Washington, DC
March 19, 2009
Study finds $20 billion
increase in yield value as a result of insecticide use in the
U.S.
The Crop Protection Research
Institute (CPRI), part of the
CropLife Foundation
(CLF), a non profit, non-advocacy organization created to
advance the understanding of pesticide use in the U.S. through
research and education, announces the release of a comprehensive
study on the value of insecticides in U.S. crop production. ‘The
Value of Insecticides in U.S. Crop Production’ is the
culmination of a three year effort focusing on 50 crops and
examining the value of insecticides to production by crop, by
state and by growers nationally and demonstrates the enormous
impact insecticides have in protecting the yields of numerous
crops in the U.S. and in feeding millions of people while
keeping food inexpensive and abundant.
Given current economic conditions, it is more important than
ever that food and fiber remain affordable. CPRI’s study makes
clear that without insecticides and the higher yields they
provide, billions of pounds of apples, oranges, potatoes, and
tomatoes would be lost in the United States annually if not for
these front-line weapons against crop destroying pests.
Consumers would pay higher prices for the staples that they and
their families rely on, not just in the U.S. but around the
world and during a challenging global economy not seen for
decades
“Insecticides provide tremendous and wide-ranging benefits at
relatively small cost,” said Jay Vroom, chairman of CropLife
Foundation. “Without insecticides many of our crops would see
huge production losses. Billions of pounds a year of some of our
most basic commodities would see dramatic declines or collapse
altogether. The necessity for this crop protection technology is
increasingly important as production and consumer demand for
food and fiber needs continues to rise,” concluded Vroom.
The report details several key findings. Of the crops surveyed,
31 of 50 would suffer yield losses of 40 percent or greater and
seven crops would see losses of over 70 percent without the use
of insecticides. California, Florida and Washington would see
the most dramatic losses in crop production value and 144
billion pounds of additional, food, feed, and fiber would be
lost annually in the U.S.
“Without insecticides for control of crop-feeding insects,
production of some crops would be impossible in parts or all of
the country,” said Leonard Gianessi, director, CPRI. “With the
introduction of synthetic insecticides in the 1950s, production
of crops increased dramatically as a result of better insect
control. In some cases, as with sweet corn production in
Florida, the crop could not be produced at all before synthetic
insecticides were made available.”
Many agricultural commodities are vulnerable to the presence of
aflatoxins and insect control is necessary to prevent its
passage to the plant. Aflatoxin, a carcinogen, can cause liver
and other cancers in humans, lowers the body’s normal immune
response, and can impair growth in children.
“Pistachio growers use insecticides in part to control insect
damage that leads to a serious human health concern, aflatoxin
contamination,” said Bob Klein of the California Pistachio
Research Board. “Without insecticides, control of aflatoxin in
pistachios would be difficult if not impossible.”
The latest in the series of studies authored by CPRI, ‘The Value
of Insecticides in U.S. Crop Production’ follows previously
issued studies on herbicide and fungicide use in the United
States. Full results of these studies, along with detailed
breakdowns by state and crop, can be found at
www.croplifefoundation.org.
CropLife Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable and
research organization. CropLife Foundation was created in 2001
to promote and advance sustainable agriculture and the
environmentally sound use of crop protection products and
bioengineered agriculture.
News Conference Power Point Presentation
Executive Summary
Data Appendix
Crop
Insecticide Benefits Case Studies
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