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Texas Environmental Almanac, Environmental Focus: Pesticides, NOTES

NOTES

1. Lewis Regenstein. America the Poisoned (Washington, DC: Acropolis Books, 1982), 103.

2. League of Women Voters Education Fund. America's Growing Dilemma: Pesticide in Food and Water (Washington, DC: LWVEF. 1989), 1.

3. Richard Wiles, "Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment." October 21, 1993, Environmental Working Group, Washington, DC.

4. Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage, 1990-1991 Market Estimates (Washington, DC: Economic Analysis Branch, Biological and Economic Analysis Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, EPA, Fall 1992), 2.

5. Ibid.

6. United States General Accounting Office, Report to the Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate. Pesticides: Limited Testing Finds Few Exported Unregistered Pesticide Violations on Imported Food (Washington, DC: GAO, October 1993), 3.

7. An article entitled "Backfire in the War Against Insects" by journalist Robert Strother in the June 1959 issue of Reader's Digest might actually have been the first widely circulated article on the risks associated with massive use of pesticides.

8. James R. Davis, Ross C. Brownson and Richard Garcia, "Family Pesticide Use in the Home, Garden, Orchard, and Yard," Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 22, 1992, 260-266.

9. National Research Council, Alternative Agriculture (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1989), 123.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid., 121.

12. Ibid., 123.

13. Public Broadcasting Corporation's Frontline, "In Our Children's Food." Aired March 30, 1993. Martin Koughan, Producer and Director.

14. Nancy Blanpied, editor, Farm Policy, the Politics of Soil, Surpluses, and Subsidies (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1984), 73. Also see, David Pimentel, "Environmental and Economic Costs of Pesticide Use," BioScience, 1992.

15. National Research Council, Alternative Agriculture, (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1989), 123-124.

16. Ibid., 125.

17. Paul Cotton, "Environmental Estrogenic Agents Area of Concern," Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 271. February 9, 1994. Theo Colborn, Frederick S. Von Saal and Ana M. Soto, "Developmental Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Wildlife and Humans," Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 101, No. 5. October 1993.

18. Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticide Industry Usage and Sales: 1990-1991 Market Estimates (Washington, DC: EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs. Fall 1992).

19. Janet Raloff, "The Gender Benders," Science News, Vol. 145 (January 8, 1994), 24-27.

20. Public Broadcasting Corporation's Frontline, "In Our Children's Food." Aired March 30, 1993. Martin Koughan, Producer and Director.

21. Lewis Regenstein, America the Poisoned (Washington, DC: Acropolis Press, 1982), 118.

22. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

23. Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, "What Americans Think About Agrichemicals: A Nationwide Survey on Health, the Environment and Public Policy," survey developed and administered by Fingerhut/Granados Opinion Research Co. (Washington DC: PVFHP, 1993). The authors have included only a few of the findings of this survey, which was designed to test not just attitudes towards pesticides but a whole range of topics relating to agriculture policy and consumer behavior. The nationally-representative sample of this survey was obtained using random digit dialing. For a discussion of the divergence of opinion about food safety and pesticide residues among food safety experts and consumers, see Carol S. Kramer, "Food Safety: The Consumer Side of the Environmental Issue," Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics, July 1994.

24. John E. Bonine and Thomas O. McGarity, The Law of Environmental Protection (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1984), 700.

25. Ibid.

26. "Global Pesticide Campaigner" Ellen Hickey, editor. Volume 4, Number l. March 1994. Published by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN), North America Regional Center, San Francisco, CA.

27. Jim Blackburn and Angela Foster. "Assessing the Risk of Risk Assessment," unpublished paper, 1993. Jim Blackburn is an environmental attorney residing in Houston, TX.

28. See Natural Resources Defense Council's Intolerable Risk: Pesticides in Our Children's Food (New York: NRDC, 1989) and Richard Wiles and Christopher Campbell, Pesticides in Children's Food (Washington, DC: Environmental Working Group, 1993). Also, General Accounting Office, Food Safety: Changes Needed to Minimize Unsafe Chemicals in Food (Washington, DC: GAO, September 1994); National Research Council, Alternative Agriculture (Washington, DC: 1989), 83-84.

29. According to a 1993 study by the National Academy of Sciences, the current system for regulating pesticides on food does not sufficiently protect the health of infants and children. The study shows that most children by the age of five have already exceeded EPA's standard of a lifetime accumulated risk from carcinogens. Source: National Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform, "The Pesticide Food Safety Act of 1994 (H.R. 4091)" Fact Sheet. Also see, National Research Council, Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993).

30. The National Center for Food and Agriculture Policy (NCFAP) has developed state and crop pesticide-use data from state and federal agency reports. Pesticide Use in Texas Crop Production, February 1995 is available from the NCFAP, 1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.

31. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Breaking the Mold: New Ways to Govern Texas, Volume 2, Part II (Austin: COPA, 1991), NR 5.

32. Murray Walton, Texas Department of Agriculture, interview by Texas Center for Policy Studies on May 31, 1994.

33. Murray Walton, Texas Department of Agriculture, interview by Texas Center for Policy Studies on June 20, 1994.

34. See the Texas Department of Health's report Fish Tissue Sampling Data 1980-1993.

35. BinationaL Study Regarding the Presence of Toxic Substances in Rio Grande/Rio Bravo and its Tributaries Along the Boundary Portion Between the U.S. and Mexico. Final Report. September 1994. Report can be obtained by writing to EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202-2733 or the International Boundary and Water Commission, 4171 North Mesa Street, El Paso, TX 79902-1422.

