Abstract
The use of pesticides is one of the more controversial of public issues. This is so because their very widespread use produces immediate benefits to a small section of society, the agricultural industry, while the long term risks are shared by society as a whole. This discussion focuses on the contrast between benefits and risks and outlines some of the long term ecological problems that have resulted from the overuse, misuse, and injudicious use of pesticides. Detailed discussion is provided for such ecological disasters as insect pest resistance to pesticides, pest resurgences and the development of secondary pests; together with contamination of food webs and general ecotoxicity. It is concluded that implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) tactics provides the only practical answer to the manifold problems arising from the sole reliance on pesticides for pest control. IPM provides an ecological oriented strategy for pest control that can maximize the benefits of pesticide use and minimize the risks.
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Robert Metcalf has recently retired from the School of Life Sciences, University of Illinois but is currently active in teaching and research. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences USA and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a coauthor of two books in the area of concern:Destructive & Useful Insects: Their Habits and Control, andIntroduction to Insect Pest Management. He has published more than 400 scientific papers. He was formerly a faculty member of the Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, for 24 years and served as Department Chairman and as Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and as Vice-Chancellor for Research. He has been Professor of Entomology, Biology, Environmental Studies, Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, and of the Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois.
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Metcalf, R.L. Benefit/risk considerations in the use of pesticides. Agric Hum Values 4, 15–25 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01530498
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01530498