What is the pesticide treadmill?
At first, chemical pest control seems cheap and effective, but pesticides tend not to work in the long run. Pest inevitably develop resistance to the very chemicals aimed at them. Because the natural enemies that once kept the pest under control are usually destroyed as well, the pest multiply to become threats – a phenomenon known as resurgence. In addition, insects never before considered a problem because natural enemies kept their numbers at low levels may emerge as pests. To combat resurgence and resistance, farmers then apply larger quantities of more powerful (and often more costly) chemicals, beginning an addiction or `treadmill’ from which escape is difficult. • Wouldn’t it be anti farmer to stop the use of pesticides in agriculture? While pesticides may provide farmers with short-term against pest damage, the pesticide addiction can also increase farmers’ costs beyond the point of profitability. On the other hand, farmers using no pesticide through integrated pest management
