Pesticides in Focus
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Year Published: 1971
Description: This color educational film is about pesticides. The film was produced by Shell and made in 1971. It was directed by Richard Bigham and Richard Q. McNaughton, and was originally distributed by the Shell Corporation's Agricultural Division. The film shows the development of new pesticides and their benefits, and examines the process of developing data so that pesticides can be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Opening titles: A Shell Film. Pesticides In Focus (:06-:36). Mountain view. Horses plow a field. People pick from muddy fields. Women pick grapes from grape vines. A woman plays with flour as he baby is on her back. Cities from all over the world - life is the city. Cars, people, tall buildings. Lots of people walking around. Plowing tractors go through wheat in a field (:37-2:43). Trees are knocked down in the forest. Animals flee as man creeps closer with their modern cities. People cut and pick crops in the fields. Corn has pests on it. Close on insects and larva as they threaten everything man grows. Field. People walk around near crops. Men spray crops and plants. Pesticides are sprayed by men onto the crops. A low flying small plane sprays crops. Damaged crop falls over. A man shakes an orange tree to collect the oranges. People cut the crops and cultivate them (2:44-5:25). Men spray pesticides in a village on sides of buildings. Men in all sorts of countries use pesticides and spray them. Aerial shot of a village town. A man sprays a lake with pesticides to get rid of gnats. Fish in the water, birds go after fish. A man on a boat. Food is served in a restaurant. A man brings a turkey to a table and starts to carve it. Animals in the wild. Insects attack a caterpillar. Coffee plantation. Ladybugs were used to kill the insects that were harming the coffee crop. Screw worms are bred in a factory, they live on flesh. Cows graze as do sheep. Screw worms like livestock. A man sterilizes screwworms and puts them in boxes, their eggs will never hatch. A plane flies high over crop. Cows rounded up (5:26-9:34). Bulls go in the water. Crops in the breeze. Lettuce crop, apple tree. A man sprays pesticides on leaves. A scientist works in a laboratory. A bunch of buildings where the scientists work. Chemists and scientists walk around and into a room a man starts looking at something. A scientist puts some insects into a jar with a plant. A man tests a pesticides spray. Bean leaves are being sprayed with a new type of pesticide (9:35-12:50). Jars hold leaves and the test pesticide. A mouse is given a test to see how a mammal reacts to it. Plants. Plants are sprayed on a conveyor belt. Soil is sprayed with a new pesticide to see how it reacts. Treated soil is given to earthworms to see how they react. Some pesticide is placed in water with fish. Bees are also experimented with. Birds eat from their feed. Those conducting the test do a test outside in the field by spraying crop. Some of the soil is picked up to be tested (12:51-16:11). Scientist does a check of the soil and a computer records his results. A toxicologist looks at the mammals that have been tested on. Another examines a rat to see how they have reacted to it. More rats and their offspring are looked at. Rat urine is looked at for damage to the kidneys (16:12-17:55). Rat blood is reviewed as well. Laboratory volunteers inhale pesticides. Tests are analyzed and recorded to see how those are reacting. Researchers review their data on computers. A helicopter sprays pesticides onto crops. A truck sprays the pesticides onto the crop as it drives through them. Computer prints paperwork. A man in the field observes. Some samples of soil are removed. Leaves are looked at in the field outside. A booklet called 'Petition for Tolerances' is printed out en masse. The booklets are placed into a larger bound volume and stored away. A government agency reviews the testing procedures and evidence at the trials. The men discuss around a table (17:56-21:15). A farmer uses a machine to gather his oranges. A man collects some oranges and bags them, taking them away for review. Men have medical examinations when they work at the plant. Computer data is reviewed. A doctor looks over an x-ray and then jots down his conclusions. Men plow the fields by hand. Corn is cooked and served. People eat food. A woman gathers food. Birds fly around near the water. Locusts swarm and a child runs through the swarm (21:16-24:01). End credits (24:02-24:10). This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com Key moments View all Opening titles: A Shell Film. Pesticides In Focus (:06-:36). Mountain view. Horses plow a field. People pick from muddy fields. Women pick grapes from grape vines. A woman plays with flour as he baby is on her back. Cities from all over the world - life is the city. Cars, people, tall buildings. Lots of people walking around. Plowing tractors go through wheat in a field (:37.Trees are knocked down in the forest. Animals flee as man creeps closer with their modern cities. People cut and pick crops in the fields. Corn has pests on it. Close on insects and larva as they threaten everything man grows. Field. People walk around near crops. Men spray crops and plants. Pesticides are sprayed by men onto the crops. A low flying small plane sprays crops. Damaged crop falls over. A man shakes an orange tree to collect the oranges. People cut the crops and cultivate them (-). Men spray pesticides in a village on sides of buildings. Men in all sorts of countries use pesticides and spray them. Aerial shot of a village town. A man sprays a lake with pesticides to get rid of gnats. Fish in the water, birds go after fish. A