Protecting Food Resources: Pest Management Chapter 13 – Food, Soil, Conservation and Pest Management

What is a pest?  Any species that competes with us for food, invades lawns and gardens, destroys wood in houses, spreads disease, invades ecosystems, or is simply a nuisance.

Pest Control  Pesticides – chemicals to kill or control populations of organisms we consider undesirable.  insecticides  herbicides  fungicides  rodenticides

Types of Pesticides  First-generation pesticides  natural chemicals or botanicals borrowed from plants that had been defending themselves

Types of Pesticides  Second-generation pesticides  chemicals produced in the laboratory or chemicals created by improvements on first- generation pesticides and microbotanicals  broad spectrum agents  selective agents

Advantages of Modern Synthetic Pesticides  Save lives  Increase food supplies  Increase profits for farmers  Fast acting  Human health risks are low when applied properly  Safety is improving

Disadvantages of Modern Synthetic Pesticides  Accelerate genetic resistance to pesticides in pests  Increasing costs to farmers  Non-specific/ May kill beneficial organisms  Pollute land and waterways  Can harm wildlife  Some can threaten human health

U.S. Pesticide Control Legislation  Scope:  2.4 million tons of pesticides generated/yr  ~25,000 commercial pesticide products  Regulation  Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) – 1947, 1972  Tasks EPA with evaluating health hazards of pesticides  Food Quality Protection Act – 1996  EPA must reduce the allowed levels of pesticide residues on food by 10x if data on harmful effects on children is inadequate  Enforcement is poor.  Banned substances may be manufactured and exported.

Fig , p. 299 What Can You Do? Reducing Exposure to Pesticides Grow some of your food using organic methods. Buy organic food. Wash and scrub all fresh fruits, vegetables, and wild foods you pick. Eat less or no meat. Trim the fat from meat. Grow some of your food using organic methods. Buy organic food. Wash and scrub all fresh fruits, vegetables, and wild foods you pick. Eat less or no meat.

Alternative Pest Control Measures  Crop rotation  Adjust planting times to avoid pest emergence  Growing crops in areas where major pests do not exist  Polyculture  Implant genetic resistance  Encourage natural pest enemies  Trap using pest pheromones  Use pest hormones to control pest development.  Scald them

Integrated Pest Management  Crop & pests are evaluated as parts of an ecological system.  Uses combination of biological, cultivation, and chemical approaches

Integrated Pest Management

SOLUTIONS: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE  Three main ways to reduce hunger and malnutrition and the harmful effects of agriculture:  Slow population growth.  Sharply reduce poverty.  Develop and phase in systems of more sustainable, low input agriculture over the next few decades.

Fig , p. 302 Solutions Sustainable Organic Agriculture MoreLess High-yield polyculture Soil erosion Soil salinization Organic fertilizers Aquifer depletion Biological pest control Overgrazing Integrated pest management Overfishing Loss of biodiversity Efficient irrigation Loss of prime cropland Perennial crops Crop rotation Food waste Water-efficient crops Subsidies for unsustainable farming and fishing Soil conservation Subsidies for sustainable farming and fishing Population growth Poverty

Sustainable Agriculture  Results of 22 year study comparing organic and conventional farming. Figure 13-34

Solutions: Making the Transition to More Sustainable Agriculture  More research, demonstration projects, government subsidies, and training can promote more sustainable organic agriculture. Figure 13-35

Photo References Contech Inc Web. 09 Mar Contech Inc Web. 09 Mar USDA-Mar47a.GIF USDA-Mar47a.GIF /ddt_molecule.jpg /ddt_molecule.jpg