The Dangers of Pesticides in Contemporary Food

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When considering the issues surrounding foods commonly consumed today, one may conjure up images of food borne illness or starving children in a far-off Third World country. Although circumstances such as these are unfortunate, they fail to recognize the dangers developed societies face when deciding what to eat. Those living in developed nations often question where their food came from and what exactly it consists of, but rarely inquire further. These considerations are often made subconsciously, but they do begin to assess the origins of what we place inside our stomachs and the possible dangers of doing so. Involuntary efforts such as these attempt to understand the dangers of food, but do not usually take the affects of pesticides into account. Pesticides carry widely known risks, but are currently the only method of providing an adequate supply of food to the public. Is there an alternative method to generating sufficient food for society without depending on pesticide use? The answer may come in the form of organic farming or a natural insecticide known as Bacillus Thuringiensis.

The creation of agriculture is a tremendous step forward in technology. Humans are now able to focus their time on things other than finding the day’s food, allowing them to specialize in other aspects of life. There is no longer a struggle to find a meager amount of food during colder seasons, as crops are cultivated and saved for the harsh winter months (Loehr 538). Worldwide population increased exponentially with the application of agriculture and animal husbandry, giving rise to steady long-term growth interrupted only by disease and warfare. According to the book Bugs in the System, population growth, along with humankind’s increasing aspira...

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...rds and Agricultural Trade. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 2002.

Chien, Karen, ed. “Danger of Synthetic Pesticide.” Bacillus Thuringiensis. University of California San Diego. 17 Nov. 2008 < http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/synthetic_pesticide.html>

Fedorov, Lev, and Alexey Yablokov. Pesticides: The Chemical Weapon that Kills Life (The USSR’s Tragic Experience). Sofia, Bulgaria: PENSOFT publishers, 2004.

Fitchen, Janet M. “Hunger, Malnutrition, and Poverty in the Contemporary United States.” Food and Culture: A Reader. Eds. Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik. New York: Routledge, 1997

Loehr, Rodney. “Agriculture and History.” Journal of Farm Economics. Eds. Blackwell Publishing.

Starr, Cecie, et al. General Biology. New York: Thomson Brooks/Cole Corp., 2006.

Vorley, William, and Dennis Keeney. Bugs in the System. United Kingdom: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 1998.

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