Giving "Environmentalists" What They Want -- A World Without Pesticides

For years now, I have been frustrated listening to environmental extremists hurl accusations at our industry and the pesticide products we use. The rhetoric and proclamations of “environmental spokespersons” for various public interest groups such as NCAMP, CATS, NRDC and others is that they don’t want to ban all pesticides, just the bad actors. Unfortunately, they consider all pesticides to be bad actors to some degree; thus, their goal is to rid the world of all these “horrid” substances.

It seems that despite all we do as an industry to achieve risk reduction while maintaining a relatively pest-free environ-ment, our efforts are never good enough for the environmentalists. They profess to be experts in toxicology and pest management, often convincing ill-informed public officials to pass anti-pesticide legislation. Perhaps it’s time to give them what they so desperately seek — a world without pesticides.

REMEMBERING THE PAST. A review of history provides us with excellent insight into what the world would be like without pesticides. Unquestionably, it is not a world in which any of us would want to live.

Arthropods, which have been associated with disease since the beginning of recorded time, have shaped world history. The oldest and perhaps most well publicized sequence of ecological events involving pests and disease were the 10 plagues of Egypt and the survival of the Israelites who followed Moses into the desert for 40 years.

Besides starvation, the most plausible explanation for the high mortality rates of the Egyptians is dysentery, cholera, typhus and yellow fever — all insect-borne diseases. Hordes of flies covered the land; mosquitoes and lice transmitted numerous pathogens; and locusts, whose numbers were so immense that they darkened the sky and devoured the crops. If only they had pesticides to control the flies, mosquitoes and lice and thereby stem the spread of diseases. If only they had pesticides to control the locusts and thereby prevent starvation…

The Black Death (or plague) has been the scourge of humankind since before the beginning of the Christian era. This bacterial disease is transmitted from rodents (e.g., typically rats) to humans through flea bites. The first great plagues occurred between 430 B.C. and 690 A.D. The second plague pandemic, which occurred between 1050 and 1200 A.D., affected parts of Asia, Africa and most of Europe. It is estimated that in Europe more than 25 million people died (i.e., one quarter of the population). This event alone led Europe into the devastating despair of the Middle Ages. The plague destroyed entire cities and all trade came to a grinding halt. An additional major outbreak of the plague devastated the world from 1346 to 1349. It is estimated this pandemic resulted in more deaths than the combined number of deaths in World Wars I and II. If only they had pesticides to control the fleas and rats…

Napoleon Bonaparte suffered two major defeats as a result of arthropod-borne diseases, which undoubtedly changed the course of history. In 1802, yellow fever, a mosquito-borne disease, decimated Napoleon’s fleet and troops who had landed in Haiti and were attempting to force the native islanders into submission. The French, who had purchased Louisiana from Spain, intended to use Haiti as their base of operations to support colonization and fortification of Louisiana. Yellow fever caused such significant losses that the armada had to return to France and abandon any thought of occupying Louisiana. If only they had pesticides to kill the mosquitoes and repel their bites…

Ten years later, in June 1812, Napoleon set his sights on Russia. He began this conquest with more than 420,000 men. By the time he reached Moscow in October, however, his forces had obviously suffered the casualties of combat. But more significant losses were the result of starvation, cold and louse-borne typhus. The latter was suspected to be the major cause of Napoleon’s defeat in Russia; however, this disease was not actually identified for another 100 years. If only they had pesticides to control the lice and epidemic typhus…

CONTEMPORARY DISEASES. Many other dramatic examples of how arthropod pests and their transmitted diseases have affected history can be cited. Suffice it to say these diseases have changed the course of history. And while many of these diseases are not as problematic as they were in the past, new diseases potentially could result in equally devastating effects on human health if we were without pesticides and modern pest management practices.

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) occurs almost exclusively in the eastern part of the United States. It does not affect large numbers of humans; however, the population at greatest risk is young children. Plus, the death rate of infected individuals, reported in two studies, was between 60-75%. How many deaths would there be annually without pesticides?

Hantavirus, the newest disease associated with rodents (i.e., especially deer mice), is contracted by inhaling urine and fecal-contaminated dust which contains the virus. The disease is characterized by flu- or pneumonia-like symptoms and often is not readily diagnosed. The consequence of delayed diagnosis is usually death (i.e., about a 60% fatality rate). Most fatalities have occurred west of the Mississippi River. How many deaths would there be annually without pesticides?

Dengue is a viral disease trans-mitted by Aedes and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. It is commonly referred to as “backbone fever.” Dengue occurs in four forms, dengue hemorrhagic fever being the most lethal. Typically, symptoms include headache, rash, fever, nausea and vomiting. Dengue has gradually moved north from the tropics and now occurs regularly in Puerto Rico, Mexico and occasionally southern Texas. How many cases of this disease and its incapacitating effects would there be annually with-out pesticides?

Malaria is caused by four species of Plasmodium and accounts for millions of human deaths worldwide. Suc-cessful transmission of malaria requires two hosts (e.g., mammal, bird, amphibian, etc., and a blood-feeding arthropod, usually mosquitoes). The disease is transmitted to humans and most mammals by mosquito bites. However, it can also be transmitted in animal populations by several other blood-feeding flies. Malaria, which had been eradicated from the United States, is now staging a comeback. This renaissance is due to a large amount of people immigrating from malaria-infested parts of the world, the deterioration of living conditions in large southern metropolitan areas and the presence of malaria vectors, Anopheles mosquitoes. How many deaths would there be annually without pesticides?

Cockroach allergies were the subject of a 1997 New England Journal of Medicine research article titled, “The Role of Cockroach Allergy and Exposure to Cockroach Allergen in Causing Morbidity Among Inner-City Children with Asthma.” The study concluded: “The combination of cockroach allergens and exposure to high levels of this allergen may help explain the frequency of asthma-related health problems in inner-city children.” In another study of 100 asthmatics in inner-city housing projects, 89% of the subjects exhibited hyper-sensitivity to cockroach allergens. Exposure to these antigens can result in significant medical problems and, in extreme cases, death. In fact, asthma-related deaths have increased 50% in the United States during the last 10 years. How many more children would suffer or die because of cockroach allergens without pesticides?

THE REAL STORY. Today we are fortunate to have pesticides (and industries) that seek to preserve life and health and do so with an infinitesimally small risk of exposure and injury. Given the choice, most people would choose to live their lives without fear of starvation and ex-posure to horrific diseases such as plague, malaria, Lyme disease, hanta-virus and others.

The next time you hear an “environmentalist” ranting about the horrific effects of pesticides and the deaths that result from their usage, ask them to show you the numbers. Then ask them what these pesticides are doing to prevent starvation and disease. If we travel down the road they are charting for humankind, history will repeat itself. It is time we tell the real story and put an end to the scare tactics and lies their organizations use to sway public opinion.

Dr. Richard Kramer is president of Innovative Pest Management and can be reached at 301/570-7138.