Historical Patterns of Pesticide UseThe era of pesticides began in the nineteenth century when sulfur compounds were
developed as fungicides. In the late nineteenth century, arsenic compounds were
introduced to control insects that attack fruit and vegetable crops; for example, lead
arsenate was used widely on apples and grapes. These substances were acutely toxic.
In the 1940s the chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, most notably DDT (dichlorodi-
phenyltrichloroethane), were introduced. DDT and similar chemicals were used
extensively in agriculture and in the control of malaria and other insect-borne dis-
eases. Because they had little or no immediate toxicity, they were widely hailed and
initially believed to be safe.^6
Widespread use of synthetic pesticides in the United States began after World War II.
The ingredients for many of today’s pesticides were, in fact, created as weapons of
war.^7 Before the development of synthetic pesticides, farmers used naturally occurring
substances such as arsenic and pyrethrum.^8 Pesticide use was credited with increasing
crop yields by reducing natural threats and became an integral part of agricultural
practices by the mid-1950s. Over the past five decades, American agriculture has dis-
persed thirty billion pounds of pesticides into the environment.^9 Also, beginning in
the late 1940s, federal and local governments sponsored the widespread spraying of
DDT and other chemicals in urban communities in an effort to eradicate mosquitoes,
fire ants, gypsy moths, the Japanese beetle, and other insects judged to be harmful.
Every year in the United States, 1.1 billion pounds of active pesticide ingredients
are released into the environment; 834 million pounds (77 percent) are used in agri-
culture, the remainder for non-agricultural purposes. If the use of wood preservatives,
disinfectants, and sulfur is included, the yearly amount of pesticide usage increases to
2.2 billion pounds of active ingredients.^10 Altogether, U.S. pesticide usage equals
more than four pounds per person annually.^11
Insects, however, quickly develop resistance to pesticides. In addition, broad-
spectrum pesticides kill natural predators that keep pests in check. Use of synthetic
pesticides—including insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, and others—has
increased more than thirty-three-fold in the last half century. Ironically, it is estimated
that more of the U.S. food supply is lost to pests today (37 percent) than in the 1940s
(31 percent). Total crop losses from insect damage alone have nearly doubled from
7 percent to 13 percent during that period. Cultivation of four crops—soybeans, wheat,
cotton, and corn—consumes around 75 percent of the pesticides used in the United
States.^12
Following World War II, pesticides were a component of what was predicted to be a
‘‘green revolution’’ of abundant food for the world. Over the past fifty years, agricultural
production in many areas of the world has increased dramatically, partly because of the
use of herbicides and insecticides. Health benefits, such as those related to the eradica-
tion of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, were also foreseen and, in many cases, attained.
In May 1962, biologist Rachel Carson alerted the public to the side effects of pes-
ticides in her book,Silent Spring. Questions were raised about the actual (rather than2 | Pesticides