Pesticides are chemicals that make our produce perfect, and our yards free of
pests. However, this perfection comes at a price to many different people.
Pesticides are poisons with the sole purpose of killing. They are intended to
kill weeds, insects and fungus. There are three types of pesticides called
herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Every pesticide has an active
ingredient, and an inert ingredient. The active ingredient is the poison that
kills he pest, and the inert ingredient is the carrying, or spreading compound.
(Honey pg. 2) Pesticides were once thought of as a miracle cure for hunger. They
were supposed to keep crops free of pests, and misquitos under control. People
were not aware of the dangers that these poisons possessed. DDT* was supposed to
be a, "benefactor for all humanity" (Honey pg. 2). There were few
regulations on the use of DDT use. It was even sprayed where children played. It
was intended to kill misquitos, but it ended up poisoning, even killing people.
(Honey pg.2) Elizabeth Rollings says that one of her teachers, Mrs. Keller, had
a sister that died from DDT poisoning when Mrs. Keller was a child. People came
to her house that sprayed the bushes with DDT to control misquitos, and when
Mrs. Keller and her sister played near the bushes they were exposed to the
deadly poison. Now a days the U.S. has seen the dangers that pesticides possess
and banned many kinds from use in this country. However, the U.S. has yet to ban
them from being made here and exported to foreign countries. In fact, 25 tons
are exported every hour. (Honey pg. 1) There are three main problems with this:
the regulations are very low in the places the U.S. exports to, many of the
people in those places are unaware of the dangers, and the pesticides can return
on the produce that the U.S. imports. A specific example of how unaware the
people are is an incident in Costa Rica. The field workers in a sugar plantation
were not told of the dangers of the pesticides that they applied, and they were
not given any protective clothing. Many of them went shirtless, and in tennis
shoes with no socks. They had used this pesticide for several days when many
began to complain of headache and nausea; some began to vomit blood. One man
died, but fortunately the problem was discovered in time to treat the rest of
the workers before they died. Another of the problems that arise from pesticide
exportation is getting it back in the produce we import from these countries.
One third of the poison banned in the U.S. returns in what is being called the
circle of poison, which is when pesticides that are exported and used on produce
that return on the produce, back to the people it was being meant to keep away
from. (Scanlan pg.1) To avoid this, many people are shopping at health food
stores where pesticides have not been used on the food. There is a basic
progression that occurs when the body is poisoned by a pesticide. First there is
a biochemical inactivation of an enzyme. Next this biochemical change leads to
cellular change. Then the cellular change causes symptoms of poisoning seen or
felt in the particular organ where the enzyme that was deactivated was. All this
changes a body's homeostasis*, and when homeostasis can not be maintained or
restored, disease occurs. Most effects aren't permanent, but may take a long
time to completely recover from. However, some do cause permanent damage. The
damage of pesticide poisoning varies. It can effect just one particular organ
system, or it can effect a number of organ systems.( GTI. Manifestations of
Toxic Effects. pg 1) Another problem that pesticide poisoning possess is
detection. A history of being exposed to chemicals can cause illness that can be
hard to distinguish from a viral infection, such as the flu. One might go to
long without treatment thinking they have a virus that they will eventually
overcome, when in reality they have been poisoned by pesticides, which can lead
to worse and worse damage over time. "People who handle chemicals
frequently in the course of their jobs and become ill, should tell their
physicians about their previous exposure to chemicals." (GTI Manifestations
of Toxic Effects) The statistics of harm from pesticides are numerous.
"Each year 25 million people, primarily from the Southern Hemisphere, are
poisoned through occupational exposure to pesticides; of those 220,000
die." Pesticides have been linked to cancer in many situations, but,
"scientists do not yet understand exactly how cancer occurs or why some
chemicals seem to cause cancer and other do not." (GTI Carcinology pg. 1)
High concentrations of DDT have been found in the breast milk of mothers in
Central America. Also, a study in 1993 revealed that higher levels of DDE* have
been found in U.S. women with breast cancer, than in those women who do not have
breast cancer. "At least 136 active ingredients in pesticides have been
found to cause cancer in humans or animals." (Honey pg. 1) Next time you go
to the super market remember, "The abundance and variety of fresh, picture
perfect produce is brought to you and your family at a price, not just at the
cash register." (Honey pg. 1) The price is also paid by the workers, and
users of deadly pesticides, of the fields we import food from. IT might shock
you to know that 79, of the 136 proven carcinogenic* pesticides are used on you
to this day! (Honey page 1) *Homeostasis is the maintaining of the body's life
functions. *DDT is a pesticide used to kill misquitos. *DDE is the chemical
compound that occurs when DDT breaks down. *GTI is short for Guelph Turfgrass
Institute. * Carcinogenic means cancer causing. If something is carcinogenic
then that means it causes cancer.