Editorial - Pesticides News 40

This is the 40th issue that marks the tenth birthday of Pesticides News. Now seems a fitting time to look back to see what has changed in the world of pesticides.
    Our first article was on the proposed introduction of Prior Informed Consent (PIC) into the FAO code: the international community has some years experience of implementing PIC and this year the text of a legally binding convention was agreed for ratification by UN member states. We also featured an article on the problems in the UK disposing of stocks of the withdrawn herbicide dinoseb: this issue profiles the increasing problem of obsolete stocks worldwide.
    Over the years our abstracts of research findings included a number of papers looking at the effects of exposure to organophosphates (OPs) on humans. Worldwide they continue to be a threat, as the organochlorine pesticides have tended to be replaced by OPs, with the consequent risks to human health. In the UK, the forthcoming report from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Psychiatry on OP sheep dips is likely to add fuel to this debate.
    One of our early concerns was pesticide regulation, and in particular, bans and severe restrictions of pesticides. Many of the concerns raised then are still current today, as highlighted by the fact sheet on DDT in this issue. It was one of the first synthetic pesticides, but yet it still causes major environmental concerns.
    Early issues of Pesticides News noted the development of sugar beet resistance to herbicides. It would have been difficult then to imagine the potential impact of biotechnology on pesticides, but a major food retailer in this issue describes the action he has had to take to enable consumers to choose if they want genetically modified soya beans.
    So what have we achieved in the last ten years? There is a greater awareness of the hazards pesticide pose. The interest and uptake of organic farming is increasing, if from a small base. The implementation of integrated pest management through farmer field schools has increased. The trade in hazardous pesticides, especially to developing countries is in part being reduced. So there are modest achievements, but we certainly have enough work to keep us busy for another ten years or more...

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 40, June 1998, page 2]