Alexandra Metcalfe

5/13/13

How frequently are Pesticides and Herbicides Used in Organic and Inorganic Farming?

Pesticides and herbicides have been used in agriculture since World War I, and the use of
these substances has been growing ever since then. These synthetic substances have indisputably
boost agriculture production per unit of land (Guptill, Copelton and Lucal 2013). During the last
three decades, the use of modern organic synthetic pesticides has increased about 40-fold
(Ridgway, et al. 1978) Pesticides and herbicides growing popularity is because of their ability to
maintain yield and quality of crops for farmers with less hours of labor. This saves farmers time
and money by using these pesticides and herbicides. Though it can be seen that pesticides and
herbicides have many benefits, they also create some harm to environment, and human health. In
response to consumers and activist who are against the use of pesticides and herbicides in
farming, organic farming has taken a turn from being an informal countercultural practice to a
highly regulated and rapid growing global market (Guptill, Copelton and Lucal 2013). Organic
and inorganic farming have their own regulations for pesticides and herbicides and how
frequently they can be and are used in farming. Regular, inorganic farming, use high quantities
of pesticides and herbicides, while organic farming has rigorous regulations that strictly limits
the use of pesticides to little or no applications of it.
The first known set of organic agricultural practice date back to the 1940s with botanist
Sir Albert Howard. He believes that the health of agriculture and, ultimately, people depends on
the health of the soil, leading him to question the long-term impact of the mineral nitrogen

fertilizers and new agricultural pesticides that were becoming more prevalent at the time
(Guptill, Copelton and Lucal 2013). In the 1960s there were no regulations in organic farming
8practices and anyone could call their product organic. By 1974, there were many regulations in
the US the defined the standards for organic farming, and now farmers had to submit for organic
certification. Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by
many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
In the US, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets standards and
regulations that certify a product organic to sell in the United States (National Organic Program
2013). These regulations do not simply allow natural imputes and prohibit unnatural ones
because some mined and botanical substances can be harmful and toxic, while some synthetic
products are chemically indistinguishable from their natural counter parts. For example, natural
agent sulfur is freely allowed in organic farming, while copper, a natural antifungal agent, is
accepted for only limited circumstances and must be used in a manner that minimizes
accumulation of copper in the soil (National Organic Program 2013).
For a farmer to gain certification as an organic farmer that produces organic crops, they
must agree to allow onsite inspections of their land by a certifying agent. They must also submit
and maintain records applicable to the organic operation for the inspector or officer to view.
They must also comply with the Act and applicable organic production and handling regulations.
If a farmer fails to do this, they will not be able to be certified as organic or be able to sell their
product as an organic product.
Organic farmers, as stated by the USDA, can use some synthetic pesticides when farming
their crops. The five most used pesticides in organic farming are Bt (a bacterial

toxin), pyrethrum, rotenone, copper and sulphur. Bt is naturally found in the gut of caterpillars,
moths, and butterflies and is known as a natural insecticide that has led to the development of
many genetically modified crops using Bt genes. Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide made from
the dried flower heads of Chrysanthemum that are crushed and then added to water. Rotenone is
found naturally in the seed of the jicama vine plant and is used as a pesticide as it is highly toxic
to insects and is consider to be moderately dangerous to humans as classified by the World
Health Organization (WHO) (Organization 2007). Even though some of these pesticides are
natural, they can still be hazardous to other animals and humans, but because they are found in
nature, they are considered O.K. pesticides to use as specified by the USDA. Fewer than 10% of
organic farmers use botanical insecticides on a regular basis, 12% use sulfur, and 7% use copperbased compounds (Lotter 2003). However, herbicides cannot be used when growing organic
crops to kill weeds. Farmers have to use the methods like tillage, mowing and cutting, mulching,
and the use of heat to kill weeds.
In the US, about 62% of planted acreage is treated at least annually with some kind of
pesticide. Increases in herbicide use led the increases in pesticide use in agriculture for many
years. For example, by 1985, 90% of corn and soybean acreage was being treated with
herbicides, while in 1970 only 40% of the acreage was treated. Overall, herbicides were used on
over half of US cropland in 1991. As a percentage of total pesticides applied, herbicides rose
from 33% in 1966 to 70% in 1986 (Ridgway, et al. 1978). The U.S. accounted for about 22% of
the 1997 global total of 5.7 billion pounds of agricultural pesticides used (Ritter 2009). Recently,
pesticide use in agriculture is down slightly from 948 million pounds in 2000 to 877 million
pounds in 2007. But that's only about 1% per year, and still close to a billion pounds of toxic
chemicals intentionally introduced into the environment and our food supply each year (Tupper

