
The U.S. is still using many pesticides that are banned in other countries - bookofjoe
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/united-states-pesticides-banned-other-countries
======
dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20132575](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20132575)

------
pg_bot
This article is a fantastic example of an editorial slant that provides zero
evidence to back up their position. You can write the exact same article in
reverse and have no idea whether the regulations are warranted or not. If you
want to write a good article, provide the rationale for the ban and let the
people decide whether one side is too lax or the other is too stringent.
What's the evidence? Where's the science? I can't logically come to a
conclusion based on what you've written. There's a big difference between a
ban on 72, 17, and 11 chemicals alone, so why not pit the EU vs the rest of
the world?

I could write the following article: "EU continues to allow use of banned
artificial sweeteners in food products" but that wouldn't give you any
information on whether sodium cyclamate is worth banning.

~~~
SargeZT
And indeed, why not pit the EU versus California? I could write an alarming
headline along the lines of "The EU continues to use over 5000 chemicals
declared proven by the state of California to cause cancer!" and get my clicks
while completely glossing over the fact that the vast majority of California's
notices are pretty much nonsensical.

------
dexen
"The EU is still allowing many dangerous toys[1][2] that are banned in U.S."
/s

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Surprise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Surprise)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium_magnet_toys#United_S...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium_magnet_toys#United_States)

~~~
dusbajd
I can choose not to buy magnets and chocolate eggs.

I can’t choose not to buy poison in the US (“organic” foodstuff is an
expensive bandaid)

~~~
dev_dull
Fair enough but two sovereign countries aren’t expected to agree on
everything. Variance is expected. What’s the data say in the pesticides?

~~~
ilikehurdles
Data says big agriculture has more lobbyist money in US Congress than the team
behind the Kinder Egg. The FDA is a revolving door. Dangerous toys get banned
because they're easy, usually seasonal and low market-penetration targets for
politicians campaigning on protecting the children.

~~~
owlninja
Can you share this data?

~~~
ilikehurdles
Opensecrets is a good source:
[https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?Ind=A](https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?Ind=A)

I don't have the details of the contribution amounts of the Ferrero team on
Kinder Suprise Eggs.

------
nightwing
All pesticides are bad in one way or another, what we need to do is invest
more in development of gene drives for elimination of more pests. Doublesex
gene used by target malaria is similar in most insects, so the same technique
can be used to target most of the pests, and dramatically improve the
situation.

~~~
rwj
Nothing says human safety like a technology that can make a species extinct.
The motivations for elimination mosquitoes is noble, but I'm not comfortable
about where this technology will go afterwards.

~~~
nightwing
We have had lots of technologies that could make (and made) many species
extinct: fire, spears, guns, nets, walls in the right place that helped to
trap the whole herd. The difference this time is that we have a technology
that can make extinct the species that we want to make extinct, without side
effects. What complications do you foresee with this technology?

------
_iyig
And pesticides which _are_ banned in the U.S. are often used illegally, such
as carbofuran:

[https://www.hcn.org/articles/californias-backcountry-drug-
wa...](https://www.hcn.org/articles/californias-backcountry-drug-war)

------
DenisM
>The imbalance between voluntary cancellations and government regulations
creates a bias toward pesticide use in the United States based on economic
factors, rather than health and environmental risks

Litigation risk is an economic representation of future health and
environmental risks. That's the American way - market pressure is the
preferred method of regulation.

------
rayvd
Failure of lobbying mainly. Companies need to donate more to politicians to
regulate their competitors out of the market!

------
dsfyu404ed
TL;DR the EU basically uses a whitelist and the US basically uses a blacklist

Of course the EU bans more stuff and the US allows more, those are the default
actions of the respective systems!

