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 ...
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Rohrlich, Justin, and Alex Brokaw. “Is the Risk of Suicide Higher for Farmers?” Minyanville. Minyanville Media, Inc., 10 May 2012. Web. .
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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.
Two essays read by the class, “Fables for Tomorrow” and “The Clan of One-Breasted Women”, target the idea that chemical compounds have an impact on nature. They make it a priority to get their points across that limiting pesticides and chemical compounds will help make America, and other places around the world a better place. They provide very educational messages in getting their points across about the dangerous roles the pesticides play in the world today. Humans and the government cause this through authorization of plenty of the events going on in the environment. Both of the authors, who are female activists for the environment, focus on chemical compounds causing diseases and harm to the environment.
Have you ever thought about how your fruits and vegetables are grown? How about which ingredients are put into bug sprays and insecticides to ward off those pesky insects? Look no further because author Rachel Carson looks deep into the many environmental issues caused by pesticides and herbicides in her New York Times best-selling novel, “Silent Spring.” “Silent Spring” is a collection of studies which were performed in an effort to educate others about the harmful things occurring everyday to their foods and every-day environment in hopes of giving them a wake up call. This novel is thought by many to be a revolutionary novel that forced people to take notice of the harm being caused in their world, many of which people were unaware of. After discovering the results of these chemicals, it really makes one wonder, is the luxury of being insect free really worth all of the consequences?
The articles “The Fruits of Ill-Health: Pesticides and Workers’ Bodies in Post-World War II California” by Linda Nash and “La Pica Tierra/The Soil Bites: Hazardous Environments and the Degeneration of Bracero Health” by Mary Mendoza relate by examining the relationships between workers and pesticide use following the second World War. Nash argues that the bodies of farmworkers and the environment are intricately linked, while Mendoza’s article focuses specifically on the discrimination of Mexican agricultural workers in the Braceros program.
Around the world, incessant debate swells over the matter of industrial farming. Today, arguments over organic versus industrial farming are analogous to a salmon swimming downstream in a murky nitrogen runoff stream – it’s stalled, hazardous, and rather convoluted. From meticulous inspection of the facts, one realizes that both sides’ arguments can often overlap and contradict each other, often with disputable claims backing up certain viewpoints. In this regard, David Biello, associate editor of Scientific American, argues that in developing countries, industrial farming is preferable to organic farming in developing countries because it is more suitable and safe. However, Biello fails to address industrial farming’s most dangerous and deadly aspect – pesticides. The effects of pesticides are so dire that it is nearly impossible to suggest that industrial farming is more innocuous and suitable for third world countries.
"Pesticides." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 18 July 2005. Web. 20 May 2011. .
Did you know that pesticides have been used since the 1600s? Yes in the 1600s the romans burned sulfur to kill insects and they used salts to control weeds. The romans also used honey and arsenic to control ants. The ancient romans crushed the petals of the pyrethrum and they used ants to to eat undesirable insects. By World War II, only thirty pesticides existed(During the late 19th century, farmers were using copper acetoarsenite, calcium arsenate, nicotine sulfate, and sulfur to control insect pests in crops. Pesticides are products that are intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or to mitigate any pest. Pesticide use emerged after World War II, when DDT, BHC, Aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, and 2, 4-D was introduced. After these were introduced, people began abusing these pesticides and the pests became genetically resistant to pesticides. When this happened, non-target plants and animals were harmed and pesticide residues appeared in unexpected places. Researchers during the 1960s, began developing a different approach towards pest control. This was called integrated pest management (IPM). There are ups and downs to pesticides. When we didn’t have pesticides, there was bug spots on the produce,and blemishes. Most people won’t buy the produce if it has these kind of disorders. After pesticides were invented, we didn’t have these sort of problems, therefore sales went up.
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.
After the book was published in September 1972, many companies that produced these pesticides spent more than 250,000 dollars, equivalent to 1.4 million today, to stop Carson from publishing the book (Fletcher, Scherer 85). Despite their tremendous effort, the Silent Spring became a best seller and successfully proved the case against various chemical companies. As Fletcher and Scherer stated, “She did more than make the case against chemical pesticide industry. She made a case against uncontrolled human ‘progress’” (81). This book was a turning point of monstrous growth of pesticides, which lead people to look back at the “devils of their own creation”
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”
I feel that before someone buys pesticides or chooses to apply them on their property, they have to know the potential damage they are causing. Many carcinogens, mutagens and neurotoxins, such as pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, are what I like to call poison. People do not think that spraying even a small weed killer can be harmless because they think it is only affecting their yard; however, when chemicals are sprayed onto the grass, they become a part of the ecosystem. Many non-target species can be impaired or killed: bees who are very important pollinators, or bacteria and fungi that are imperative to healthy, functional soil. Pesticides can even be harmful to pets, children, and the other people living in surrounding areas. The harmful chemicals can make it into storm drains or public water supplies. This is a very critical concept to grasp because it proves how humans and communities are all connected in various ways. Additionally, it shows how we should be conscious of others when making decisions because our actions can pose a threat to other’s
When it comes to pesticides in this book it is clear that they are harmful to the environment and humanity when not used properly. Carson describes the importance of this issue and pushed for the improvement of the system. She proposes multiple solutions in order to keep the people and animals safe while getting rid of the insects that have become an annoyance. As a writer and researcher Carson is passionate and determined to find out new ways of solving the problem at hand. Unlike the rest of the people in the book, Carson takes the more educated and logical approach to prove her point that what they have chosen as a solution is not affective and actually more destructive for the environment. She does her research which shows that the pesticides are having negative effects on many aspects in nature.
In the late 1980’s, the Institute for Technology in Sonora conducted studies in the Yaqui Valley and found high levels of pesticides in cord blood and breast milk. The study also concluded children in the Yaqui Valley had extremely high levels of pesticides located in their hair and in the skin. The Mexican government halted the study because they thought it would cause undue alarm among the residence of the Yaqui Valley. Equipped with the information from the institute, Dr. Guillette, used an anthropological approach to evaluate the preschool children exposed to pesticides in the valley. In the study, two groups of four and five year old children were selected, one study group resided i...
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
Each year there are 10,000 pesticide related poisonings. On July 4th 1985, over 300 Californians became sick after eating watermelons treated with the pesticide tenik. Testing supermarket produce is a way of determining the amount of exposure the consumer receives through common produce like carrots, tomatoes and lettuce. 44% of foods that were tested in supermarkets were found to have some traces of pesticide residue on them. Of all the pesticides found, nineteen of them were a pesticide called DDT. DDT was banned in this country 12 years prior to the testing. It was believed that these chemicals might have entered this country from another country that doesn’t have pesticide restrictions as the U.S. does.