The Beneficial Poisons: Pesticides

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Abstract Pesticides are a creation of human science designed to increase crop output. As we all know pesticides are meant to kill insects and plant disease. What many people forget is that anything that effects our environment and ecosystems, also affect our health and wellbeing. The Beneficial Poisons: Pesticides Pesticides are a serious cause for concern, but why you may ask? What is it about pesticides that makes it concerning? Over the last few years there has been an increase in awareness of the harm to humans and animals caused by foreign chemicals entering our systems. Everything from Lymphoma to melanoma, to neurological disorders has been reported in humans from exposure to chemicals. Animals have been recorded as having deformities and illnesses as well. So if we know there is a link between chemicals and illnesses in both humans and animals, then why would we treat our crops with chemicals? The answer to this question is simple, this aids in yielding larger crops. Pesticides are a creation of human science designed to increase crop output. As we all know pesticides are meant to kill insects and plant disease. According to US Environmental Protection Agency's definition of a pesticide “Though often misunderstood to refer only to insecticides, the term pesticide also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances used to control pests. Under United States law, a pesticide is also any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant” (2012). Hough in his paper, Poisons in the System: The Global Regulation of Hazardous Pesticides; was published in Global Environmental Politics in 2003. Hough discuss the more modern history of pesticides and why they persist despite the clear danger of their use. Hough (2003) states, “The issue of pesticide-induced environmental pollution was, in

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