Over time, registered pesticides, or certain uses of registered pesticides, have been
banned. These cancellations occur for various reasons: 1) voluntary cancellation by
the registrant; 2) cancellation by the EPA because required fees were not paid; and
3) cancellation by the EPA because unacceptable risks existed that could not be
reduced by other actions such as voluntary cancellation of selected uses or changes in
the way the pesticide is used.^46
Public Concern
The consequences of using pesticides for food production and the realization that
some foods do contain pesticide residues are of paramount importance to today’s
health-conscious consumer. Specifically, the public continues to voice its concerns by
ranking pesticide residue as one of the top five food safety issues. For example, public
opinion polls indicate that in selecting produce, an important consideration is that
foods are certified free of pesticide residues. The public’s concern that consuming
foods containing pesticide residues may adversely impact their health is critical.^47
Why do consumers’ attitudes toward pesticides and other health risks differ from
those of health authorities?
According to the National Research Council, experts usually base their determina-
tions of the seriousness of a risk on quantitative risk assessments or numerical proba-
bilities. Consumers’ risk perceptions tend to be based on qualitative attributes of risk
as if the risk was previously known or unknown, voluntary or involuntary, or control-
lable or uncontrollable.^48
Possible reasons for this attitude may be due in part to the uncertainty inherent to
agrichemical use. For instance, it is impossible for any individual to quantify how
much pesticide residue he or she is exposed to without explicit product labeling.
Debates within the scientific community about the safety of insecticides and herbi-
cides as well as specific events such as the Alar and Chilean grape incidents that have
been widely publicized in the media have no doubt contributed to the concerns of
consumers. The growing concern of residues in fresh produce could itself cause
changes in consumer behavior in two ways: l) increased demand for low-input agri-
culture with reduced pesticide residues, or 2) decreased demand for conventional
fresh produce. For low-input agriculture to be marketed successfully, it will be neces-
sary to determine whether consumer concern about pesticide residues has resulted in
fundamental changes in consumer attitudes and behavior. An important foundation
of this process is to assess which segments of the population are highly risk averse to
pesticide usage.
While studies have found only modest variations in pesticide concern across differ-
ent segments of the public, most have found that women are more likely than men
to place pesticide residues as a top worry. Additionally, younger adults tend to show
more concern over pesticide usage than older adults.^49 Respondents to a survey con-
ducted by Cornell University felt that the lack of absolute evidence, the lack of sim-
ple precise documents addressing pesticide concerns, and conflicting information
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