Organic Farming and the
Environment
Information reprinted from the pages of The Organic Trade
Association
Additional information resources listed
below.
Cotton uses approximately 25% of the worlds insecticides and
more than 10% of the pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and
defoliants.). (Allan Woodburn)
Approximately 10% of all pesticides
sold for use in U. S. agriculture were applied to cotton in 1997, the most
recent year for which such data is publicly available. (American Crop
Protection Association)
Eighty-four million pounds of pesticides were
sprayed on the 14.4 million acres of conventional cotton grown in the U.S. in
2000 (5.85 pounds/ acre), ranking cotton second behind corn in total amount of
pesticides sprayed. (United States Department of Agriculture)
Over
2.03 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers were applied to conventional cotton
the same year (142 pounds/acre), making cotton the fourth most heavily
fertilized crop behind corn, winter wheat, and soybeans. (United States
Department of Agriculture)
The Environmental Protection Agency
considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in 2000 in the United
States as possible, likely, probable, or known human carcinogens
(acephate, dichloropropene, diuron, fluometuron, pendimethalin, tribufos, and
trifluralin). (Environmental Protection Agency)
In 1999, a work
crew re-entered a cotton field about five hours after it was treated with
tribufos and sodium chlorate (re-entry should have been prohibited for 24
hours). Seven workers subsequently sought medical treatment and five have had
ongoing health problems. (California Department of Pesticide
Regulation)
It takes roughly one-third of a pound of chemicals
(pesticides and fertilizers) to grow enough cotton for just one T-shirt.
(Sustainable Cotton Project)
Sources
Allen Woodburn Associates Ltd./Managing Resources Ltd., Cotton: The Crop
and its Agrochemicals Market, 1995.
American Crop Protection Association, 1997 Total U. S. Sales by Crop
Protection Product Type and Market, 1998 ACPA Industry Profile.
California Department of Pesticide Regulation, DPR Releases Data on 1999
Pesticide Injuries, 2001.
Sustainable Cotton Project, Cleaner Cotton Campaign Tool Kit, Oroville,
CA.
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Chemical Usage: 2000 Field
Crop Summary, 2001.
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, List of Chemicals Evaluated for
Carcinogenic Potential, 2001.