Pesticide Use
Does an apple a day really keep a doctor away? In this age where fresh produce is
presented clearly at one’s nearest supermarket, one must come to the realization that
consumables labeled as “organic” does not necessarily mean “naturally grown” or “untampered
with.” As much as one loves fruits or vegetables, farmers do too; they protect their crops by
spraying pesticides which fight off armies of insects. Because pesticides are toxic to smaller
organisms, it is logical that they are somewhat toxic to larger organisms as well. The use of
pesticides is not only harmful to the environment, it is also harmful to humans as well. Why are
pesticides still being sprayed if their long term effect is so damaging to the environment?
In short term, pesticides are economically beneficial. After all, they protect and maintain
crops so that that produce can safely be grown and preserved until they are on the food market,
ready for consumption. They guarantee that one will not find a single worm in one’s apple.
Pesticides are highly effective--they serve their purpose: to control anything that damages crops,
and substantially increases crop production by protecting each yield. They save money in short
term by protecting crops that could otherwise be terrorized by insects or rodents.
Although using pesticides does have its benefits, the long term damage that it causes
should not be ignored. In the long run, pesticides are detrimental to ecological systems.
Eventually, pesticides will cause soil contamination by seeping through the layers of the earth
and contaminate further plants that grow on that soil. Then, these pesticides are carried through
the food chain. For example, rat poison, a rodenticide, is commonly sprayed on grasses to
prevent rats from terrorizing lawns. However, if a rat consumes the poison, the rat dies and is
unable to metabolize the lethal toxin which remains in its lifeless body. If another animal
consumes the dead rat, it will likely be able to metabolize the rat poison, but instead of being a
lethal chemical, it thins the blood. The food chain is easily disrupted because the lowest floor,
the producers such as plants, is exposed to artificial chemicals which are carried up with each
level of consumer, including humans.
Spraying artificial chemicals will eventually contaminate the soil on which the plants
grow. Plants absorb and metabolize nutrients found in the soil and will take in water-based
pesticides and leave the chemicals inside the leaves, seeds, and flowers. Pesticides are also
associated by a Harvard study to the cause of colony collapse disorder, the disorder which has
been gradually killing off bees (Feldscher). If this planet has no more bees, the food chain where
producers require bees to continue will cease to exist; if plants are not able to reproduce, there
will not be any apples left to keep the doctor away.
Pesticides harm other environments too, the same way aerosols do--their volatility allows
them become a gas and spread nearby via wind currents. It is commonly found that wildlife in
the proximity of farms is harmed because of pesticides spreading through the atmosphere and
contaminating other ecosystems, found in a case report of frog birth defects near a farm due to
the spraying of pesticides (Sanders).
I find that pesticides are beneficial in society today as farming yields would not be large
enough to support the world population without them. In the future, however, farming will
become increasingly difficult as ecosystems will gradually wear down due to these toxic
chemicals. Additionally, with the use of these chemicals, we are artificially creating organisms
that are able to resist pesticides due to genetic mutations. As these organisms rise, stronger and
deadlier pesticides will be used.
It is apparent that farmers know what they do for a living. They need to protect their
crops so they can be sold to one’s local supermarket. The number of consumers would diminish
without the use of pesticides or any means of crop protection. While pesticides work wonders
today, they may become a more severe problem in the near future.
The only way to prevent further use of pesticides is to inform farmers or those who
govern them about the oncoming detrimental effects which they will cause. The decision is in
their hands: to keep using pesticides or to stop their use altogether.
Works Cited
Feldscher, Karen. Pesticide found in 70 percent of Massachusetts’ honey samples. Harvard
Gazette, 23 Jul. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Sanders, Robert. Pesticide atrazine can turn male frogs into females. Berkeley News, 1 Mar.
2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.