Science has developed pesticides that kill damaging insects while allowing beneficial insects to survive. Growers use models of pest and disease life cycles to determine the best times to spray so that needed chemicals are used efficiently. Use of pesticides is strictly regulated by federal and state laws. Two federal agencies regulate the safety and use of pesticides. EPA standards, established through a complex review system, help keep pesticide residues on fresh produce at safe levels.
Pesticides undergo careful testing under controlled laboratory conditions.
The laboratory tests include both short and long-term studies to determine the effects of pesticides on human health. The outcome of these and other studies is the basis upon which the federal government sets the standards for use of pesticides. The most obvious benefit of agrichemical use is low-cost and abundant availability of food. Pesticides have controlled the spread of plant diseases, rodents and insects that could devastate crops through entire states. As a result, bountiful harvests are a normal part of today's standard of living.