In 1972, on the basis of data on toxicity to fish and migrating birds (but not to humans), the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned virtually all uses of DDT, an inexpensive and effective pesticide once widely deployed to kill disease-carrying insects. DDT was subsequently banned for agricultural use worldwide under the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which stigmatized the chemical and effectively constituted a prohibition.
1972年，以对鱼类和候鸟（而非对人类）的毒性研究为依据，美国环境保护署全面禁止使用DDT，一种曾被广泛使用来杀灭致病虫害的廉价而有效的杀虫剂。此后在《2001斯德哥尔摩持久性有机污染物公约》的框架下，DDT在全球农业中被禁用。该公约使这种农药污名化，造成了全球禁用的实际效果。