International demand for food and services drives environmental footprints of pesticide use

Abstract

Pesticides are well-recognised pollutants that threaten biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Here we quantify the environmental footprints of pesticide use for 82 countries and territories and eight broad regions using top-down multi-region input-output analysis. Pesticide footprints are expressed as hazard loads that quantify the body weight (bw) of non-target organisms required to absorb pesticide residues without experiencing adverse effects. We show that the world’s consumption in 2015 resulted in 2 Gt-bw of pesticide footprints. Of these, 32% are traded internationally. The global average per-capita pesticide footprint is 0.27 t-bw capita−1 y−1, with high-income countries having the largest per-capita footprint. China, Germany, and United Kingdom are the top three net importers of pesticide hazard loads embodied in commodities, while the USA, Brazil, and Spain are the three largest net exporters. Our study highlights the need for policies to target pesticide use reduction while ensuring adverse impacts are not transferred to other nations.

Pest management science often disregards farming system complexities

“…The hazard load (HL) was calculated based on a similar concept as the total applied toxicity indicator (TAT 91 ;), as HL ¼ ∑½M i =ðNOAEL i 365Þ, with M i being the annual applied mass of insecticide i and NOAEL i being the no-observed adverse effect level of insecticide i in mammals and birds. The annual insecticide applied mass was calculated based on the crop-specific insecticide application rates were accessed through the PEST-CHEMGRIDS database for 2015 68 , whereas the values of NOAEL used were tabulated in Supplementary Data 3 of Tang et al 92 . For target herbivores, the scientific name and taxonomic classification (i.e., sub-class or order) was recorded for maximum 6 listed biota.…”

Europe's ambitious pesticide policy and its impact on agriculture and food systems

“…For example, Bremmer et al (2021) note a potential increase in net imports into Europe for crops such as rapeseed and citrus fruits, while net exports for tomatoes, olives, and wine will decrease. Changes in trade flows also risk shifting environmental impacts from Europe to other parts of the world, that is, leakage (Tang et al, 2022). More specifically, if lower footprints in Europe mean lower productivity that must be compensated by higher imports, this may increase the intensity of production and land use in other parts of the world, leading to a shift in environmental and human health impacts (Barreiro-Hurle et al, 2021).…”

Pesticide reduction amidst food and feed security concerns in Europe

“…Owing to the lack of field data on yield impacts, these analyses either elicited estimates or imposed assumptions of adverse impacts on yields to inform economic simulations. Possible market changes were generally not included, such as changes in the products consumed 10 and market-based policy instruments geared towards low pesticide use 11 .…”

“…In developed economies, the aggregate of the pesticide footprint linked to the consumption of textiles, services, other and ‘empty-calorie food’ (that is, foods that have little to no nutritional value) accounts for a share of 37% (ref. 10 ). This estimate does not account for pesticide use in non-cropland (for example, urban areas).…”