effects of pesticides essays

effects of pesticides essays Today, the use of pesticides has increased dramatically because of the growing population and the demands this population. The high increase in population means more food must be produced and spreading of diseases is more likely. Like other organisms, humans compete with other species for food and shelter and struggle to protect ourselves and predators. In order, for a stable healthy population to survive the use of pesticides must be applied to crops for greater efficiency and insecticides used to kill insects which transmit diseases. These pesticides which are usually synthetic chemicals made up of different chemical compounds are intended to eliminate pests and provide a safer environment for humans. However, the use of pesticides in the United States has caused a profound negative effects on our environment and the living organisms. Basically, the pesticides affect three different areas of a society including human health, the environment, and the future effects. Currently, humans are exposed to pesticides and their residue everyday and many negative results are caused by this exposure. First, most of the fruits and vegetables that are imported to the US contain large traces of pesticide residue that are consumed without the buyer even knowing about it. In the US around one-third of imported shipments are detected with hazardous pesticide residue, yet the shipments still reach our supermarkets because of halfhearted enforcement efforts and delays within the government (Honey 5). Also, individuals are exposed to and handle many household insecticides that contain harmful chemicals such as Rotenoids and Carbamates. The exposure of the residue along with household insecticides has caused a disturbance in the medical field. Many doctors and researchers are relating cancer, respiratory, and reproduction problems to toxic pesticides. In one case, a 112 farm workers in Florida were exposed to the insecticide mevinphos and t...