man on a boat. Food is served in a restaurant. A man brings a turkey to a table and starts to carve it. Animals in the wild. Insects attack a caterpillar. Coffee plantation. Ladybugs were used to kill the insects that were harming the coffee crop. Screw worms are bred in a factory, they live on flesh. Cows graze as do sheep. Screw worms like livestock. A man sterilizes screwworms and puts them in boxes, their eggs will never hatch. A plane flies high over crop. Cows rounded up (-). Bulls go in the water. Crops in the breeze. Lettuce crop, apple tree. A man sprays pesticides on leaves. A scientist works in a laboratory. A bunch of buildings where the scientists work. Chemists and scientists walk around and into a room a man starts looking at something. A scientist puts some insects into a jar with a plant. A man tests a pesticides spray. Bean leaves are being sprayed with a new type of pesticide (-). Jars hold leaves and the test pesticide. A mouse is given a test to see how a mammal reacts to it. Plants. Plants are sprayed on a conveyor belt. Soil is sprayed with a new pesticide to see how it reacts. Treated soil is given to earthworms to see how they react. Some pesticide is placed in water with fish. Bees are also experimented with. Birds eat from their feed. Those conducting the test do a test outside in the field by spraying crop. Some of the soil is picked up to be tested (-). Scientist does a check of the soil and a computer records his results. A toxicologist looks at the mammals that have been tested on. Another examines a rat to see how they have reacted to it. More rats and their offspring are looked at. Rat urine is looked at for damage to the kidneys (-). Rat blood is reviewed as well. Laboratory volunteers inhale pesticides. Tests are analyzed and recorded to see how those are reacting. Researchers review their data on computers. A helicopter sprays pesticides onto crops. A truck sprays the pesticides onto the crop as it drives through them. Computer prints paperwork. A man in the field observes. Some samples of soil are removed. Leaves are looked at in the field outside. A booklet called 'Petition for Tolerances' is printed out en masse. The booklets are placed into a larger bound volume and stored away. A government agency reviews the testing procedures and evidence at the trials. The men discuss around a table (-). A farmer uses a machine to gather his oranges. A man collects some oranges and bags them, taking them away for review. Men have medical examinations when they work at the plant. Computer data is reviewed. A doctor looks over an x-ray and then jots down his conclusions. Men plow the fields by hand. Corn is cooked and served. People eat food. A woman gathers food. Birds fly around near the water. Locusts swarm and a child runs through the swarm 2:43 End credits (-). 21:16 Transcript Follow along using the transcript. Show transcript PeriscopeFilm 759K subscribers Videos About Support Us on Patreon
Complete Record: This color educational film is about pesticides. The film was produced by Shell and made in 1971. It was directed by Richard Bigham and Richard Q. McNaughton, and was originally distributed by the Shell Corporation's Agricultural Division. The film shows the development of new pesticides and their benefits, and examines the process of developing data so that pesticides can be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Opening titles: A Shell Film. Pesticides In Focus (:06-:36). Mountain view. Horses plow a field. People pick from muddy fields. Women pick grapes from grape vines. A woman plays with flour as he baby is on her back. Cities from all over the world - life is the city. Cars, people, tall buildings. Lots of people walking around. Plowing tractors go through wheat in a field (:37-2:43). Trees are knocked down in the forest. Animals flee as man creeps closer with their modern cities. People cut and pick crops in the fields. Corn has pests on it. Close on insects and larva as they threaten everything man grows. Field. People walk around near crops. Men spray crops and plants. Pesticides are sprayed by men onto the crops. A low flying small plane sprays crops. Damaged crop falls over. A man shakes an orange tree to collect the oranges. People cut the crops and cultivate them (2:44-5:25). Men spray pesticides in a village on sides of buildings. Men in all sorts of countries use pesticides and spray them. Aerial shot of a village town. A man sprays a lake with pesticides to get rid of gnats. Fish in the water, birds go after fish. A man on a boat. Food is served in a restaurant. A man brings a turkey to a table and starts to carve it. Animals in the wild. Insects attack a caterpillar. Coffee plantation. Ladybugs were used to kill the insects that were harming the coffee crop. Screw worms are bred in a factory, they live on flesh. Cows graze as do sheep. Screw worms like livestock. A man sterilizes screwworms and puts them in boxes, their eggs will never hatch. A plane flies high over crop. Cows rounded up (5:26-9:34). Bulls go in the water. Crops in the breeze. Lettuce crop, apple tree. A man sprays pesticides on leaves. A scientist works in a laboratory. A bunch of buildings where the scientists work. Chemists and scientists walk around and into a room a man starts looking at something. A scientist puts some insects into a jar with a plant. A man tests a pesticides spray. Bean leaves are being sprayed with a new type of pesticide (9:35-12:50). Jars hold leaves and the test pesticide. A mouse is given a test to see how a mammal reacts to it. Plants. Plants are sprayed on a conveyor belt. Soil is sprayed with a new pesticide to see how it reacts. Treated soil is given to earthworms to see how they react. Some pesticide is placed in