Developing nations are dependent on chemical pesticides to preserve their natural resources and to prevent insects from destroying valuable food crops. Each nation has to produce enough food to feed their population and also to rely on export that provide them with much need cash to sustain their economy. Some of these larger nations also are being depended on to provide other countries with food and sadly some are unable to keep up with such demands. The burden of providing enough food has become increasingly difficult for these nations over the past years because farmers who used to plant these crops have moved into urban areas to seek better paying jobs. Those who remain are unable to plant enough to feed the population, hence their dependent on chemicals to increase food production. This practice, although an age-old one is dangerous. The use of chemical pesticides in food production is to be banned.
There is a lack of awareness among consumers of the harmful effects of chemicals on food. The concern among food administration personnel is that there is not enough literature being put out on the dangers of consuming these harmful residues on their fresh fruits and vegetables. They are concerned with the likely adverse effects on consumers. Sadly, not many nations have a clear policy on the use as well as training programs for persons who use the product. Few developed nations have clear outlined policy on the laws governing the use of chemicals. There should be programs to monitor and put in place training for our farmers. Man’s detachment from the land has caused him to mistreat it, hence the use of these harmful substances. Anthony & Soule (849-853), in their article “A Multicultural Approach to Ecopsychology, make reference to Ecopsychology which is not only about our connection to nature but about our response to what happens around us. He gave examples of man’s experience with farming and the many challenges with daily living. Man has separated himself from the land and now he is suffering the consequences.
Pesticides kill more than the pests they are intended to kill. Over 90 percent of pesticide deaths have been reported, and campaigners in Ghana and other countries are advocating for tighter controls. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) pesticide poisoning accounts for over 20,000 deaths per year. Many farmers are unaware of this and continue to use the harmful chemical. In Northern India, 23 primary school children died after they consumed poisoned food. Someone used a kitchen utensil used for pouring cooking oil to pour pesticide. People are unaware of the potential danger and continue to use it carelessly. It is discovered that persons kept pesticides close to food stores in farming areas. In 2010 over 15 farmers died as a result.
Medical reports have surfaced where the prolonged use of chemical by one male farmer rendered him infertile after constant use of the chemical over a five year period. According to medical reports by the Northern Presbyterian agricultural Services (Npas), chemical is more dangerous to women farmers than their male counterparts because a woman’s skin is more absorbent. In one third world country, the dangerous use of chemical was forcibly brought out when in the mid 1970’s over 10 persons died. People started dying after eating their evening meal. Their meal consists of the usual ground provisions that they either planted themselves, or they had purchased it from the local market. There were isolated cases all over the island which made it difficult for the authorities to ascertain what caused these deaths. It was found out that a shipment of wheat products was contaminated by chemical substance.
Pesticide use is to be banned although they help in the growth of plants. If its use is continued then, it will become ironic that the food that we need to keep us healthy and alive is causing our deaths. This poison slowly creeps into the body and manifests itself after a long time causing many diseases among them cancer being the worse. There is an appeal for organically grown foods but this is a costly venture. However, it can be argued that over time if we start to grow our foods organically it will cost us less because there will be less sickness and disease. Why do we put poison in our food?
“Twenty years ago over 17 million Americans united in a grape boycott.. (Cesar Chavez, 690)” in his Wrath of Grapes Boycott Speech, he spoke about a united set of farmers organizing and demonstrating against the use of DDT, DDE, Dieldrin on crops. They succeeded then, but the problem has resurfaced and is causing illnesses, death and disability among persons because of the use of these harmful drugs. The New York Times has reported that the Environmental Protection Agency now realizes that there is an urgent need for measures governing its use as nearly everyone is exposed to chemicals. Their probing has revealed that most chemicals that are on the market are not tested accurately. Most of the tests being carried out is skewered. Traces of pesticides were found in a large amount of food products and that some pesticides that are registered for use have caused cancers and birth defects.
New studies done have revealed that pesticide use may be responsible for the illness of over three hundred thousand farm workers. These farm workers who demonstrated against the use of chemicals in grape farming are aware of the debilitating effects of these chemicals. There are at least five very harmful substances being used on these grapes. Parathion and Phosdrin are similar to nerve gas Captan causes birth defects. Dinoseb has caused worker deaths and methyl bromide has proven to be a highly poisonous substance.
Banning chemical products for use on the growing of crops will in fact raise food price but if we look objectively at the issue, it can be argued that the cost of dying will prove much higher if legislation are not put in place to regulate it. Let us call for organic farming that is not expensive. One large manufacturer of chicken and chicken products has already ventured into the prospect of rearing chickens that are not fed with a chemical enhancing growth hormone. Beef cattle too, has been grown on grass, no chemicals were fed to these animals to make them fat and produce more meat and milk for consumption.
