CONSUMERS WANT PESTICIDES
OUT OF THEIR FOOD ... AND ARE WILLING TO PAY
NEW STUDY CITES ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH COSTS;
CALLS FOR FARM EDUCATION PROGRAMS FUNDED BY
STATE FEES ON PESTICIDES AND FERTILIZERS
In a new national opinion poll, a vast majority of
Americans say they want to reduce the use of chemical
pesticides and fertilizers on their food ... and are
willing to pay at the supermarket check-out line the
few dollars a year it would take to fund programs to
cut farmers' reliance on agricultural chemicals.
Those findings -- along with an analysis of the
health and economic costs of excessive pesticide and
fertilizer use -- are highlights of Funding Safer
Farming: Taxing Pesticides and Fertilizers, a report
issued today by the Center for Science in the Public
Interest. CSPI is a national consumer-advocacy
organization specializing in food and nutrition issues.
The 32-page report calls for state-by-state
implementation of modest taxes or fees on agricultural
chemicals. The funds would be specifically earmarked
to teach farmers proven techniques of "sustainable"
agriculture that reduce use of chemicals while
maintaining high crop yields and quality.
In addition, the report calls for a national
program to reduce reliance on pesticides and
fertilizers as part of the 1995 Farm Bill soon to be
debated in Congress.
"American consumers want safer food and fewer
pesticides, even if it means they have to pay a little
more at the check-out line," said Michael Jacobson,
CSPI's executive director. "This report shows that a
small increase in state taxes on pesticides and
fertilizers is the best way to promote safer farming
techniques. Whether you look at the environmental
consequences of excessive pesticide use, or simply at
the dollars and cents, this proposal represents common
sense for consumers and farmers alike."
"While pesticides and fertilizers do help deliver
an abundant and inexpensive food supply, and control
weeds and pests in cities, our overdependence on these
chemicals is estimated to cost as much as $8 billion
per year," added Caroline Smith DeWaal, CSPI's food
safety director. "The overuse of agricultural
chemicals pollutes our water, endangers farmworkers,
destroys wildlife habitats, and threatens the safety of
our food supply. The current pricing structure for
pesticides and fertilizers doesn't reflect those long-term costs, and it should."
CSPI's national opinion poll (conducted in January
by the Bruskin Goldring opinion-research firm)
demonstrates broad public support for implementing a
small user tax or fee on pesticides and fertilizers,
if the funds were used to finance state and federal
programs to reduce overall pesticide use. Public
support remains strong even if the costs would
ultimately be passed on to consumers at the
supermarket. Specifically, the poll found that:
-- 84 percent of Americans would be willing to pay
an extra $2 per year per family member for groceries to
reduce pesticide use. That would result in $500
million in additional funding for sustainable
agriculture. 90 percent of Americans would be willing
to pay at least an extra $.50 per year per family
member. In addition, CSPI's poll found that 86
percent of Americans think federal and state
agriculture agencies should teach farmers how to use
fewer pesticides and other chemicals.
Even modest increases in pesticide and fertilizer
taxes would generate significant new state revenue.
States could raise more than $500 million by increasing
fees on pesticides by just five percent and on
fertilizers by just 1.5 percent. In California, more
then $58 million per year could be realized in this
manner; in Illinois, $38 million; in Texas, $31 million
(see attached sheet for state-by-state revenue
projections).
Other highlights from Funding Safer Farming:
-- Pesticide use in the U.S. now exceeds a billion
pounds per year; more than 20,000 pesticide products
are on the market. In addition, more than 20 million
tons of synthetic fertilizers are applied to croplands
annually.
-- Societal costs from indiscriminate use of
agricultural chemicals include contamination of food,
widespread pollution of both surface water and
groundwater drinking supplies, increased resistance to
chemicals by farm pests, health problems for
farmworkers, and damage to wildlife. Estimates of
these direct and indirect costs exceed $8 billion.
-- Pollution clean-up and farmer-education
programs funded by fees on agricultural chemicals have
been successfully implemented in California, Iowa, and
Wisconsin, as well as in Sweden, Denmark, and the
Netherlands. Funding Safer Farming calls for an
extension of such programs into every state.
Copies of Funding Safer Farming are available for
five dollars by writing to CSPI Pesticide Tax Report,
1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC
20009. Journalists may receive a free copy by calling
Rebecca Kapstein at (202) 332-9110 x349.
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Geoffrey Barron, CSPI
CSPI || Internet: gbarron@essential.org