Essay On Pesticides

Throughout the entire Unites States, 90-100 percent of almost every crop is sprayed with pesticides each year. Pesticides date back 4,500 years ago, when simple elements such as sulfur and mercury were used to stop pests from eating crops (Unsworth). However, today, pesticides have grown into an enormous industry, allowing 1.5 billion pounds of pesticides and insecticides to be used each year, being far more complex than simple elements. Since complex inorganic pesticides were first commercially produced in the US in the 1940’s (Unsworth), numerous have studied and wondered what impact pesticides have on the environment and the food consumed. As pesticides are extremely complex and created to often destroy weeds and bugs, they also can affect plants, ecosystems, and animals. Because pesticides are insanely toxic to animal environments and humans, alternative ways to prevent bugs and weeds must be executed.
With the growth of demand on crops, farmers want to maximize their crop’s outcome. Because of pests and parasites, countless crops were destroyed and were deemed inedible. Since farming was initially used, people have tried to discover ways to prevent this. Dating back to the Sumerians 4500 years ago, people first tried to prevent pests by using chemicals to either kill or affect the pests (Unsworth). Up until the 1940’s, primarily inorganic and organic pesticides were used on crops, until synthetic pesticides were created (Unsworth). Synthetic pesticides are different from organic because they are changed by man to have different properties, such as lasting longer or having a better effect on pests. Since they are created by man, synthetic pesticides are usually far more dangerous than organic pesticides and cannot be broken d...

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...dously costly. Despite being able to save money by not using pesticides, farmers continue to use them because of their simplicity. Without the concern of arranging their crops, farmers are able to focus on producing as much as possible with pesticides. Overall, alternatives to pesticides that aren’t toxic to animals or humans must be executed. To animals, pesticides can disrupt their environments and kill them, which affects the food chain and humans. Pesticides also harm humans and can cause harmful side effects such as cancer and birth defects. These downfalls of pesticides far outweigh the benefits of pesticides, considering that there are alternative ways to naturally fertilize and control pests. All in all, pesticides must be replaced with alternatives as they harm humans and animals and can easily be replaced with natural methods that can save farmers money.