Annie Shattuck
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Indiana University
Thursday September 25th, at 3:30pm, HORT 117 or via Zoom.
The New Geography of the Global Pesticide Complex
Global pesticide use is increasing steadily, with exponential growth in low-income countries. Profound changes in the global pesticide complex over the last two decades have shifted the geography of production, use, and regulation, with very little transparency over the scale, speed or effect of the changes. The rise of the generics industry, the birth of China as a powerhouse manufacturer and shifting global regulatory environment is reshaping environments with implications for global public health. I draw on a novel method to produce a more accurate quantitative map of global pesticide use and production drawing on trade statistics, measures of national reporting accuracy for trade flows, and government and proprietary industry data. The role of pesticides in agrarian political economy has changed in qualitative ways as well, as toxicity’s use value substitutes for labor, knowledge, market access, and insurance. Using paraquat as a case study, I look at how these changes in the global pesticide complex come home to the rural US.