Wilkins: Agricultural chemicals vital for affordable food supply

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Richard Wilkins is the executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Soybean Association.

Have you heard the adage, “A lie can travel halfway around the world, while the truth is putting on its shoes?” In the age of social media, this has never been truer, and unfortunately, chemicals used in agriculture to grow our crops efficiently and responsibly have been a frequent target of misinformation. These inaccuracies can undermine access to tools we, as farmers, need to grow our country’s food effectively and export it to other countries in need. What’s more, chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers are often essential for practicing conservation methods and reducing our farms’ environmental footprint. These points make it necessary that we base decisions affecting agriculture on sound science and evidence rather than conjecture or, though understandable, the emotions we often feel when we read stories crammed with misinformation.

When we buy the fresh, delicious produce that’s readily available in our grocery stores, few consider that insects, molds and other pests enjoy eating those foods as much as we do! If farmers lack adequate tools to protect their crops, they can easily experience substantial yield losses or even lose entire fields. Great effort goes into protecting our foods, from planting through harvest and on to the journey to store shelves, and pesticides play an integral role in that process.

Consumers, including my own family, should be reassured that pesticides are incredibly well regulated here in the United States. Every pesticide goes through a rigorous, yearslong registration process with the Environmental Protection Agency. Each pesticide must be found safe, based on strict scientific data and very conservative application guidance — for both human health and the environment. The EPA can also reevaluate any pesticide at any time if new science becomes available and routinely reexamines previously approved products. Additionally, the agency continually registers new pesticides with even softer environmental impacts. These protections have established its process as the gold standard in global pesticide regulation.

This regulatory process allows us to protect our crops, while providing a safe, abundant, affordable food supply. I mentioned another, lesser-known benefit of pesticides: They enable key conservation practices. For example, weeds are remarkably harmful pests that steal moisture and nutrients from the soil, crowd out crops and taint harvested crops with their seeds. Historically, farmers would plow intensely or till the ground to kill weeds before planting crops, but we now know this can cause increased soil erosion, impact water quality and result in other challenges. Safe, effective herbicides help us control weeds, while reducing tillage and protecting our environment.

Fertilizers are another important chemical tool for productivity and sustainability. Studies show that fertilizer use can account for 40%-60% of a crop’s total yield. Reducing fertilizer access would cause crop yields to plummet, and new land would need to be cleared to grow the same amount of food. With a growing global population, growing more on less land is critical. With limited croplands around the globe, new land would likely come from deforestation or conversion of prairies and wetlands. Growing more with less doesn’t just apply to land; farmers work hard to apply the right amount of chemicals only when and where necessary. It just makes good sense to conserve land and use chemical resources sparingly and responsibly.

We work hard every day to provide an affordable, abundant food supply in an environmentally sustainable way. Agricultural chemicals are an integral part of this balance, yet are so commonly misunderstood. Our nation’s established, thorough regulatory process, based in science and evidence rather than emotion and misinformation, must govern use of these vital tools. That’s the truth!

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.

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