pete myers

Environmental Health Sciences

Internalizing the externalized public health costs of industrial agriculture

Pete Myers, Environmental Health Sciences


What do we know?

The costs are real

But what we now ‘know’ vastly underestimates true costs

Only the tiniest fraction of ag chemicals have been studied for health effects by independent scientists

Only a small fraction of plausible health endpoints have been assessed

Only a handful of studies have tried to connect those health effects with economic costs


What do we know?

But there is an even larger elephant in the room

A revolution in science has unfolded over the past 20 years indicating health consequences far bigger and more common than traditional estimates even hinted.


Revolution in science

Epigenetics and endocrine disruption


The United Nations is serious about it


Revolution in science

Low doses matter a lot

Events in the womb don’t stay in the womb

The tools we have used to assess safety are profoundly misguided

2.5 parts per billion of atrazine


Low doses matter

Same strain of miceSame caloric intakeSame activity levels

Newbold et al. 2005, 2007

1 part per billion

1000 ppb causes weight loss


Low levels matter

Not “just” affecting farmworkers

pete myers

Health & Medicine

health effects

health consequences

low levels

science low doses

true costs

rooma revolution

womb dont

caloric intake