Changing Values in Pesticide Technology

该项目调查和评估美国使用农药技术的基本原理。一方面，农药被认为是食品生产和保护公众健康的重要工具，但另一方面，农药的使用引起了对公众健康和环境状况的严重关切。鉴于这些担忧，人们呼吁重新评估使用农药的风险和益处。调查表明，公众价值观可能会发生重大转变，对廉价和美观食品的需求与对无农药的需求相冲突。为了评估这些明显冲突的利弊，有必要从广泛的来源获得事实信息，并重新评估构成政策决定基础的价值判断。这项研究将试图获得和整合有关14个不同主题的信息，从农药使用的程度和经济效益到农药的环境和社会成本。知识渊博的科学家和学者将收集，评估，评估和总结有关农药使用的最新科学信息。他们将考虑如何能够或应该调和相互冲突的道德目标;公共和私人团体和组织在确定农药政策方面应该发挥什么作用;以及应该向政府机构和有关农药使用的法规提供什么指导。调查结果将在华盛顿举行的一次会议上公布，并通过调查结果摘要和一卷收集的论文予以公布。这项研究有一个重要和及时的重点;其结果将是有用的，并提供给广大受众。主要调查员的资格和往绩记录都很出色。与会者都是高素质和良好的平衡。提案和增编提供了关于活动计划和将要调查的价值问题的充分信息。建议优先支持该提案。

This project investigates and evaluates rationales for the use of pesticide technology in the United States. On the one hand, pesticides are regarded as valuable tools in food production and in the protection of public heath, yet on the other hand, pesticide use has given rise to serious concerns relating to both public health and the condition of the environment. In light of these concerns, people are calling for a reassessment of the risks and benefits of pesticide use. Surveys indicate the possibility of a significant shift in public values, with demands for cheap and cosmetically appealing food conflicting with demands for no pesticides. To evaluate the merits of these apparent conflicts, it is necessary to obtain factual information from a wide range of sources and to reassess the value judgments forming the basis for policy decisions. This study will attempt to obtain and integrate information on fourteen diverse topics, ranging from the extent and economic benefits of pesticide use to the environmental and social costs of pesticides. Knowledgeable scientists and scholars will collect, assess, evaluate and summarize the latest scientific information about pesticide use. They will consider how conflicting moral objectives can or should be reconciled; what role public and private groups and organizations should play in determining pesticide policy; and what guidance should inform government agencies and regulations about pesticide use. Findings will be disseminated at a meeting in Washington, DC, and via a summary of the findings and a volume of the collected papers. This research has an important and timely focus; its results will be useful and accessible to a wide audience. The qualifications and track record of the principal investigators are excellent. The participants are highly qualified and well balanced. The proposal and addendum provide adequate information about the activities plan, and about the value issues that will be investigated. The proposal is recommended for support, with high priority.