water with fish. Bees are also experimented with. Birds eat from their feed. Those conducting the test do a test outside in the field by spraying crop. Some of the soil is picked up to be tested (12:51-16:11). Scientist does a check of the soil and a computer records his results. A toxicologist looks at the mammals that have been tested on. Another examines a rat to see how they have reacted to it. More rats and their offspring are looked at. Rat urine is looked at for damage to the kidneys (16:12-17:55). Rat blood is reviewed as well. Laboratory volunteers inhale pesticides. Tests are analyzed and recorded to see how those are reacting. Researchers review their data on computers. A helicopter sprays pesticides onto crops. A truck sprays the pesticides onto the crop as it drives through them. Computer prints paperwork. A man in the field observes. Some samples of soil are removed. Leaves are looked at in the field outside. A booklet called 'Petition for Tolerances' is printed out en masse. The booklets are placed into a larger bound volume and stored away. A government agency reviews the testing procedures and evidence at the trials. The men discuss around a table (17:56-21:15). A farmer uses a machine to gather his oranges. A man collects some oranges and bags them, taking them away for review. Men have medical examinations when they work at the plant. Computer data is reviewed. A doctor looks over an x-ray and then jots down his conclusions. Men plow the fields by hand. Corn is cooked and served. People eat food. A woman gathers food. Birds fly around near the water. Locusts swarm and a child runs through the swarm (21:16-24:01). End credits (24:02-24:10). This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com Key moments View all Opening titles: A Shell Film. Pesticides In Focus (:06-:36). Mountain view. Horses plow a field. People pick from muddy fields. Women pick grapes from grape vines. A woman plays with flour as he baby is on her back. Cities from all over the world - life is the city. Cars, people, tall buildings. Lots of people walking around. Plowing tractors go through wheat in a field (:37.Trees are knocked down in the forest. Animals flee as man creeps closer with their modern cities. People cut and pick crops in the fields. Corn has pests on it. Close on insects and larva as they threaten everything man grows. Field. People walk around near crops. Men spray crops and plants. Pesticides are sprayed by men onto the crops. A low flying small plane sprays crops. Damaged crop falls over. A man shakes an orange tree to collect the oranges. People cut the crops and cultivate them (-). Men spray pesticides in a village on sides of buildings. Men in all sorts of countries use pesticides and spray them. Aerial shot of a village town. A man sprays a lake with pesticides to get rid of gnats. Fish in the water, birds go after fish. A man on a boat. Food is served in a restaurant. A man brings a turkey to a table and starts to carve it. Animals in the wild. Insects attack a caterpillar. Coffee plantation. Ladybugs were used to kill the insects that were harming the coffee crop. Screw worms are bred in a factory, they live on flesh. Cows graze as do sheep. Screw worms like livestock. A man sterilizes screwworms and puts them in boxes, their eggs will never hatch. A plane flies high over crop. Cows rounded up (-). Bulls go in the water. Crops in the breeze. Lettuce crop, apple tree. A man sprays pesticides on leaves. A scientist works in a laboratory. A bunch of buildings where the scientists work. Chemists and scientists walk around and into a room a man starts looking at something. A scientist puts some insects into a jar with a plant. A man tests a pesticides spray. Bean leaves are being sprayed with a new type of pesticide (-). Jars hold leaves and the test pesticide. A mouse is given a test to see how a mammal reacts to it. Plants. Plants are sprayed on a conveyor belt. Soil is sprayed with a new pesticide to see how it reacts. Treated soil is given to earthworms to see how they react. Some pesticide is placed in water with fish. Bees are also experimented with. Birds eat from their feed. Those conducting the test do a test outside in the field by spraying crop. Some of the soil is picked up to be tested (-). Scientist does a check of the soil and a computer records his results. A toxicologist looks at the mammals that have been tested on. Another examines a rat to see how they have reacted to it. More rats and their offspring are looked at. Rat urine is looked at for damage to the kidneys (-). Rat blood is reviewed as well. Laboratory volunteers inhale pesticides. Tests are analyzed and recorded to see how those are reacting. Researchers review their data on computers. A helicopter sprays pesticides onto crops. A truck sprays the pesticides onto the crop as it drives through them. Computer prints paperwork. A man in the field observes. Some samples of soil are removed. Leaves are looked at in the field outside. A booklet called 'Petition for Tolerances' is printed out en masse. The booklets are placed into a larger bound volume and stored away. A government agency reviews the testing procedures and evidence at the trials. The men discuss around a table (-). A farmer uses a machine to gather his oranges. A man collects some oranges and bags them, taking them away for review. Men have medical examinations when they work at the plant. Computer data is reviewed. A doctor looks over an x-ray and then jots down his conclusions. Men plow the fields by hand. Corn is cooked and served. People eat food. A woman gathers food. Birds fly around near the water. Locusts swarm and a child runs through the swarm 2:43 End credits (-). 21:16 Transcript Follow along using the transcript. Show transcript PeriscopeFilm 759K subscribers Videos About Support Us on Patreon
