Pesticides and Unforeseen Consequences

A topic commonly discussed through class readings and discussion proves to be advancements in the agriculture industry, and the pesticides that are used to make food production more efficient. Further, the documentary we watched in class entitled King Corn revealed the effects of using pesticides; farmers are now able to produce more corn crop than ever before. I did a quick Internet search on pesticides and found two disturbing articles from both CNN and The New York Times.

            CNN recently did a write-up on a study revealing the health effects of certain pesticides that were used through the 1940’s and 1960’s. Though the pesticides were banned in the 1960’s, they are still circulating through our food system today- and the effects are horrible. Pesticides known as beta-HCH and Mirex are now being linked to increasing the likelihood of developing the endometriosis, a chronic disease affecting women. Endometriosis can cause pelvic pain and may result in infertility. The reported study revealed, “women in the upper 50% for beta-HCH levels were 2.5 times more likely to have ovarian endometriosis”(CNN). This is a direct result of unlucky females digesting contaminated foods containing pesticides that were once used in food production. During the time of its use, farmers were completely unaware of the dangerous effects of these pesticides, which makes one wonder- what if were are currently ingesting dangerous pesticides and their negative effects are just yet to be discovered? After all, there are currently more than 865 pesticides that are approved for use (NYtimes).

            A New York Times article written by Mark Bittman exposes the many dangers of pesticides today, an age in which farmers use more pesticides than ever before. Bittman references a study that revealed the potential results of pregnant women exposed to the wrong pesticides: such exposure may result in their children becoming more susceptible to obesity. More concerning, Bittman elaborates, stating, “many pesticides have been shown to be endocrine disrupters, changing gene expression patterns and causing unforeseen harm to health”(Bittman: 2012). I find the keyword in this disturbing statement to be unforeseen, as in we are completely oblivious to the future results of pesticides.

            Such information reveals the need to reform our agriculture industry. It is important that the public become more conscious of the foods they are eating, and the manner in which they were produced- otherwise we could end up eating ourselves into a chronic disease or affecting the health of future children. 

Below I have pasted both of the articles referenced in my post:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/pesticides-now-more-than-ever/

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/05/banned-pesticides-linked-to-endometriosis/