Many of us strive for perfection in whatever we do, particularly if our livelihoods are at stake. Perhaps it is this goal of attaining “perfection” that compels us to eliminate anything which we determine to be undesirable, even if they are a part of how life works. In the context of agriculture, this would equate to the use of pesticides, in the name of ensuring healthy plant growth.
Common types of pesticide include the following:
- insecticides
- herbicides
- fungicides
- larvicides
- rodenticides
- bactericides
The World Health Organisation (2018) observes that more than 1000 varieties of pesticides are currently used across the globe for the aforementioned purpose. However, the effects and toxicity depend heavily on the pesticide’s function and dose, in addition to exposure. For example, insecticides tend to be more dangerous than herbicides when it comes to their effects on humans, despite herbicides being the most common type of pesticide used between 2008 and 2012 (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017, p. 9).
A clearer illustration of the dangers of insecticides is the infamous dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, otherwise known as DDT. It is a powerful yet invisible silent killer that has been banned by many governments for its devastating environmental impacts. Not only does it threaten the extinction of many species of wildlife, it is also considered a human carcinogen which can result in symptoms such as vomiting and seizures following exposure to high doses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). The most unsettling point is that DDT is capable of remaining in soil and water for many years without us knowing , unless the soil and water are subjected to contamination tests. This implies that many cases of DDT-induced environmental pollution may go unnoticed in areas where there are no bans enforced.
Interestingly enough, DDT was originally invented as a substitute for lead arsenate, which was even more deadly. Meanwhile, Allen (2016) observes that this is merely one part of a “regrettable substitution”, as DDT is being replaced by chlorpyrifos, one of the most commonly-used pesticides today. Needless to say, chlorpyrifos has its fair share of scandals, which are mostly related to its negative impacts on children’s health (Hu, 2018). However, it seems to be the “lesser evil” as compared to its predecessors, and has yet to be banned in most parts of the US despite growing concerns.
From the above, it certainly seems like we have to live with the fact that these harmful chemicals are ubiquitous in a large portion of fresh produce available to the global population. But hopefully, there will be a day in the future when we finally manage to break free from the vicious cycle of “regrettable substitution”.
Sincerely,
Jialing
Reference List
Allen, J. (2016) ‘Stop playing whack-a-mole with hazardous chemicals’, The Washington Post, 15 December. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/stop-playing-whack-a-mole-with-hazardous-chemicals/2016/12/15/9a357090-bb36-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html (Accessed: 5 September 2020).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Factsheet. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/DDT_FactSheet.html (Accessed: 5 September 2020).
Hu, X. (2018) The Most Widely Used Pesticide, One Year Later. Available at: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/widely-used-pesticide-one-year-later/ (Accessed: 5 September 2020).
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2017) Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-01/documents/pesticides-industry-sales-usage-2016_0.pdf (Accessed: 5 September 2020).
World Health Organisation (2018) Pesticide residues in food. Available at: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pesticide-residues-in-food (Accessed: 4 September 2020).