What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You!
I don’t know what concerns me more; the number and type of chemicals that we use to grow “food” in this country, or the fact that we will soon no longer have any reliable information about the number and type of chemicals that we use to grow “food” in this country.
Here’s the scoop…
In the past, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) collected data on the use of pesticides (and the health risks associated with these pesticides) on crops grown throughout the U.S., such as corn, soybeans, cotton, and wheat. This data was then publicly available for anyone to use…farmers, chemical manufacturers, trade groups, public interest groups, government agencies, and even just average citizens…to track pesticide use and safety.
that were used to grow my family’s food,
but now I’m even more scared because I won’t know.
Citing budget cuts, NASS significantly scaled back it’s program last year and collected data only on cotton, apples, and organic apples. Then in a final blow, NASS announced today that it will completely eliminate it’s pesticide data collection program, effective immediately. So there will no longer be any reliable, publicly available information about the number and type of pesticides that are used on food crops in the U.S.
That’s bad news for farmers who will no longer be able to analyze and compare the use of various pesticides and horrible news for consumers who will no longer be able to track which pesticides are used on which crops and in what quantity. It’s even bad news for the chemical manufacturers who will no longer have any third party information about the effectiveness of their products. About the only group that stands to benefit from NASS’s decision is the unethical chemical manufacturer with something to hide. And that concerns me most of all.
What can you do about it?
- Make Your Voice Heard: Contact NASS and let them know how important it is that they reinstate their program to collect data on the use of pesticides in the U.S.
- Buy Organic: Organic fruits and vegetables are grown without the use of ANY synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, so you don’t have to worry about what’s on and in the food you eat. Need more info about buying organic? Check out When To Buy Organic and Need Another Reason To Go Organic?
I took your advice and wrote to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) today after reading your information. I was surprised to get a quick response this afternoon, I thought I would share…
Thank you for your message regarding the NASS agricultural chemical use data collection program. USDA and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) are committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. However, limited resources – combined with escalating survey expenses, increasing staff costs – have eroded NASS’s annual survey budget over the last decade. This resulted in necessary adjustments to NASS programs, including a decision to collect chemical use data on a rotational basis.
In fiscal years (FY) 2004 through 2006, NASS received appropriated funding from Congress to support existing programs. Some of these funds were used to continue the rotation pattern for chemical use statistics. However, additional program reductions were necessary to ensure high quality statistics were being produced for all reports published by NASS.
NASS reviewed and prioritized its entire data collection program based on the following criteria:
· Principal Economic Indicator data;
· Data that directly impact the market;
· Data necessary to implement USDA programs that provide payments to farmers and are used to administer the farm safety net for producers; and
· Data for which there are no other sources of information available.
Based on the need to redirect funds in accordance with the priority listing above, the decision was made to further curtail the NASS chemical use program beginning in FY 2007. Current funding will only allow a very limited number of commodities to be surveyed each year. Current plans are to be able to collect data for specific crops every 5 or 6 years. Many other commodities will be much less frequent.
NASS will not conduct any agricultural chemical usage surveys on crops produced in 2008. However, under a cooperative agreement with Economic Research Service NASS plans to collect wheat nutrient and pesticide data as part of the 2009 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and plans to publish this data in May 2010.
NASS is committed to working with the agricultural community to identify funding sources and in the absence of increased funding, set commodity rotation priorities for future limited surveys.
Marlene Diehl
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