World Food Pest Losses And The Environment

This book focuses on current food shortages and on the impact of pests in reducing world food supplies. At present, total worldwide food losses from pests are estimated to be about 45 percent. Preharvest losses alone, from insects, plant pathogens, and weeds, are estimated at about 30 percent. Additional postharvest losses from microorganisms, insects, and rodents range from about 10 to 20 percent. The contributors present data on the extent of these kinds of crop losses and analyze immediate and long-term pest management strategies. Emphasis is given to an evaluation of the effectiveness of integrated controls and the various new nonchemical pest controls used to reduce crop and livestock losses. The current worldwide environmental problems associated with both large-scale pesticide use and other pest control methods are also analyzed, including the impact that increased use of pesticides can be expected to have on the human environment. While the data included are technical, the presentation and analysis will be of interest to both the scientific community and the general public.

In their comprehensive paper, Montague Yudelman, Annu Ratta, and Davi Nygaard examine the key issues with regard to pest management and food production over the coming decades. They draw attention to the lack of adequate information on the magnitude and impact of pest losses; without such information, policymarkers are handicapped when devising strategies for meeting food needs. The authors address both chemical and nonchemical approaches to pest management, highlighting the importance of biotechnology. There is growing public sentiment against biotechnology but little appreciation as yet of its contributions to alleviating hunger by, among other things, controlling pest losses. The authors also address the important subject of the roles of different actors in pest management, most notably the private sector.

The field of pest control research, of increasing importance in a world short of food, has been plagued for many years by a variety of problems, among them (1) the instability (including pesticide resistance) of many control techniques, (2) the continuing need for improved pest management methods to increase world food supplies, and (3) the environmental and social hazards of currently used pesticides. What historical or other factors affect the ability of science to generate useful new technologies to alleviate these three major problems? Are there barriers to cooperation among the different pest control specialists? This book attempts to answer these questions, examining past events and projecting likely impacts on contemporary pest management systems. The authors--sociologists, economists, lawyers, ecologists, political scientists, and pest control scientists--examine the social, economic, political, and ethical factors that are important in shaping pest management systems, as well as developmental patterns that show the importance of these factors in shaping today's systems.

Ecofriendly Pest Management for Food Security explores the broad range of opportunity and challenges afforded by Integrated Pest Management systems. The book focuses on the insect resistance that has developed as a result of pest control chemicals, and how new methods of environmentally complementary pest control can be used to suppress harmful organisms while protecting the soil, plants, and air around them. As the world’s population continues its rapid increase, this book addresses the production of cereals, vegetables, fruits, and other foods and their subsequent demand increase. Traditional means of food crop production face proven limitations and increasing research is turning to alternative means of crop growth and protection. Addresses environmentally focused pest control with specific attention to its role in food security and sustainability. Includes a range of pest management methods, from natural enemies to biomolecules. Written by experts with extensive real-world experience.

Introduction to food-pest ecology and management; World resources and food losses to pest; Origins of insects as storage pests; Storage ecosystems; Ecology and control of microorganisms decomposing stored foods; Mite pests in stored food; Insect pests of minor importance; Ecological and behavioral aspects of cockroach management; The asian cockroach: implications for the food industry and complexities of management strategies; Beetles: coleoptera; Spider beetles: ptinidae; Biology and ecology of moth pests of stored foods; Synanthropic flies: diptera; Ants: formicidae, hymenoptera; Hymenopterus parasites of stored-food insect pests; Pest bir ecology and management; Ecology and management of bats as food-industry pests; Bioeconomics and integrated pest management of commensal rodents; Commentary on microbial and intertebrate pestecology; Commentary on vertebrate pest ecology; Prevention; Preventiveaspects of sanitation; Design and construction: building-out pests; Protecting packages against insects; Prevention and management of peast problems associated with transportation of food; Commentary on prevention; Survey and control; Biological mathods of survey and control; Host-plant resistance to insects in stored cereals and legumes; Pest resistance to pesticides; Physical methods to manage stored-food pests; Chemical control of insect pests in bulk-stored grains; Chemical controlof rodent pests in bulk-stored grains; Chemical methods to control insect pests of processed foods; Fumigation in the food industry; Commentary on survey and control; Health considerations; Nutrition changes caused by pests in food; Food pests as diseases agents; Food pests as disease vectors; Commentary on health aspects: overt and insidious implications of food pests and health; Regulation and inspection; The food and drug administration and the regulation of food sanitation; Inspection activities of the food and drug administration; Regulatory and residue issues in the US environmental protection agency; Regulatory and inspection functions in the US department of agriculture; Food industry self-inspection; Commentary on regulatory aspects; Commentary on inspection aspects; Management; Principles of reading stored-product insects and of insectary management; Education strategies for food-pest managers; Professional and consultant services; Integrated pest management for the food industry; Commentary on food-pest ecology and management.

Pests and diseases inflict a devastating impact on the quantity and quality of food production. Pesticides play a vital role in crop protection, although their excessive use poses a potential health hazard and a threat to food security and human and environmental safety. This book overviews developments on pesticides and pests that are relevant to agriculture in the Indian sub-continent, Asia and the world at large. These topics impact free world trade both directly and indirectly. The volume brings together the latest information about chemical, botanical, biorational pesticides and bioagents, international specifications for pesticide formulations, pesticide-environment interaction, and amendments to prevent leaching losses of pesticides in soil, among other topics. The issues of pest resistance, herbicide resistant or tolerant crops, and the changing global climate are also addressed. This book is a valuable collection of chapters that will serve as a reference point for students, scientists, policy-makers and other stakeholders interested in pesticides and pest control.

The field of pest control research, of increasing importance in a world short of food, has been plagued for many years by a variety of problems, among them (1) the instability (including pesticide resistance) of many control techniques, (2) the continuing need for improved pest management methods to increase world food supplies, and (3) the environmental and social hazards of currently used pesticides. What historical or other factors affect the ability of science to generate useful new technologies to alleviate these three major problems? Are there barriers to cooperation among the different pest control specialists? This book attempts to answer these questions, examining past events and projecting likely impacts on contemporary pest management systems. The authors--sociologists, economists, lawyers, ecologists, political scientists, and pest control scientists--examine the social, economic, political, and ethical factors that are important in shaping pest management systems, as well as developmental patterns that show the importance of these factors in shaping today's systems.

The book deals with the present state and problems of integrated pest management as relating to stakeholder acceptance of IPM and how integrated pest management can become a sustainable practice. The discussions include using less pesticides and the possibility of eliminating pesticides from agricultural practice.