36. Environmental Protection Agency, Lower Rio Grande Valley Environmental Monitoring Study: A Report to the Community on the Pilot Project (Washington, DC: EPA, June 1994). The Report is available from the Texas Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency.

37. General Accounting Office, Food Safety: Changes Needed to Minimize Unsafe Chemicals in Food (Washington, DC: GAO, September 1994) 19. Also see, GAO, Food Safety: USDA's Role Under the National Residue Program Should be Reevaluated. (Washington, DC: GAO, September 1994)

38. General Accounting Office, Food Safety: Changes Needed to Minimize Unsafe Chemicals in Food (Washington, DC: GAO, September 1994).

39. Ibid., 3.

40. Texas Department of Agriculture laboratories also receive produce for testing from other states.

41. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service, Pesticide Data Program, Summary of 1992 Data, (Washington, DC: USDA, April 1994); citation found within the cover letter from Lon Hatamiya accompanying the PDP report.

42. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service, Pesticide Data Program: Summary of 1992 Data, (Washington, DC: USDA, April 1994).

43. Environmental Working Group, Washed Contaminated Peeled (Washington, DC: EWG, 1994).

44. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service, Pesticide Data Program, Summary of 1992 Data, viii.

45. Ibid.

46. "Federal support programs focus on four crops that account for 65 percent of total herbicide use - corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. Commodity payments to those farmers enrolled in the programs are tied to the "...average acreage they planted in the program crop for the past five years. The result is that farmers cannot practice crop rotation without losing part of their base acreage and thereby reducing their income support payments." In addition, commodity set-aside programs, where acreage is left idle, unfortunately encourage more intensive cultivation and increased use of pesticides on remaining acreage to maximize profit. Moreover, "...fruits and vegetables rely on grading standards; cosmetic standards are generally used as a proxy for quality, resulting in increased pesticide application to control unsightly but inconsequential pest damage." Source: League of Women Voters Education Fund, America's Growing Dilemma: Pesticides in Food and Water (Washington, DC: LWVEF, 1989), 11.

47. Public Broadcasting Corporation's Frontline, "In Our Children's Food." Aired March 30, 1993. Martin Koughan, Producer and Director.

48. Texas Administrative Code. Organic Standards and Certification. Title 4, Part I, Chapter 18.

49. Ibid.

50. Ibid.

51. Brent Wiseman, Coordinator, Organics Program, Texas Department of Agriculture, interview by Texas Center for Policy Studies, May 26, 1994.

52. National Research Council, Alternative Agriculture, 208.

53. Dr. Tom Fuchs, IPM coordinator, Texas A&M Research and Extension Center at San Angelo, TX, interview by Texas Center for Policy Studies, June 1, 1994.

54. Texas Department of Agriculture, LBB Budget Document from the Legislative Reference Library, dated December 22, 1995, page VI 2. Note that the authors are only referring to dollars appropriated by the Texas Legislature. The Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas A&M University System might be receiving separate grants for Integrated Pest Management from the USDA or EPA or other sources to augment appropriated funds.

55. Ibid.

56. Dr. Tom Fuchs, Texas A&M Extension Service, Coordinator, IPM Research and Extension Center, San Angelo, TX, interview by Texas Center for Policy Studies, September 29, 1994.

57. Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size Up 1994-95 Biennium Texas State Services (Austin: Legislative Budget Board).

58. Tim Strawderman, Legislative Budget Board, interview by Texas Center for Policy Studies, June 29, 1994.

59. Environmental Working Group. Compiled from Resources for the Future: "Herbicides in U.S. Crop Production," "Insecticides in U.S. Crop Production," and "Fungicides in Crop Production." To increase the use of herbicides that usually kill a crop, genetic engineers are altering crops such as corn, soybeans, cotton and peanuts that resist the herbicides. Herbicide-tolerant crops are the dominant focus of genetic engineering field experiments. Critics of this approach believe that herbicide-tolerant crops perpetuate agriculture's dependence on toxic chemicals. (Source: Union of Concerned Scientists, "The Gene Exchange: A Public Voice on Biotechnology and Agriculture," Vol. 5, Number 1. (Washington, DC: June 1994).

60. Dr. Tom Fuchs, IPM Coordinator, Texas A&M Research and Extension Center, San Angelo, TX, interview by Texas Center for Policy Studies, June 1, 1994.

61. Ray Frisbie, former Extension IPM Coordinator, Texas Agricultural Extension Service. IPM fact sheet provided to the Texas Center for Policy Studies, June 1, 1994 by Thomas Fuchs, professor and extension IPM Coordinator, Texas Agriculture Extension Service at San Angelo, TX.

62. The University of California, California Policy Seminar, Pesticides in the Home and Community: Health Risks and Policy Alternatives (Berkeley, CA: Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1994).

63. Environmental Protection Agency, The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality (Washington, DC: Office of Air and Radiation, EPA, September 1988), 22.

64. Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticide Industry Sales and Usage: 1990 and 1991 Market Estimate (Washington, DC: EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Fall 1992), 1.

65. Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticide Industry Sales and Usage: 1990 and 1991 Market Estimates (Washington, DC: EPA, Fall 1992), 3.

Texas Environmental Almanac, Environmental Focus: Pesticides, NOTES

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