Talking About Pesticides and Biotech Crops

1. Talking About Pesticides and Biotech Crops Workshop for the Washington Friends of Farms and Forests, October 29, 2013 Steve Savage Applied Mythology Blog Savage&Associates Consulting

2. My “summer vacation”

3. Analysis of the Restricted-Use Pesticide Sales in Kauai (2010-2012) Data supplied by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Analyzed by Steve Savage, Ph.D.

4. Overall Use Profile for Agriculture-related, Restricted Use Pesticides on Kauai 26,874 pounds active ingredient. 9% of that is used for fumigation of grain storage facilities 14% of the total is used for weed control in commercial coffee production. represents an average of 1.9 lbs of active ingredient/acre/year which would mean 0.000043 pounds/square foot.

5. Far more Sulfuryl Fluoride is used For non-agricultural building fumigation than for fumigation of grain bins

6. Restricted Use Pesticide Use for Corn Nurseries in Kauai is Comparable with that in Major Corn Growing States

7. Very little of the restricted use pesticide applied in the field on Kauai is very toxic In 2011, 2.8 million pounds of these same RUPs were used on 164 California crops in 51 counties

8. Things I learned in Kauai • The EPA has a PR problem! • That means we have a PR problem! • It is not that hard to get people completely terrified about pesticides • What I heard • “They are all paid-off” • “Our regulatory approach is sell now, regulate later” • “But they told us XXX was safe and it wasn’t” • “These chemicals are being used in huge quantities” • What I didn’t hear • Any understanding of the user training regime • Any idea that pesticides are not all the same • Any idea about how much all this has changed

9. So how do we explain why people don’t need to be afraid? Broaden the view of how pests are controlled Clarify what “chemicals” are Acknowledge the “bad old days” Clarify “hazard,” “risk” and “safety” Talk about what has changed Address certain myths and issues of concern Explaining what residue monitoring actually says Talking about the environmental and health benefits of pesticide use PRiME Tool analysis?

10. Pest management is much more than just spraying the crop with pesticides Finding genetic resistance Avoiding the pest Modifying the climate Disrupting pest life cycles Fostering beneficials

11. Finding genetic resistance “Genetically Modified” options (finding resistant types

12. Finding genetic resistance “Genetically Modified” options (finding resistant types, cross-breeding, wide-crosses, mutagenesis breeding

13. Finding genetic resistance “Genetically Modified” options (finding resistant types, cross-breeding, wide-crosses, mutagenesis breeding, MAS, cisgenics, transgenics*)

14. Finding genetic resistance “Genetically Modified” options (finding resistant types, cross-breeding, wide-crosses, mutagenesis breeding, MAS, cisgenics, transgenics*) Rootstocks, inter-stocks

15. Avoiding/Excluding the pest • Moving to a different geography • Shifting planting dates • Physical barriers (mulches, screening, positive pressure houses…) • Soil sterilization with heat • Soilless growing media, hydroponics etc

16. Modifying the climate • Block or canopy microclimate modification • Passive protected culture: Rain shields, hoop houses etc • Active protected culture: climate controlled greenhouses, growing rooms… • Solarization

17. Disrupting pest life cycles • Crop rotation • Eliminating alternate hosts • Pheromone confusion • Sterile male release • Virus elimination by tissue culture/heat • Mechanical weed control

18. Fostering beneficials Planting alternate hosts Releases of beneficials Selective control of pests

19. Even so, pesticides are often still necessary 19

20. There are Natural Chemicals which fall into all four EPA “Toxicity Classifications” for Acute Oral effects >5,000 IV. Relatively Non-Toxic 500-5,000 III. Slightly Toxic 50-500 II. Moderately Toxic <50 I. Highly Toxic

21. Pesticides did have a bad old days! Some really nasty examples from long ago Complacency during the “better living through chemistry” days There was so much people didn’t understand

22. The legacy of ‘Silent Spring’ and the Environmental Movement is real The EPA established New sciences have developed Many old, nasty pesticides long gone Any ag observer has seen the change Training improvements Use of IPM principles Application improvements Changes in the nature of the products All this happened because of an unlikely “team effort”

23. The unlikely “team effort” that has radically changed pest management Other Federal Government Academia Extension Ag ChemDistrib./Retail Chain Biocontrol Companies Growers Independent Consultants Basic Manufacturers Generic Manufacturers EPA (Federal/State) State/Local Government Equipment Companies NGOs

24. Little Know Fact: Many truly hazardous pesticides are long gone • “Banned” • aldrin, hexachlorobenzene, cadmium compounds, chlordane, toxaphene, DDT, lead arsenate and sodium arsenite, mercuric chloride, mevinphos, mirex, thallium sulfate, 2,4,5-T, vinyl chloride, EPN…48 total • “Severely restricted” • Arsenic trioxide, carbofuran, daminozide (alar), heptachlor, lindane, pentachlorophenol, sodium arsenate, tributyltin compounds Colorado State Listing

25. Toxicity is Relative Graph based on the top 55, 2010, California pesticides by area treated >5000 4-5000 3-4000 2-3000 1-2000 500-1000 <50 50-500 I. Highly toxic II. Moderately toxic III. Slightly toxic IV. Relatively non-toxic Values are for the oral ALD50 for rats

26. Why hasn’t this story been told? • EPA policy/orientation • Strict limits on “safety” claims, aversion to complacency, language issues • Chemical Industry • Reliance on being regulated, mixed portfolios • Food Industry • Relentless marketing of “natural”, “convenient fictions” of organic • “Feeding the hand that bites you” • Vested Interests in Denial • The down-side of talking about success, Easy targets are irresistible • What forum?

