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Economic, regulatory and policy  
Recommended reading 

Many of the titles below are available from Amazon.co.uk, and can be ordered by clicking on the ISBN number. Any purchases from Amazon made in this way will earn PAN UK a small commission, so using these links is another way to support our work. Thank you.

Invisible Giant: Cargill and its Transnational Strategies, Brewster Kneen; Paperback - 256 pages (30 August, 1995), Pluto Press; ISBN: 074530964X, Hardcover - 256 pages (30 August, 1995), ISBN: 0745309631

Cargill is the largest private corporation in North America trading in all agricultural commodities; and producing & processing a great many of them. However few people know anything about it.. Here, Cargill is the focus of a study illustrating the philosophy & practice of transnational corporations; their activities; & ability to shape national policy and strategies & the implications of these strategies

Bugs in the System, William Vorley and Dennis Keeney;  Earthscan Publications; Paperback - 233 pages (21 March, 1998); ISBN: 1853834297

'Bugs in the System' is a ground-breaking publication which will help forward the debate around pesticides and sustainable agriculture. Using economic models, stakeholder analyses, and ‘future searching’ techniques, ‘Bugs’ takes a hard look at the future of the pesticide industry, as well as its potential to redesign itself in order to meet increasing demands from many sectors of society for more sustainable agriculture. Click here for full review

Banking on Poisons, Ronald Macfarlane; PAN Asia-Pacific; 227pages (1998). Available from PAN Asia-Pacific.

As long as lenders believe that modern high input agriculture is more viable than the alternatives, there will be a bias in lending. There is a need to demonstrate that organic agriculture, integrated agriculture and agro-forestry, are profitable and thus credit worthy. Banking on Poisons is the report of the Regional Consultation on Pesticides and Credit, and has six case studies looking at the links between credit and pesticide use.

Women and Environment in The Third World: Alliance for the Future, Irene Dankelman, Joan Davidson, Paperback - 224 pages (31 December, 1988), Earthscan; ISBN: 1853830038

Third World women play the major role in managing natural resources yet are not consulted or taken into account by development strategists. Clear account of the problems faced by women in the management of resources. Case studies are used to describe ways in which women can get organized to meet environmental and economic challenge.

The Global Politics of Pesticides: Forging Consensus from Conflicting Interests, Peter Hough; Paperback - 240 pages (1 November, 1998), Earthscan ISBN: 1853835463 Hardcover - 256 pages (1 November, 1998) ISBN:1853835455

Explores the varied and often conflicting interests involved in the formulation of international policies on chemical pesticide manufacture and their use in environmental pollution, trade, development, public health, food security, biotechnology and industrial safety.

Bittersweet Harvests for Global Supermarkets : Challenges in Latin America's Agricultural Export Boom, Lori Ann Thrupp, Gilles Bergeron, William F. Waters, Paperback (April 1995) World Resources Institute; ISBN: 1569730296

Examines the current boom in non-traditional agro-exports and shows how apparently profitable activities are contributing to environmental, social and economic problems. A range of well-reasoned solutions are proposed.

When Corporations Rule the World, David C. Korten, Hardcover - 384 pages (Sep 1995), Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc ISBN: 1887208003; Paperback new edition - 384 pages (Oct 1996) ISBN: 1887208011

The power of transnational corporations continues to grow, adopting strategies that are both driving and driven by economic globalisation. Six companies now dominate 80% of the agrochemical industry. Korten is one of the few analysts to provide a critical overview, with recommendations for turning the tide, and increasing public accountability of these influential institutions. While documenting the often devastating human and environmental consequences of shaping the world to serve financial ends, Korten goes beyond the usual critique, & outlines steps to achieve human-centred, community-based alternatives.

World Non-Agricultural Pesticide Market (DS-191), Susan Watkins; 174 pages (March 2000); Agrow Reports, PJB Publications; www.pjbpubs.co.uk/agrep, Agrow offers it’s reports at half price to non-profit organisations. 

A comprehensive Agrow Report examining the global non-agricultural pesticide market which constitutes 12% of the global pesticides market. The report focuses on four main sectors; home and garden pesticides, turf (including golf), pesticides used by pest control operators & industrial pesticides (aquatics, road, rail and rights of way). Markets from 16 countries are surveyed, 9 of which are profiled in the report; Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK & the US. Country markets are examined in terms of sales by sector - industrial users, the home & garden sector, pest control operators & turf management. 

International plant protection policy and market development: on the threshold of a new WTO round. Proceedings of the Centenary Conference of Netherlands’ Plant Protection Service, 4-5 November 1999, R.A. Ackerman & M.J.P.J. Jenniskens (Eds), Paperback - 120 pages (2000); Wageningen Pers. 

Plants and Politics. G. Meester, R.D. Woittiez and A.de Zeeuw (Eds); 255 pages (1999); Wageningen Pers.

The Netherlands’ Plant Protection Service celebrated its centenary in 1999 with a conference & two volumes. The proceedings are published here as a paperback collection of 14 short essays covering the areas of trends in agriculture and agribusiness; consumer concerns; Codex and the World Trade Organisation; and the role of governments and regional organisations. The heavier volume, Plants and Politics is a selection of 7 longer papers with commentary. 

Big business poor peoples: The impact of transnational corporations on the world’s poor, John Madeley; Zed Books; Paperback - 217 pages (June 1999) ISBN: 1856496724

In examining their impact on the poor, John Madeley provides a wide range of detailed information on the hardship caused directly or indirectly by the power of TNCs, which encourage profit-oriented development strategies to suit their own institutional development.  Click here for full review
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