Indirect Effects of Pesticide Regulation and the Food Quality Protection Act

Current Agriculture, Food & Resource Issues

Prices and Nutrition

As illustrated above, it is generally true that removing a pesticide from the production
process will result in an increase in the price of the treated commodity. If consumers
respond to the increased prices by reducing consumption of the affected fruits and
vegetables (and perhaps shifting consumption to less nutritious foods), they may suffer a
loss of health benefits associated with the change in consumption. Scientific evidence is
accumulating for a protective effect for fruits and vegetables in prevention of cancer,
coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, diverticulosis,
and other common diseases. The level of protection suggested by these studies is often
quite dramatic. A recent review of several studies found that “the quarter of the population
with the lowest dietary intake of fruits and vegetables compared to the quarter with the
highest intake has roughly twice the cancer rate for most types of cancer” (Ames, Gold
and Willett, 1995).

Negative health outcomes from a change in dietary behavior may offset the direct
health benefits of a pesticide ban, such as reduced exposure to carcinogenic residues on
produce. A recent study by Cash (2003) investigates the possible magnitude of such
offsetting health effects. Using data on what over 18,000 people eat, and previous findings
on how people respond to changes in the price of fruits and vegetables, the author
simulated some of the health effects of a small increase in produce prices. Specifically,
Cash examined the effects of an increase of 1 percent in the price of broad categories of
fruits and vegetables on coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke, two of the most
common causes of death in the United States. The results are reported in table 2.

For a 1 percent increase in the average price of all fruits and vegetables, the
simulations indicate an increase of 6,903 cases of coronary heart disease and 3,022
ischemic strokes. In order to offset these 9,925 cases in a population of 253.9 million
people, a pesticide action would have to prevent 1 in 25,580 cancers. This is almost four

Table 2 Cases of Coronary Heart Disease and Ischemic Stroke Induced in the U.S.
Population by a 1 Percent Increase in the Price of All Fruits, All Vegetables, or
All Fruits and Vegetables

Source: Cash (2003).

Results reported are the simulation means from a series of Monte Carlo trials (n=100,000).

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