27. Three terms that need to be understood HAZARD RISK Negative outcome potential Probability of that outcome SAFETY Emotional view of risk/reward balance

28. Electricity is hazardous, in degrees Cell phone charger 110 Volt Outlet 220 Volt Outlet Circuit box to 100Amps Residential Power Line Major Transmission lines Low Hazard Extreme Hazard Pesticides also differ in terms of hazard Bt Aldicarb Spinosad Azinphos-methyl Fludioxanil

29. Little Know Fact: Many Pesticides Are Not Hazardous • What makes something a pesticide? • Someone makes claims that it will control a pest • Hazard for pesticides is multi-dimensional • Acute mammalian (read human) toxicity (e.g. Oral ALD50 for rats) • Reproductive toxicity • Chronic toxicity • Non-target effects • Bioaccumulation

30. Risk is mitigated by limiting exposure to the hazard • Electricity • Insulation • GFI • Baby-proofing outlets • Buried or out of reach transmission wires • Pesticides • PPE (gloves, masks, spray cabs…) • Re-entry intervals • Maximum rates • Pre-harvest intervals • Targeted application methods

31. One Example of Changing Pesticide Profile: California Wine Grapes Two ideas on how to present this: Toxicity-weighting By EPA Categories • Why look at California wine grapes? • Essentially no breeding options • High value crop so high incentive to control pests • Both yield loss and quality effects matter • Innovative/Progressive grower-base • CALPIP data is available • Many consumers have an interest in the success of this crop

32. On the surface, pesticide use on wine grapes is down to around 1/3 of the peak in the mid 90s Total pounds of active ingredient per bearing grape acre in Napa, Sonoma, and Monterey counties 1990-2011 (CalPIP database)

33. In fact, most of this story is about sulfur use

34. We have to remove the sulfur to be able to see what is going on with anything else All Pesticides Sulfur Other than Sulfur

35. Foliar pesticide use has been increasing on a weight basis; however… Weight basis

36. When foliar pesticides are viewed on a toxicity-weighted basis, the trend is downward to flat Weight basis Toxicity Adjusted Weight

37. Insecticide use has shifted to significantly less toxic options Toxicity Adjusted Weight Weight basis

38. Fungicide use has increased, displacing much sulfur, but weighted for toxicity the increase is small Weight basis Toxicity Adjusted Weight

39. Miticide use spiked in the 90s, but not on a toxicity-weighted basis Weight basis Toxicity Adjusted Weight

40. Use of materials active against insects, mites and fungi (e.g. oils) have increased, but toxicity is low Weight basis Toxicity Adjusted Weight

41. Herbicide use has declined somewhat, but mammalian toxicity has always been low Weight basis Toxicity Adjusted Weight

42. Rodenticides are reasonably toxic to mammals, but use rates are very low Weight basis Toxicity Adjusted Weight

43. EPA Categories

44. The use of highly toxic, Category I products has declined dramatically Methomyl Endosulfan Azinphos methyl Parathion Aflatoxin Endrin Nicotine

45. Moderately Toxic Category II use has also declined significantly Bifenthrin Copper Sulfate Abamectin Lambda-cyhalothrin Asprin Caffeine Capsaicin 1,3-Dichloropropene Rotenone Dimethoate

46. Use of slightly toxic products at the more toxic end of Category III has decreased Diazinon Glufosinate ammonium Copper Hydroxide Malic acid Pyraclostrobin Vanillin Hydrogen peroxide Imidacloprid Cinnamaldehyde Copper sulfate (basic) Myclobutanil Lime-Sulfur Diquat Ibuprofen Mefenoxam

47. Use of products at the lower toxicity end of slightly toxic Category III has increased Glyphosate Tetraconazole Baking Soda Metolachlor Vinegar Copper oxide Citric acid, Salt Fozetyl-AL Cinnamon oil Dicamba Clove oil, Copper oxychloride Boscalid

48. There has been an increase in use of Category IV, practically non-toxic products 141 products have been used from category IV, 68 which are synthetic and 73 which are “natural products”

49. Central Coast trends in pounds by category Sulfur Category IV Category III Category II Category I

50. Central Coast trend in acre-applications Sulfur Category IV Category III Category II Category I