Farming on the treadmill : agricultural change and pesticide pollution

摘要

The thesis examines the pollution of water by pesticides in Britain, an issue of publicudand political concern since the late 1980s as the results of extensive water monitoring,udrequired under the EC's Drinking Water Directive have highlighted the spread andudlevels of contamination. The study explores the co-evolution of post-war agriculturaludpolicy and pesticide usage and examines how pesticide pollution of water has beenudconstructed as a 'problem' and how this has been contested by different groups.udSurvey material from the Bedford Ouse catchment in Bedfordshire andudBuckinghamshire is used to explain how farmers use pesticides, for what reasons, andudwith what understandings of the pollution risks their use brings. The questions to beudaddressed are: i) why, since the Second World War, have pesticides become such anudimportant element of farming practice in Britain ? ii) how do farmers decide whichudchemicals to use and how to use them ? iii) how has pesticide pollution of waterudemerged as a 'problem' ? and iv) what are the implications for farming practices ofudregulations to tackle pesticide pollution ?udPollution is conceptualised as the outcome of a pollution production process' involvinguda network of actors, including farmers, advisors, scientists, pesticide manufacturersudand regulatory agencies. Through an examination of farmers' actions in this context theudthesis shows that, far from being the result of some natural technological progression,udthe increasing dependence upon pesticide technologies has been shaped and determinedudby broader social and political factors.udThe first part of the thesis explores the historical context for pesticide use in Britain,udconcentrating on the roles of agricultural policy and science and technology. In theudsecond part, the actions of arable farmers are assessed through locally-based fieldworkudconducted in 1991 in the catchment of the Bedford Ouse.