April 23

Scientists are concerned about potential consequences that may develop from "hasty implementation" of the FQPA by EPA.  A report from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) also says they agree in principle with the goal of the law -- to provide a reasonable assurance of no harm from pesticides in diets and the environment.

EPA has identified three groups of pesticides that are of higher risk and therefore first priority in implementing the 1996 law.  They include the organophosphate and carbamate insecticides and a group of broad spectrum chemicals known as B-2 chemicals classified as potential carcinogens used largely on minor crops.

Almost all are used in integrated pest management programs, and few alternatives to these pesticides exist.

The study's conclusions include the impact of a sudden decrease or elimination of key pesticides or classes of pesticides on the competitiveness of U.S. food production.  The effect would be greatest for fruits and vegetables, the study concludes.

"If pesticide restrictions were to substantially increase the cost of food production in the United States, then Mexico and other countries could boost exports to the United States, bound only by U.S. residue tolerance standards," the study says.

The impacts would be "drastic," the study adds, "mitigated by the same factors that could mitigate regional shifts in production within the United States."

A crucial question is whether "efficacious and cost-effective alternative pest controls become available.  If replacements become available but achieve effective pest control only at a higher per unit cost than those of global competitors, then production will shift to lower cost regions of the United States and the world," the study concludes.

The eastern United States could see its fruit and vegetable industries shrink to serve only small niche markets for consumers willing to "tolerate imperfect produce for the sake of locally grown food."