Hi everyone!
Today we bring to you a short introduction about the usage of toxic chemicals in agriculture, highlighting the more prominent ones, which are so persistent in our environment.
The use of pesticides in agriculture is not something new, in fact it has been with us since 2000BC, where elemental sulfur was used. However, only in the past 100 years or so, did humans create the first man-made pesticides. There were so many advantages of using them.
One of the earliest and most heavily used pesticide was Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloride (DDT). It was first synthesised in 1874 by an Austrian chemist named Othmar Zeidler. After many years, in 1939, Swiss chemist Paul Muller found it to be very effective in killing insects. DDT came rapidly to the United States, with rampant usage of this newly found chemical. For discovering DDT’s unique insecticidal properties, Paul Muller received the Nobel Prize in 1948. Since this discovery was well received, approximately 1,350,000,000 pounds of DDT was used 30 years before its ban in the US. DDT wasn’t expensive yet extremely effective, giving lots of yield to farmers of cotton, soybean and peanut as compared to without the pesticide.
Another really toxic man-made chemical used as herbicides was 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). It got widespread recognition in 1944 and from then on its usage quickly accelerated. 2,4-D was termed as the ‘wonder drug’, where it could kill more weeds than any amount that could possibly grow. Furthermore, the actual food crop (corn) was left untouched!
Now we all know why such usage of chemicals in agriculture was so widespread and prevalent.
Photo credits:
https://www.sustainability-times.com/environmental-protection/decades-later-ddt-pesticide-is-still-a-silent-killer/
https://weedkillerguide.com/for-lawns/
References:
Archive.epa.gov. 1975. DDT Regulatory History: A Brief Survey (To 1975) | About EPA | US EPA. [online] Available at: <https://archive.epa.gov/epa/aboutepa/ddt-regulatory-history-brief-survey-1975.html> [Accessed 24 June 2020].
Ganzel, B., n.d. Herbicides Like 2,4-D Introduced During The 1940S. [online] Livinghistoryfarm.org. Available at: <https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/pests_03.html> [Accessed 24 June 2020].