Transcription
[Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] man is unable to live off nature as he finds it he has survived only by changing it to instinct he brought reason of imagination and developed the arts of Agriculture far beyond the dictates of mere survival [Music] for thousands of years the changes he made were gradual his demands were modest his numbers slowed to increase [Music] now for more and more people life is the city the busy world of man's own invention we're living owes nothing to nature or so it seems what shatters that illusion is people the more there are the more they crowd into cities and they all depend on what others can produce from the land this is now the scale of human need a yield from every acre undreamt of a generation ago but it's an achievement in conflict with nature [Applause] wherever land is brought under intensive cultivation the balance of nature is disrupted [Applause] instead of a profusion of varied life acre upon acre devoted to a single crop an environment out of balance a paradise for pests [Music] tests of livestock grain fruit vegetables they threaten everything we grow unchecked the toll exacted by disease and choking weed alone would be enough to feed a continent together with the ravages of the insect world enough to feed 1 billion of us our survival ultimately depends on growing more but first on protecting what we have the use of pesticides in agriculture goes back over 200 years but it's only in the last 20 that control has been really effective [Music] in the world as a whole crop losses have been cut by as much as half [Applause] the key to control was the discovery of a new type of pesticide it was effective against an astonishing variety of pests it was cheap safe to handle and persistent it was this that made possible the worldwide campaigns against insect borne disease once applied it remained active long enough to break the chain of reinfection in country after country the scourge of endemic disease carried by insects has been brought under control millions of lives have been saved but as the threat has receded the wisdom of such widespread use has been questioned these pesticides are after all man-made chemicals new to nature could they be affecting the environment in ways that were not foreseen spraying a lake will get rid of a plague of gnats but what will it do to life in the water what might happen to fish that feed on it or to birds that feed on the fish and the anxiety goes deeper still what about the effect on ourselves they say that pesticide residues in the food we eat have never done us any harm but can we be sure they never will isn't there some other way of controlling pests what about nature's balancing forces [Music] [Applause] predator and parasite biological controls why not use them [Music] [Applause] in Kenya the coffee plantations were once attacked by the mealy bug so they imported a predator from overseas a species of ladybug and it worked the pests own behavior can be revealing to white flies for instance can be trapped by their liking for a particular color but control is rarely so simple these are screw worms bred in a factory 150 million of them every week they live on flesh in the Western Hemisphere screwworm is the scourge of livestock its choice of habitat the cause of intense suffering [Music] their control is an elaborate procedure as the worms start to pupate their sterilized by irradiation with cobalt-60 released over the countryside they will mate with fertile partners but their eggs will never hatch [Music] [Music] the trouble is screwworm isn't the only pest of livestock to protect them against ticks and lice they still have to be dipped in a pesticide as with livestock so with crops we are rarely faced with a single pest with rice there are over 200 different ones on lettuce alone there are 30 on apples and pears more than a hundred and biological controls have been found for less than 5% the only weapon effective against all of them is chemicals the perfect pesticide has still to be discovered deadly to pass yet totally harmless to other forms of life but the last 20 years have brought it a good deal closer the search begins in a world of micrograms and milliliters with the synthesis of a new group of chemical compounds likely to have pests killing properties over a hundred laboratories are engaged in the search but progress is slow it has to be in developing a modern pesticide the chemical laboratory is only the starting point in a research complex that may spread over several acres this one is part of a working farm itself a laboratory for agronomist entomologist biochemists toxicologists nutritionists veterinarians they are there to investigate the biological activity of the compounds the chemist produces to assess their effect not just on pests but on all forms of life at any one time a number of quite different compounds may be under investigation some may be designed as fungicides others as wheat killers but none is more exacting and difficult to produce how to find the compound effective against only a specific group of insects the problem is that insects are animals with a surprising amount in common with the higher species hundreds of thousands of compounds have been examined only a few have emerged as insecticides the rest have been abandoned eliminated by a program of screening that takes at least five years these are bean leaves sprayed with a new compound at various dilutions for feeding to a pest the dose that kills 90% of the pests sets a standard for comparison with the tests that follow the smaller the dose the more promising the chemical but first we must know its effect on other