GLP podcast: ‘Only 60 harvests left,’ debunked; Beating pesticide resistance; ‘Regulation through litigation’ threatens sustainable farming?

Have we so badly depleted the world’s soil that we only have 60 harvests left? No. New “green” pesticides could be available to farmers in the coming years. But there is concern that pests may rapidly develop resistance to these latest and greatest plant-protection products. Environmental groups are trying to subvert the US pesticide regulatory system through litigation, in a bid to get low-risk pesticides banned. Does this tactic pose a threat to our food supply?

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Join geneticist Kevin Folta and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 210 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

• Viewpoint: ‘Only 60 harvests remaining on Earth’? Environmentalist exaggerations obscure dramatic advances in biotechnology-boosted agriculture

Critics of modern agriculture have claimed for years that the world has only 60 harvests left; “industrial farming” has so thoroughly depleted our soil, the argument goes, that we soon won’t be able to feed ourselves. Although this idea remains popular, it has never been correct. Food production has exploded in recent decades while the amount of land dedicated to agriculture has only increased slightly. On balance, technological advances, especially in plant breeding beginning with the Green Revolution, have made our food supply far more sustainable.

• Green pesticides are plagued by fast-developing insect resistance. Here’s how that can be addressed

As new biopesticides come online, they are almost immediately confronted by insects, weeds and microorganisms that can rapidly develop resistance to their pesticidal effects. What’s the solution? According to a recent study, farmers have to grow a variety of crops and utilize different chemistries with varying modes of action. This helps prevent pests from evolving resistance to any one of the products used to control them. But the question remains: how much progress are we actually making in controlling pesticide resistance?

• Viewpoint: ‘Regulation through litigation’ — Activist groups team up with lawyers to sway government regulations

The US has a regulatory system in place designed to protect public health from potentially dangerous chemicals used for industrial applications, including pesticides. Unable to convince regulators to ban many pesticides, activist groups have taken a different tack: selectively filing lawsuits around the country, convincing judges that some chemicals should be banned, or at least more tightly regulated. The result of this regulation-through-litigation strategy is that many low-risk chemicals that help us produce an abundant food supply could disappear from the marketplace. What can be done to halt this concerning trend?

Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow ACSH on Twitter @ACSHorg