Pesticides meet megadiversity in the expansion of biofuel crops

Global interest in biofuels is driving a continuous expansion of agroindustrial production in tropical countries, bringing a substantial share of the world's biodiversity into contact with hundreds of potentially hazardous pesticides. We reviewed the hazards imposed by all 784 pesticides currently registered for use on biofuel crops in Brazil. We detected compounds that have been suspended by international conventions, as well as over 80 compounds included in lists of priority concern for exhibiting environmental persistence and/or having the potential to elicit neurotoxic, reprotoxic, carcinogenic, or endocrine‐disrupting effects in humans and wildlife. These chemicals will be used at increased rates, or for the first time, across large expanses of agroin‐dustrially converted pastures and native (ie pristine) habitat in the cerrado (tropical savanna) and Amazonian rainforest biomes. If human and environmental health are to be balanced with productivity to achieve a sustainable agriculture, bolder initiatives on pesticide restriction and control must be implemented in tropical countries.