The Global Politics of Pesticides Forging consensus from conflicting interests [Paperback]

The Global Politics of Pesticides explores the varied, and often conflicting, interests involved in the formulation of international policies on chemical pesticide manufacture and use in each of the main areas of environmental pollution, trade, development, public health, food security, biotechnology and industrial safety and explains why some aspects of pesticide use are subject to strict international guidelines whilst others are not. The book breaks new ground in objectively examining the competing viewpoints of food producers and other pesticide users, the chemical industry, health officials, traders, environmental/consumer pressure groups and the public. It also considers how international regulation can occur in spite of the fundamental differences of opinion and seemingly opposing interests held by the key actors.1. Introduction A Brief History of Pest Control What's Your Poison?  2. Reaping the Rewards: The Use of Pesticides for Increasing Crop Yields  3. Fighting Plague and Pestilence: The Role of Pesticides in Controlling Pest Transmitted Diseases  4. The Killing Fields: The Issue of Human Poisoning by Pesticides  5. When a Weapon Misses the Target: The Issue of Environmental Pollution by Pesticides  6. The Secret Ingredient: The Issue of Food Contamination by Pesticides  7. Peddling Poisons: The International Trade in Pesticides  8. Steering a Middle Course: Avoiding the Overuse of Pesticides  9. From Value Systems to Regulatory Systems: Reflections on the Seven Issues of Pesticide Politics

'Pesticides pose one of the greatest dilemmas of our time. The science of pesticide use has become an accepted part of industrial food production systems, relied on to provide the levels of food production required to provide the levels of food production required y a burgeoning world population. But there is widespread unease not only among the general public, but also among farmers and scienl��