Create Sustainable Agriculture. In This Collection Of 15 Articles, Contributors Explore The Potential For Phasing Out Hazardous Pesticides And Phasing In Cost-effective Alternatives Already On The Market. Their Topics Include The Known And Unknown Effects Of Pesticides On Humans And Their Environment, The Full Cost Of Using Pesticides, Corporate Involvement, An Overview Of Agrobiologicals And Other Alternatives, Decision-making By Farmers, Reasons For Low-toxicity Pest Management In Rice And Vegetables, Working Toward No Pesticides In Tropical Locales, And Reports On Improving Ecosystem Health In The Northern Andes, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, West Africa, And The Us. The Volume Concludes With Essays On Safe Pest Management In Industrialized Agricultural Systems And Notes On Recent Policies And Trends. Distributed By Stylus. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, Or

Since the 1960s, the world's population has more than doubled and agricultural production per person has increased by a third. Yet this growth in production has masked enormous hidden costs arising from widespread pesticide use - massive ecological damage and high incidences of farmer poisoning and chronic health effects. Whereas once the risks involved with pesticide use were judged to be outweighed by the potential benefits, increasingly the external costs of pesticides, to environments and human health, are being seen as unacceptable. In response to this trend, recent years have seen millions of farmers in communities around the world reduce their use of harmful pesticides and develop cheaper and safer alternatives. The Pesticide Detox explores the potential for the phasing-out of hazardous pesticides and the phasing-in of cost effective alternatives already available on the market. This book makes clear that it is time to start the pesticide detox and to move towards a more sustainable agriculture. "The Pesticide Detox explores the potential for the phasing-out of hazardous pesticides and the phasing-in of cost effective alternatives already available on the market. This book makes clear that it is time to start the pesticide detox and to move towards a more sustainable agriculture."--BOOK JACKET