forms of life what's being determined here is the dose that's toxic to mammals how does it compare with the dose that killed the insects ten times the amount a hundred ten thousand the bigger the difference the better the compounds chances of going on to further tests plants it could have an adverse effect on the crops it's designed to protect so a variety of species are sprayed at heavy dosages and examined for signs of damage equally important what might it do to the soil it could damage the microorganisms that make it fertile treated soil is also given to earthworms they're just as vital to a healthy soil water and aquatic life here the test is on a species of fish particularly sensitive to poisoning the Harlequin and it's tried on bees [Music] beneficial insects are obviously close to other species but it is possible to produce an insecticide that's much less toxic to bees than to pass [Music] birds could also be endangered in the aviary typical species are kept under a lifetime's observation the trial compound mixed with their feed [Applause] suppose by now an insecticide looks promising we need to know how it will behave in the open field away from the controlled environment of the laboratory spray a growing crop and the chemical may well prove as effective as a lab test suggested but how will rain and sunlight effective how long will it remain active on the leaves and in the soil [Music] sooner or later the chemical will break down into other substances probably harmless but they could be toxic only analysis will tell today the course of an insecticide can be traced throughout its act of life from samples taken at intervals during the season what began as a fraction of a gram on a plot of beans can be traced and recorded to a part per billion of residue in the surrounding soil residues in the soil residues in the body the toxicologist works with animals to arrive at results valid for human beings at this stage his concern is no longer with the acutely toxic dose but with the effect of traces of insecticide that reached the body over a period of time the compound to be investigated is mixed into the feed of hundreds of animals who will eat it all their lives each animal is examined for any sign of abnormality any departure from normal health or growth on rats tests are carried out through three generations only the first has eaten the compounds their offspring could only be affected by transmission from the parent for every animal a complete medical record once a month their urine is analyzed to check for signs of damage to the kidneys their blood is also sampled put through a machine that counts the number of white cells electronically other tests involve the scientists themselves here laboratory volunteers inhale concentrated doses of pesticide monitors check their heart and brain activity for any irregularity test analyze record and test again as the data builds up conclusions begin to emerge research began with a group of pests and the amount of a chemical needed to control them what now have been established our margins of safety the quantities other forms of life can tolerate without being affected the final evidence comes from extensive trials in the field a [Music] pesticide must be assessed worldwide in the pest natural habitat wherever variations of climate or soil could affect its performance trials are carried out in normal conditions the compound applied as the farmer would use it but the field is still only an extension of the laboratory the same sampling measuring analyzing the same recording of data continues and may last two or three years [Music] only a field trials confirm the laboratory findings will a pesticide go forward for approval before a pesticide can be manufactured and sold it must receive the approval of scientists in regulatory agencies of government they have the power to endorse modify or reject the makers recommendations on how to use the chemical they evaluate the manufacturers testing procedures and evidence of the trials dr. Greece might want to brief you on that yes there were some questionable liver lesions in rats we don't know what the significance is but I think we ought to ask for the slides in to examine them ourselves yes in the case of a pesticide that leaves an active residue they're responsible for laying down maximum safe levels allowed in crops at harvest time this farmer has used a government approved pesticide even now he's not free from supervision at the packing station government officials take random samples to ensure that the established safety margins are being maintained the manufacturing plant itself serves as a the operators handle the pesticide in a much more concentrated form than it will be in actual use so continuous health checks here are more than routine detailed records of everyone working in the plant are built up from regular and frequent medical examinations these clinical tests provide valuable evidence and the records at this plant go back over 15 years it's been established that plant operators have remained unaffected by levels of a pesticide residue up to 300 times those found in the population as a whole on all the available evidence pesticides properly handled can be used without hazard man is unable to live off nature as he finds it he survives only by changing it life is still the struggle for food today there are three billion mouths to feed and where now there's one they'll soon be too you may eat simply you may eat well [Music] but we live in a world where millions are hungry our first concern must be to banish hunger and the fear of famine in a world without pesticides these creatures might be safer but so would these locusts [Music] [Music]
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