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Negative effects of pesticides in the environment
Harmful effects of pesticides essays
Harmful effects of pesticides essays
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Organic Products vs. Pesticides Consumers purchase organically labeled produce, and steer away from produce that is sprayed with pesticides. We do this because we are led to believe that buying organic is the healthiest, and the safest food option, for the environment and us. Although it is true that organic produce is good, the nutrient content is no better than the one sprayed with pesticides. What people don’t know is that organic produce is sprayed with natural pesticides that are just as toxic as synthetic ones and the natural pesticides used are still bad for the environment. Organic labeled products are not fitting for the consumer because of these reasons; its residue is just as toxic as its synthetic counterparts, and it has harmful …show more content…
Organic farmers may not use synthetic pesticides, but they use a wide variety of natural pesticides in which more than half of them are rodent carcinogens (Luik, 2007). These toxic materials found in these pesticides that are organically approved to spray on its produce, are known to cause many health risks (Aroian, n.d.). When you outweigh the risks and the benefits, organic produce seems to be more toxic to consume, with the risk of rodent carcinogens (Luik, 2007). Also, the consumption of organic foods not only causes a possible threat to us, but also to the environment. There was a study done showing they needed more amounts of retonene used on organic pesticides, compared to its synthetic counterpart, which rotenone is toxic to fish, and other marine life (Tangle, 1992). Also, organic farming relies on constant mechanical weeding, as opposed to no-till conventional farming, not only dose it disrupt worms, but it uses large amounts of fossil fuels (Luik, 2007). More importantly, since organic farming depends on plowing under crops along with manure to build soil fertility, not only is there a wide variability in the nutrition provided to crops, but the decomposition of the manure produces large amounts of environment-unfriendly greenhouse gases (Luik, 2007). Because of the demands for more land and use of machineries to till crops, …show more content…
(2014, October). What is the difference between organic and inorganic? Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://chemistry.about.com/od/branchesofchemistry/f/What-Is-The-Difference-Between-Organic-And-Inorganic.htm Luik, John. (2007, March). Pesky organic pesticides: dogma aside, organic food isn’t safer for us, and it isn’t better for the environment. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.westernstandard.ca/website/article.php?id=2389 Tangle, L. (1992). The Organic Label. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~lhom/organictext.html
Ling, N. (2003) Rotenoneoa review of its toxicity and use for fisheries management, April 26, 2015, http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/science-and-technical/SFC211.pdf
Zuraw, L. (2014) USDA Says Pesticide Data Show No Food Safety Concerns, Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/03/pesticide-data-program-still-shows-no-food-safety-concerns/#.VUh6VVb-T1o
Aroian, R. (n.d.). Synthetic Pesticides Retrieved April 26, 2015, 2014, from
In recent years, it is not even necessary to turn on the news to hear about the bad reputation farming has been getting in recent years. With the media focusing on things like drugs in animals and Pink Slime, or Lean Finely Textured Beef, it is a wonder that people are eating “non-organic” foods. However, many pro-farming organizations have been trying to fight back against these slanders. Still, the battle is not without heavy competition, and a good portion of it comes from Chipotle, a fast food Mexican restaurant that claims to only use completely organic ingredients in their food. Chipotle is constantly introducing advertisements claiming to have the natural ingredients, while slandering the names of farmers everywhere.
Steven Shapin is an expert when it comes to telling people the reality of the situation. In his, article “What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic?” Shapin exposes and explains the truth behind the word organic. He explains that our view on organic is not a reality. The small farms that we picture in our heads are really just big business in disguise and these big businesses are trying to do good by supposedly not using harmful pesticides. Which are supposed to not damage the environment but in reality they are probably not making any sort of difference. Some people care about the environment, while others are buying taste when it comes to organic food but using different pesticides are going to help the taste, only freshness tastes the best.
The taste of the processed chicken from my elementary school cafeteria remains imbedded in my memory. I can still taste the chunks of chicken that could not be broken up by my teeth, and the tired, lazy feeling I had walking back to my next class. This is the exact situation organic farmer and producers are trying to avoid by making healthy products. The documentary, In Organic We Trust, attempts to persuade the viewers that organic products create a healthy lifestyle, and improve living conditions for people all over the world. Kip Pastor’s use of ethos and logos in his documentary are strong and provide supporting evidence, however, Pastor is lacking an abundant amount of pathos. Pastor incorporates logos into his documentary by allowing the audience to experience a multitude of facts and supporting evidence. Ethos is used in the film through Pastor’s interviews with professionals, and pathos is shown by the touching stories of individuals.
A gene used for pest control, Bt, has infected these foods. You would never know this gene existed because it’s not included in the label. Organic foods are specifically labeled as organic whenever you may find them at a grocery store or elsewhere. These foods are known as being essentially grown in healthy soil, in other words, a soil that isn’t infected with poisonous, synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Although organic foods are more expensive, it is only the result from the frequent crop rotations completed by the farmers during long, hot hours under the sun. Conventional farming methods destroy topsoil whereas organic farming can improve the overall health of the topsoil. Farmers who partake in organic farming view it as feeding the soil and not the plants. Due to this thinking method, a healthy soil provides healthy plants, healthy people and a healthy environment. Organic farming has the ability to feed an entire population and put an end to starvation. The dangerous pesticides that are added with conventional farming are outdated and risky to mankind. Relying on synthetic fertilizers and chemicals are paralyzing our
Milmo, Cahal. Organic Farming 'no Better for the Environment' - Green Living, Environment - The Independent." The Independent. The. 19 Feb. 2007. Web.
