Pesticides
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There are many important issues in the world regarding the environment and it's affects on the
average person. Though, the one that hits closest to home, worldwide, is the trust that individuals
have in the food that they consume. Yet pesticides are still found daily in foods all around the
world. Pesticides are toxins that are used by produce growers universally to control pests that can
destroy crops. These toxins are being ingested by humans in the forms of fruits and vegetables
that have remaining toxins on them. How safe are these toxins to humans and what is being done
to safeguard the environment as well as the health of individuals? Does the average person
consume harmful amounts of poison at every meal? If the levels are unsafe, why is this problem
continuing to get a blind eye from the people who are supposed to protect society? These
questions when asked only lead to more questions. Until things are done to change the systems
of pesticide usage universally, society can never be sure as to the long term effects on our
environment and what they are eating or giving to the future of our world, the children. In some
foreign countries pesticides are used more frequently with legislative control than in the United
States. In Mexico and South America, for example, many of the pesticides that the United States
and Europe have banned, wind up being used on a majority of their produce crops. The largest
problem with this is that Europe and the United States import from South America for produce
all of the time. What good does it do to ban harmful agricultural chemicals to be used on
domestically grown crops if crops in other countries are grown with these same harmful
chemicals, and are then allowed to be imported? Mexico and South America are the leading
suppliers of produce for the earth's population because their climate is very conducive to year
around crops. Unfortunately those countries are also known for their large amount of insects of
all varieties. These insects are steadily becoming more and more immune to toxins that are
sprayed on crops. More than five hundred insects, one hundred and fifty plant diseases and two
hundred and seventy weeds are now resistant to pesticides. Results are that U.S. growers as well,
are steadily forced to apply more and stronger toxins. As the amount and the strength of the toxin
increases, the immunity of the targeted insects to these toxins also increases. Total U.S. crop
losses from insect damage has nearly doubled since 1945. Insecticide use during this same time
has increased tenfold. This war will go on being waged until the game plan is changed. The
produce export trade in some cities and countries constitutes the majority of their economy and
they will protect the resulting income at all costs. These places have very little legislation to
control chemical usage, and follow up on almost none of its effects. Officials do not care...