2011). High amounts of herbicide and pesticides are mostly used in northern Central America in
Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana. The herbicide atrazine in 1997 had an average annual use in this
area of more than 32.77 pounds per square mile of agricultural land in county. The crop corn had
62,381,038 total pounds of atrazine applied annually which made up 84% of the total amount of
atrazine used in the US. The insecticide endosulfan, was used highly when growing cotton, being
applied at about 160,060 total pounds applied making up 20.32% of the endosulfan nationally
used, with tomatoes close behind being 11.25% of the endosulfan used nationally (Survey n.d.).
With these high amounts of pesticide used in agriculture, scientists have looked into the
health risks foods grown with the use of pesticides have on humans. Pesticides have been linked
to a wide range of human health hazards, ranging from short-term impacts such as headaches and
nausea to chronic impacts like cancer, reproductive harm, and endocrine disruption (Center
2012). This is another reason why activist and consumers are pushing for more organic farming,
to cut down on the health risks.
Each year the past nine years, the nonprofit advocacy agency Environmental Working
Group (EWG) has released their Dirty Dozen list. The Dirty Dozen is a list of produce that
contains the highest amount of pesticide residue even after washing. The Dirty Dozen for 2013
are; apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, spinach, sweet bell peppers, nectarines
(imported), cucumbers, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and hot peppers. The EWG also produced a
list of produce called the clean fifteen which are produce that contain the least amount of
pesticide residue even after washing. The Clean Fifteen for 2013 are; asparagus, avocados,
cabbage, cantaloupe, sweet corn, eggplant, grapefruit, kiwi, mangos, mushrooms, onions,
papayas, pineapple, sweet peas (frozen), and sweet potatoes. These lists helps consumers

determine which fruit and vegetables they should purchase organic, and which fruits and
vegetables they could get away with not buying organic.
Farmers have the choice to either become organic or inorganic farmers. The main factor
in becoming and organic farmer versus an inorganic farmer is the use of pesticides and
herbicides when growing crops. If a person wants to become an organic farmer, they have many
regulations and rules they must follow in order to be certified as organic. However, there are
some benefits organic farmers have over inorganic farmers and vice versa. Organic farmers
products are priced 30% higher than regular products from inorganic farmers, and they do not
have to spend high amounts of money on fertilizers and pesticides. This creates a higher regular
income for organic farmers. Inorganic farmers through the use of pesticides and herbicides can
yield more crops in less time and thus create more income through the use of pesticides and
herbicides on crops.
The more organic famers there are in the US, we can assume that the less pesticides and
herbicides will be used in agriculture. Currently the US is using 877 million pounds of pesticides
in agriculture as of 2007. This is a very high number as pesticides are known for producing
health hazards in humans and other animals and aquatic life. Since pesticides are used frequently
in agriculture, to reduce the use of pesticides, the USDA and state departments of agriculture will
have to make stricter regulations to help reduce the amount of pesticides used. US farmers who
are not organic depend highly on pesticides and herbicides when growing their crops, while
organic farmers depend on natural inputs and techniques like crop rotation to keep their crops
growing healthy and without the use of pesticides.

Works Cited
Center, Toxics Action. THE PROBLEM WITH PESTICIDES. 2012.
http://www.toxicsaction.org/problems-and-solutions/pesticides (accessed 05 13, 2013).
Guptill, Amy E, Denise A Copelton, and Betsy Lucal. Food & Society. Cambridge: Polity Press,
2013.
Hurley, Kevin. Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables | When to Buy Organic. 02 21, 2012.
http://blog.epa.gov/greeningtheapple/2012/02/pesticides-in-fruits-and-vegetables-whento-buy-organic/.
Lotter, D W. Organic agriculture. J. Sustain. Agric. 21(4, 2003.
National Organic Program. 02 05, 2013.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&n
avID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPNational
OrganicProgramHome&acct=AMSPW.
Organization, World Health. " The WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard."
Classification, 2007.
Ridgway, R L, J C Tinney, J T MacGregor, and N J Starler. Pesticide use in agriculture. Vol. 27,
in Environ Health Perspect, 103112. 1978.
Ritter, Stephen K. Pinpointing Trends In Pesticide Use. 02 06, 2009.
http://cen.acs.org/articles/87/i7/Pinpointing-Trends-Pesticide-Use.html (accessed 05 13,
2013).
Roth, Rebecca. Organic or not Organic. 1 09, 2008.
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1796.

Survey, U.S. Geological. Pesticide National Synthesis Project. n.d.

http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/usage/maps/show_map.php?year=97&map=m1980
(accessed 05 13, 2013).
Tupper, Karl. "At long last: EPA releases pesticide use statistics." Pesticide Action Network
North America, 02 22, 2011.