ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an historical account of the factors which have caused framings increased reliance on chemical pesticides over the last 50 years. It describes that pesticide use has been a factor allowing the revolutions of specialisation and intensification in farming. It discusses the threat to the cheapness and abundance caused by restrictions on pesticides. The chapter draws attention to some of the consequences of this reliance, which may be fundamentally unsustainable in terms of impacts on farmer welfare, ecosystem health and biodiversity. It explores that scientific concern about subtle, chronic and often indirect effects of pesticide which Silent Spring brought to the fore are once again dominating the debate about human health impacts. The chapter summarizes recent information and focuses on two aspects of pesticide dependence that receive scant attention the consequences of pesticide production, transport and storage, and the political consequences of the pesticide industry's entrenched position.
