Crop Chemophobia Will Precaution Kill the Green Revolution?

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

• ISBN13: 9780844743615
• ISBN10: 0844743615
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-02-16
• Publisher: AEI PRESS

Summary

The Green Revolution of 1960s introduced herbicides, pesticides, and advanced agricultural technologies to third world countries-rescuing hundreds of millions of people from malnutrition and starvation and transforming low-yield, labor-intensive farming into the high-tech, immensely productive industry it is today. Despite these stunning gains, critics of chemical farming remain vocal. Recently, the European Union passed a ban on twenty-two chemicals-about 15 percent of the EU pesticides market-to begin in 2011. In Crop Chemophobia, Jon Entine and his coauthors examine the 'precautionary principle' that underlies the EU's decision and explore the ban's potential consequences-including environmental degradation, decreased food safety, impaired disease-control efforts, and a hungrier world.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. viii
Introduction: Food, Pests, and the Chemical Conundrum	p. 1
Toxic Limits	p. 3
Precautionary Politics	p. 6
The Chapters	p. 10
Notes	p. 12
Perspective	p. 13
European Pesticides and Herbicides in the Crosshairs	p. 15
How Did the Legislative Process Evolve?	p. 15
What Changes Were Proposed in the Negotiations?	p. 17
The Hazard-Based Cutoff (Rejection) Criteria	p. 18
ôEndocrine Disruptionö	p. 18
Which Substances Will Be Affected by the Cutoff Criteria?	p. 19
Cutoffs and the Derogation Clause	p. 19
Food Safety in a European Context	p. 20
Science and Political Contradictions	p. 22
EU Leading the World in Food Safety?	p. 23
The Influence of NGOs	p. 24
The Precautionary Principle	p. 25
The Precautionary Principle and the Hazard Criteria	p. 26
The Impact on Agriculture and Food	p. 26
The Impact on Research and Innovation	p. 28
Conclusion	p. 30
Notes	p. 31
The Problems with Precaution: A Principle without Principle	p. 33
The Precautionary Principle Defined	p. 34
The Precautionary Principle Abroad	p. 38
Is Precaution Safer than the Alternatives?	p. 40
Precaution and Pesticides	p. 41
Wealthier Is Healthier and Richer Is Cleaner	p. 43
Precaution's Appeal	p. 45
In Search of Safety	p. 46
Appendix to Chapter 2: The Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary Principle	p. 48
Notes	p. 50
Case Studies	p. 55
The Case of Atrazine	p. 57
Studies and Regulation	p. 59
Harm versus Risk	p. 61
The ôEndocrine Disrupter Low Doseö Hypothesis Controversy	p. 63
The Politics of Atrazine Research	p. 66
A Precautionary Future?	p. 71
Notes	p. 73
The Tart Cherry: Pesticides and Precaution	p. 76
A Brief History of U.S. Pesticide Legislation	p. 77
Regulatory Changes under the Food Quality Protection Act	p. 79
The Impact of the Food Quality Protection Act on the Tart Cherry Industry	p. 80
Global Long-Term Implications	p. 86
Preempting the Precautionary Principle	p. 87
The Future	p. 89
Notes	p. 91
Unintended Consequences: Dangerous Misconceptions About Public Health Insecticides, the Environment and Human Health	p. 93
DDT-Setting the Stage for the Anti-Insecticides Movement	p. 97
Dangerous Misperceptions-DDT and Wildlife	p. 98
The EPA Takes on DDT	p. 100
DDT and Human Health	p. 103
DDT Use Globally	p. 104
Anti-Insecticides Movement	p. 106
Are There Effective Alternatives to Insecticides?	p. 107
Conclusion	p. 108
Notes	p. 109
Precautionary Politics	p. 113
Precaution, Custom, and the World Trade Organization	p. 115
Precaution	p. 116
Customary International Law	p. 117
The World Trade Organization, the Precautionary Principle, and Customary International Law	p. 119
REACH, the Precautionary Principle, and the ôLaw's Migrationö	p. 124
Notes	p. 128
Feeding a Hungry World: Opportunity and Obligation For U.S. Agriculture	p. 131
Notes	p. 141
Index	p. 143
About the Authors	p. 155
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