Goal Statement

• To minimize the negative effects of pesticide while maintaining the productivity of farmers

Policy/Program Options

• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
  • The FIFRA, as explained by Claudia Copeland in a CRS Report for Congress, “governs the labeling, distribution, sale, and use of pesticides, including insecticides and herbicides. Its objective is to protect human health and the environment from unreasonable adverse effects of pesticides. It establishes a nationally uniform labeling system requiring the registration of all pesticides sold in the United States, and requiring users to comply with the national label.^[1]
• Clean Water Act (CWA)
  • The Clean Water Act controls what pollutants are “safe” enough to be allowed in water.^[2]
• Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)
  • Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)- For the most part, these laws place regulations on how much pesticide can be in food, water, etc. and the amount usually must with “a reasonable certainty” have “no harm” by exposure.^[3]
• Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)
  • The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act gives the Food and Drug Association authority to decide safety levels of food, drinks, and other concumer products.^[4]

Other Solutions

• Eliminate the Use of Pesticides
  • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
  • Genetically Modified Food and Organisms (GMOs)
  • Organic
  • Alternative Methods of Pest Management
  • Degree of Change

Issue Briefs (local, state, national, global)

Glossary of Terms

• ACHE

  • A neurotransmitter that exists in the neuromuscular junction of the nervous system. Its regulation is disrupted by pesticides leading to serious health issues.^[5]

• Biological techniques

  • the use of larger predators, bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes, pheromones, or hormones to eliminate smaller pests
    

• Genetic controls

  • the creation of sterile, unfavorable, or, resistant pest populations to curb the current population

• Cultural methods

  • regulation of pests through certain farming techniques such as crop rotation, planting crops at times that conflict with pest emergence, or using the mixed crop technique

Footnotes