A total ban on the use of chemicals is a step in the right direction. Pesticides and their metabolites are a part of a dangerous occurrence known as biomagnification. At the top of the food chain, there’s a higher risk of this substance becoming potentially more dangerous to humans. After 1985 approximately 1 in every 4 Americans born are predicted to die of cancer. While it may be impossible to prove that pesticide use is the cause. Pesticides are known carcinogens. Carcinogens increase the likelihood of causing cancer. Squire (2011) in her article says that approximately 70 percent of persons across Canada support pesticide bans. There are many natural ways to get rid of pests and insects in the garden. Pesticides wreak havoc on the environment. It gets into the soil and seeps into rivers and streams. It helps to deplete the ozone layer.
Man is inextricably linked to the earth and everything that comes from it. Steingraber, in her article entitled Having Faith, (930-931), she discovered the toxic link in the food chain and spent house trying to calculate the magnitude at which man is contaminated by what he eats. At the top of the food chain was man, and he was ultimately the receiver of the toxic chemical that was passed from one link of the chain to another. Interestingly, it was at a conference that she saw the missing link in the chain, a baby. The baby is breast fed after her mother consumes the milk and the fish that are contaminated with toxins. The cycle is never ending and the connection, when we become ill, is never made to the food we eat. Everything comes from the earth so we must treat it with care.
Those who associate with the manufacturing of these chemicals said that there is no documented proof that will support a domestic ban. In fact, what they have not said either is that its safety is not well documented either. Dr. Cathy Vakil, the co-author of over 265 published reports, said that if the chemical is dangerous it must be banned and if it is safe it can be used widely and freely. She says that it is usually difficult to determine if a chemical is harmful or not. She however goes on to say that as a doctor it was her responsibility to inform her patients to take caution when using it and to promote the opening of legislation to ban non-essential pesticide use and sale.
Many banned substances in other countries end up in others for use. The Pesticide Action Network UK (Pan) is campaigning against pesticide use, disorganized storage of the product and its misuse. In Ghana, one farmer and eight of his relatives died after a can of chemical he had come into contact with a bag of flour he had bought for his family. Christian Aid in Ghana published an article calling for the government to take action to have some of these chemicals banned. The misuse is frequent. The farmers use pesticide that had the instructions written in French and so they are used haphazardly. Incorrect mixing and wrong amounts are a deadly combination. Sometimes the empty storage containers were used to store water for drinking and to keep food. Farmers disregard the correct way of dressing when handling chemicals. They fail to cover the exposed areas of their bodies to prevent the chemical coming in contact with their skin.
In Oakland, California, July 4, 1985 three persons became ill after consuming watermelon. Simultaneous persons in Oregon were becoming ill too. Tests on the watermelon found that it contained high levels of aldicarb. The subsequent ban on watermelon resulted in a huge loss. It is questioned how such a high quantity got into the melons. It is speculated that farmers might have used it, and it got into water that flowed into a watermelon field. In total 1,350 cases of melon poisoning were reported in California and 692 cases in eight other states. There were six deaths and seventeen hospitalized. Aldicarb seems to be the preferred chemical that is used on fruits and vegetables as it was found in oranges, potatoes, orange juice and frozen French fries.
A new law is passed in France that after 2020, there will be no use of chemical pesticides in green areas. Some may say that this is a drastic measure, but one can say that “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” The Government and the food regulated industry must take a closer look at growing enough food without the use of chemicals. Maybe there is the fear that if there is no use of chemicals then there will not be enough food to feed the whole population.
Organic agriculture is the way into the future. It is putting in measures in place now that will be beneficial in the long run. Farming practices must be adhered to and new methods of farming assessed. There are also old methods of farming that is discarded, methods that were tried and proven from as far back as the renaissance period. Some of these methods might not be effective in the 21st century, but these will be modified.
Education is the way to be in the future. The world needs sustenance and this sustenance must come from the earth. How do we plan to preserve our most important assets? The soil will be preserved in order to get the maximum. As mentioned before, here are age-old methods of farming that will preserve the soil and make it rich. There are organic practices and the creating of soil formation that will eliminate the use of chemicals. Our ground water sources must remain pure. Pesticides are a major problem. Organic agriculture will bring back some or slow down some of the changes that are already taking place in our environment. We need to get back our organic farmers who will spend time developing crops instead of forcing growth with chemical pesticides that are dangerous to our health. DeWitt, (921-923), from Inspirations for Sustaining Life on Earth, he said “Human beings must take care of the garden, must take care of creation, must keep the earth.” For a more prolonged life on earth we must refrain from using those harmful substances that destroy the earth.
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