With the world’s population continuing to increase, the demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These studies prove that Organic food is a better choice than conventional because it is better for the environment, avoids the use of chemicals, and is generally more beneficial.
Organic foods are those grown without the use of growth hormones, antibiotics, synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. Genetically modifying crops is also not preformed in organic farming. Soil fertility can be maintained using crop rotation, cultivation practices, and cover crops. Natural fertilizers and pesticides are still considered to be included in organic farming (Winter & Davis, 2006). Products that are controlled with cultivation conditions rather than chemical-synthetic pesticides include organic products (Woese, Lange, Boess & Werner Bogl, 1999). The use of synthetic pesticides and materials falls under conventional farming. If the materials are on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, it can, however, be considered organic. A process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring sources is considered a synthetic material (Winter & Davis, 2006).
The Internet. The Internet. 20 Nov. 2013. Available in a range of sizes. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/organic-food4.htm
n.d. 10 April 2014. Monsanto. The. Organic and Conventional Farming. n.d. 10 April 2014. Qaim, Matin.
As time has progressed, there has always been an overarching need for high amounts of crop production throughout the world. With the rapid rate of population growth, the need for crops and other sources of nutrients is only increasing. In order to meet these high demands and increase yields, farmers and other agriculturalists have started implementing the use of pesticides. These chemical mixtures are being used in order to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pests from destroying growing crops. However, using pesticides on crops can create massive amounts of pollution, negatively affect an individual’s health, and can spark biodiversity loss within an ecosystem. According to Michael C.R. Alavanja, “Over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used within the United States (US) each year and approximately 5.6 billion pounds are used worldwide”. With all this in mind, it is clear that pesticides should not be made available to farmers and agriculturalists, and should
Food has been a common source of necessity in our everyday lives as humans. It helps gives us nutrition and energy to live throughout our life. Over several decades, the development of making foods has evolved. They have changed from natural to processed foods in recent years. Nowadays natural ingredients are barely used in the making of foods like bread, cheese, or yogurt. The food industry today has replaced natural food making with inorganic ingredients. The cause of this switch is due to processed foods being easier, cheaper and faster to make. Artificial nutrition and processed foods have been proven to last longer in market shelves then natural foods. Also, due to artificial additives in processed foods they help satisfy consumers taste more than natural ingredients. The method of producing processed foods is common in today's food industry and helps make money faster and efficiently for companies. Examples of this can be found in all markets that distribute food. Even though processed foods may be easier and faster to make, they are nowhere near as healthy for consumers compared to natural foods. Natural foods are healthier, wholesome, and beneficial to the human body and planet then processed foods.
A study of 362 datasets found that organic agriculture produces 80% of conventional yield with 21% standard deviation (Tomek et al. 2012). Second, organic farming requires less energy input which equates to less money spend from the farmers in addition to lowering carbon emissions. A study by the Department of Environment shows that organic agriculture uses 25 percent less than energy than their chemical counterparts, and certain crops like organic leeks and broccoli use 58 and 49 percent less, respectively (Bialis et al. 2013). Third, organic farming does not use pesticides. According to the World Health Center, 20,000 people die annually from the exposure of pesticides (Costa et al. 2014). Fourth, the methods that organic farmers use are better for the environment in the long run. And lastly, organic farming creates more jobs. A study done in United Kingdom shows 93,000 jobs could be created if Britain were to make a full scale shift to organic farming (Herro 2006). Although conventional agriculture is the primary producer for food currently, a large scale shift to organic agriculture is better suited to feed the world because organic agriculture can produce at adequate yield, requires less energy input, do not use
The term “organic” is almost everywhere in modern society, whether it’s used to promote a product or it’s debated on whether it really benefits the human diet. Organic food is heavily debated on as it appears more and more in local grocery stores and farmers markets begin to populate, it raises questions such as “Is organic food better than food grown with pesticides and biologically engineered genes?” and “Are there benefits to eating organically over foods grown in any other way?” In terms of what data and results show in research may help lead to answers to most of the heavily debated issues throughout discussions on organic food.
First of all, the main reason that people choose organic food is that people think organic foods have less chemical residue, such as pesticide, and fertilizer. In the article “Organic foods contain higher levels of certain nutrients, lower levels of pesticides, and may provide health benefits for the consumer”, Crinnion indicated that organic foods just had 33 percent of the amount of pesticide and fertilizer residues that found in conventional foods, and conventional foods contain two or more types of chemical residues than organic foods (Crinnion, 2010). In addition, Crinnion used a study of Seattle preschoolers as an example to demonstrate organic foods have less pesticide residues. The study of Seattle concluded that children who ate more conventional foods had six times higher level of pesticide resi...
The first benefit of eating organic food is that it avoids chemicals that are commonly found in traditional foods. Organic foods are produced using farming methods which do not involve applying pesticides or chemical fertilizers. They are not created using manufacturing solvents, chemical additives, or irradiation. Organic foods of animal origin, such as dairy products and meats, come from animals that are usually free range, or allowed to roam outdoors. Free range animals have organic foods to eat and they are not given any form of steroids as they are growing. This mean that people will not get the effects of those hormones in their food. Beef is a common food for people to consume. The cows that are free range will produce organic milk and cheese free of hormones. Free range chickens offer organic meat as well as eggs. There are different agencies who keep a close watch on places that have this type of certification. There are regular inspections that are planned as w...