The rapid industrialization of world agriculture has been one of the most eventful social and economic transformations taking place in the second half of the 20th century. Today two agricultures coexist in most countries: capital-intensive agribusiness and labor-intensive subsistence farming. In the U.S., the former exploits largely nonwhite immigrant labor and the latter female unpaid labor, surviving as a “second job.”
The striking increase of production in industrial agriculture has been accompanied by uneven and irrational development and by a tragic upsurge of mechanical accidents and chemical hazards. Current pesticide use poses a threat to workers and their families, the general public, the environment, and future generations. Acute risks begin to be known largely through farmworkers' exposure, while chronic risks are often inferred from experimental studies but generally are disregarded.
Because of industry's historic neglect of health and environmental hazards, regulation has evolved under pressure from workers and citizens. Regulation is at present the best tool available to shape technological development according to society's needs and goals. Its basic requirements are information, reorientation of public resources, and democratic control. A major obstacle to its implementation is the inequitable social distribution of risks and benefits, within and among nations.
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