HEALTH EFFECTS OF PESTICIDES AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Health effects of pesticidesPhoto by Gilmer Diaz Estela from Pexels I remember being taught about the importance and use of pesticides in my agricultural science class back in high school. I had no knowledge of the health effects of pesticides. I thought pesticides were good. I mean, they help get rid of pests and insects that could damage crops and make us sick, so why not? Just like me in high school, many people do not have the knowledge or a proper understanding of the impact pesticides have on our health. There’s so much talk about the positives of pesticides, but what’s the actual cost? The negatives of these substances far outweigh the positives. Let’s get into the details. But can we afford to ignore the fact that we are now filling the environment with chemicals that have the power to strike directly at the chromosomes, affecting them in the precise ways that could cause such conditions? Is this not too high a price to pay for a sproutless potato or a mosquitoless patio?- Rachel Carson: Silent Spring What are Pesticides? According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a pesticide is: “any substance, or a mixture of substances, of chemical or biological ingredients intended for repelling, destroying, or controlling any pest, or regulating plant growth.” Several types and classes of pesticides exist based on their use and chemical composition. As highlighted by the FAO, pesticides include all insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, wood preservatives, plant growth regulators, defoliants, and desiccants, among other substances. Each of these pesticides has a specific purpose: insecticides for insects, herbicides for plants, rodenticides for rodents, and so on. https://twitter.com/EnvirHealthNews/status/1586437948655796224 Organochlorines, organophosphates, pyrethrins, pyrethroids, and carbamates are pesticides classified based on their chemical composition. For instance, the very popular pesticide, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), belongs to the pesticide class organochlorines. Due to the chemicals contained in them, they have different modes of action in humans. Pesticides and Human Health https://twitter.com/EnvirHealthNews/status/1613949045013184512 There has been a rise in pesticide use, especially for agricultural purposes, which has led to their increasing concentration in the environment. Pesticides aren’t just made of random stuff. They contain harmful substances, which multiple studies have shown to have negative health effects. A number of these substances in pesticides are carcinogenic (causing cancer), mutagenic (causing mutation), and endocrine disrupting. Take the commonly used herbicide, Roundup, for example. Roundup is known to have glyphosate as its main ingredient. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) identified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen (Group 2A) in 2015. This is just one of the numerous chemicals found in pesticides. Exposure and Health Effects of Pesticides Exposure to pesticides occurs through several means. Exposure routes are generally classified into…