October 2004

Pesticide Potpourri

  • The EPA recently released “Pesticide Industry Sales and Usage: 2000 and 2001 Market Estimates.” As of 2001, conventional pesticide use was nearly one billion pounds per year. Addition of chlorine and wood preservatives brought that figure to nearly 5 billion pounds. Herbicides were the number one type of pesticide based on user expenditures and volume. With 85 to 90 millions pounds used in 2001, the herbicide glyphosate replaced atrazine as the most widely used pesticide in the agricultural market. (EPA Pesticide Program Update, 10/5/04).
  • web-10cmsp0416.gifAn industry group (RISE) recently commissioned a poll of Americans regarding pesticide and repellent use in light of West Nile virus. The survey examined respondent’s knowledge of the virus, their perceptions of the severity of the threat and the measures they have taken to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes. They survey found that 73 percent of respondents have used insect repellents containing DEET, while 25 percent have used non-DEET repellents. Seventy percent also removed standing water around their residence. Sixty-three percent made sure their family members used a repellent, and 77 percent said communities “definitely should” or “probably should” implement mosquito control measure such as fogging or spraying when the threat of the virus is present. (Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 8/30/04).
  • A recent comparison between U.S. Air Force veterans who sprayed herbicides in Vietnam with those who served in Vietnam but did not spray herbicides revealed little difference between cancer rates. However, the comparison did reveal that incidence of prostate cancer increased with amount of time served in Vietnam. (Chemical Regulation Reporter, 9/13/04).
  • web-10cmsp0417.gifThe National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) compiled the results of its 2004 pesticide use survey. Nearly 600 respondents provided input to the survey. Helicopters are used for approximately 10 percent of applications, while airplanes is used the remainder of the time. Nearly 85 percent of the aircraft are equipped with smokers to determine wind speed and direction at the site. Herbicides are applied on average 71 days per year, insecticides 69 days, and fungicides 40 days. Cotton, rice, and small grains were the top three crop acreages treated aerially, respectively. (Agricultural Aviation, Sept./Oct. 2004).
  • web-10cmsp0418.gifMonsanto and Cargill Inc. announced that Cargill will be a participating processor of Monsanto's Vistive® low-linolenic acid soybeans and will market the oil for use by the food industry. Vistive® low-linolenic soybeans will reduce the need for partial hydrogenation of soybean oil, helping food companies reduce the presence of trans fatty acids in their products. Vistive® soybeans, developed through conventional breeding, contain less than three percent linolenic acid as compared to the typical eight percent level found in traditional soybeans. The result is a more stable soybean oil, with less need for hydrogenation. The development of Vistive® is significant because, beginning Jan. 1, 2006, all food products and dietary supplements bearing a nutritional facts panel that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and sold in the United States will be required to list trans fat content. (Monsanto Press Release, 10/4/04).
  • web-10cmsp0419.gifUSDA scientists recently reported the successful overwintering of Pseudoacteon curvatus, which is the smallest species of the decapitating phorid flies that attack fire ants. These flies are small enough to attack worker fire ants. This brings to two (P. curvatus and P. tricuspis) the number of phorid flies established in the U.S. There are about 20 species of phorid fly in South America, where they and other natural enemies keep the ants from being the dominant species. (PCT, Sept. 2004).
  • web-10cmsp0420.gifDairy farmer Dennis Leonardi, who was quoted as describing himself as a "taxpayer and law-abiding citizen," will soon harvest the genetically engineered corn he grows to feed his 400 cows, but, a measure on the Nov. 2 ballot in Humboldt County, CA, would make Leonardi's harvest illegal - and possibly send him or anyone else growing such crops to jail. Three other California counties (Butte, Marin, and San Luis Obispo) are attempting to pass similar measures on Nov. 2 that would ban genetically engineered plants and animals from their borders, but they don't criminalize genetically engineered agriculture like Humboldt County is attempting to do. Those three counties have followed the lead of Mendocino County, which passed the nation's first ban in March, providing for small fines and the destruction of the biotech crops. Organizers in several more California counties are collecting signatures in hopes of qualifying their own anti-biotech measures in early 2005. Activists in Hawaii, Vermont and elsewhere are also circulating local petitions and urging politicians to pass similar legislation. Lisa Dry, a spokeswoman for the Washington D.C.-based Biotechnology Industry Organization, was quoted as saying, "Farmers should not be denied the right to use this technology if they choose. To have imprisonment for growing genetically modified crops is wacky." Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos was quoted as saying, "Our position is that it is clearly a violation of the state and federal constitutions." Even some backers of the Humboldt County measure concede that the punishment proposed is too extreme. They argue that the measure's intent is still sound and that any offending language can be fixed after the election. (AP, 9/29/04).

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