A pesticide is anything that inhibits or kills pests such as weeds, molds and fungi, insects, and rodents. When they think of pesticides, most consumers consider only man-made chemicals, but many plants produce natural pesticides as a way to protect themselves from weeds, or from insects, disease or other pests. Farmers and food processors use pesticides to increase volume, extend shelf life, and improve appearance and quality of many foods. This use in fruit and vegetable production, for example, helps to supply year-round access to a wide variety of reasonably priced produce.
Pesticides also help protect consumers from organisms that can cause foodborne illness.
Before registering any new pesticide, the EPA considers the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of its use. A new pesticide can only be registered after extensive testing by the EPA to determine that is has no unreasonable adverse effects on humans or the environment. The EPA sets specific criteria for what crops a pesticide can be used on and in what quantity. IPM was designed to produce high quality crops while protecting public health and the environment by minimizing pesticide use. During the years following World War II, many new man-made pesticides became available.