Agriculture is the most fundamental resource of society. Without it, humans could not live, especially in the ways we do now where people reside in cities. This means that those cities could not exist without large scale agriculture to sustain them. Since agriculture is such a necessity, people have developed methods to gain more from their land. One of the many solutions besides machinery they have developed to produce higher crop yields is through the use of pesticides. However, those pesticides which have resulted in high crop yields have come at price, and that is human health itself. This seems rather contradictory. Pesticides were designed to help people and society by increased the success of producing high crop yields, and they still do that, but at the same time, those same pesticides have caused unforeseen health risks, primarily to those have had to handle them. The average person would not consider pesticides as being a cause for depression, or in worst case scenario, suicide, but studies have found significant links. Even though California is just one place in the world, it has large agricultural areas which were, and still are, represented in many scientific studies that have found those unforeseen risks from pesticide use. Since pesticides are poisons, producers and safety activities urge several safety precautions to attempt to reduce the effect on human users. However, these precautions sometimes do not prevent long term damages in the people that live and work in such close proximity, which are the agricultural workers. Since the risk are known, policies have been put into place, but despite that, the use of pesticides remains high. Like many of the anthropological readings from this course, there are also added ... ... middle of paper ... ...nmental health perspectives 114.6 (2006): 953. “Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program.” Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program. State of California, n.d. Web. . Rohrlich, Justin, and Alex Brokaw. “Is the Risk of Suicide Higher for Farmers?” Minyanville. Minyanville Media, Inc., 10 May 2012. Web. . Wollan, Malia. “Dispute Over Pesticide for California Strawberries Has Implications Beyond State.” The NewYork Times. N.p., 19 July 2010. Web. . Zilberman, David, et al. “The economics of pesticide use and regulation.” Science 253.5019 (1991): 518-522. .
The use of dangerous and also deadly chemicals by Florida’s tomato industry is due to the insufficient regulations made by the Department of Agriculture. Florida’s soil is pure sand, making it impossible to grow tomatoes. The plant also faces completion with other plants as well as being attacked by diseases and insects. The only reason then that Florida’s farmers grow is because it’s summer in Florida, while the rest of the United States is experiencing winter. Greed, the want for larger profit, is the reason why the fresh market tomato industry is located in Florida. ...
Monsanto scrutinizes neighboring farms, practicing their right to enforce their patent and contract. What they take into account and chose to ignore is that their genetic product is natural and cannot be controlled completely. Monsanto’s patent allows them to prosecute neighboring farms for any concentration of their patented genetic code in their crops, regardless of whether a farmer knowingly involved themselves in infringement or was the victim of natural pollination. Barlett and Steele cite the increasing number of legal cases and settlements as means of pressuring contracted farmers to follow procedure and of allegedly pressuring uncontracted farmers to sign with Monsanto to avoid
There are many issues regarding the raising and producing of various livestock animals, and the use of pesticides on various types of crops. The movie Food.Inc does a good job explaining these issues, but in a very biased way. It makes agriculturists look like terrible people, when this is not the case.
What is a pesticide?A pesticide is a chemical substance used to kill pests, especially insects. A pesticide is also refered to as a biocide. Most pesticides are applied in spray form but occasionaly you will see pesticides that are in powder or pellet form. Pesticides are used on a variety of things, anything from crops like corn, barley, and wheat, to plants like petunias, marigolds, and rhodadendrons, which are usually found in small gardens greenhouses, and even in your backyard.
Our nation was founded on agriculture, and for hundreds of years we were able to migrate across the nation bringing our farming tools and techniques with us. Technology has driven populations away from rural areas towards industrialized cities. With money now being pumped into cities, rural farmers are suffering the most. Farmers are taking out large loans in order to sustain their farms, leading to debt and in some cases suicide. Patel spoke about a farmer in India whose husband took his life because he was unable to live with the amount of debt from his struggling farm. This man left his wife and chi...
Colony Collapse Disorder and Pesticides From around the year 2006, many bee farmers in the U.S.A and some parts of Europe started reporting sharp declines in their bee stocks. The reason for these declining numbers was not known and therefore scientists named it colony collapse disorder (CCD). Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a not very old phenomenon and it became popular when large numbers of bee colonies started disappearing. The disappearance was mysterious since no dead bees were found in or around the beehives after a colony’s number was reported to have gone down or vanished.
The article supports its claim that Measure Q is a badly written ordinance by discussing the use of the broad term “organism” in the measure. It includes arguments from two credible sources, San Luis Obispo attorney Robin Baggett and the Washington D.C law firm of Arent Fox. The two agree that the use of the word “organism” implies both laboratory research as well as crops, therefore both would be banned. Baggett, a l...
In an article written by Daryl Landy called “The Constitutional Implications of Government Pesticide Spraying: The Case for Limited Judicial Intervention and an Intermediate standard of Review” the author explained the role the government had in the Northern California infestation of apple maggot fruit fly in the summer of 1993. When the issue became public only a few requirements were needed for the spraying to commence and finally “In 1984, the State legislature authorized the CDFA to administer a maggot eradication program where it could show that eradication was both necessary and feasible. Within months the CDFA made the required showings, and the legislature funded the eradication project” (222). The green light was given to officials after they provided enough evidence that could have been exaggerated so the situation looked more serious than it was so the spraying could begin. After a conference was held informing residents of their plan, protests against the chemical spraying formed quickly and a action was filed against the California Department of Food and Agriculture. They argued that the chemical they were using, Imidan, was not investigated enough for the health risk it could cause, the CDFA did not provide a notice of the spraying, and the CDFA did not review the requirements of the California Environmental
In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicid...
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...
Civilization began with agriculture, and agriculture continues to be an integral part of our lives. Civilization brought knowledge, knowledge brought technology, and technology brought chemicals and pesticides to “improve” our world. “The Obligation to Endure” is an excerpt from Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” a passionate and masterful work on the results of civilization’s efforts to control pests and insects. These effects include destruction of the environment, alteration of gene structures in plants and animals, water contamination, and an upset of nature’s delicate balance. This article is an impassioned plea to the world to understand the threat and demand the information necessary to make an informed consent on use of these deadly substances.
In the second study that was reviewed, it was identifies that pesticides played a large role in the prevalence of diabetes among Hispanics. Whether this information can be solidified or not, it can bring a warning to the general public that the true effects of pesticides are unknown. And while it is not necessary to run off and buy all new and organic (pesticide free) food, it may benefit us all to revisit how much of what we do eat and the pesticide content in those foods. There is not a single way to be healthy but rather a collaboration of little things, and the more we know the more we can
With the world having so many people on it we use a lot of pesticides and fertilizers. If it was not for the help of these we would not have gotten to the place we are now. Pesticides and fertilizers do a lot more than just help grow and safe from pests. “Nearly 50% of the world labor is employed in agriculture and they significant risk”
Dokoupil, Tony. A. The "Suicide Epidemic" Newsweek Global 161.19 (2013): 1 Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web.
The pesticide is a controversial topic since farmers are used it to gain their yield. Especially, pesticide is discovered during World War II as a chemical weapon that mixture of multiple chemicals together to kill human. Therefore, Chantries redesign pesticide to kill an organism where and when we don’t want it. Because people want to go to the grocery store to buy the perfect product, pesticide makes it happens and with a little cost for farmers. Nonetheless, pesticide also is the expenditure of life expectancy, which directly threatens people and poses risk of mortality rate. Abusing the pesticide has multiple affects on our society, (Add). (Add thesis)