Each day Americans as a whole consume about 815 billion calories a day. Each single one of those calories came from ingredients (crops) grown on a farm. Industrial farms produce a greater amount of these crops, such as corn, wheat, and soy. These crops are often used as ingredients in processed foods, such as your favorite chips or cookies. Pesticides are used by farmers to kill pests that eat and kill their crops. Herbicides have the same effect on weeds as do pesticides have on pests. And, of course, fertilizers are used to add back essential plant nutrients to the soil that have been lost and taken up during industrial farming processes. In order to keep up with the demand for food in our country, industrial farmers use chemicals to maximize their yield each season. It makes sense: the higher the yield the higher the pay. However, have you ever wondered where these chemicals go once they are sprayed? What happens to them and who is affected? The risk of exposure may not be worth the high yields.
Chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have the ability to harm wildlife, ecosystems and humans. Acute symptoms of exposure are likely after short-term contact with a chemical. Stinging eyes, rashes, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, blisters, irritation of the nose, throat and skin, as well as death are all possible immediate effects of acute exposure. Chronic exposure to pesticides can cause cancers, birth defects, reproductive harm, immunotoxicity, neurological and developmental toxicity, disruption of the endocrine system, and infertility.
Young children are extremely vulnerable to exposure to these chemicals. During infancy the body is still developing organs, the nervous system and the immune systems. Their bodies are thus able to detoxify and excrete pesticides. Infants’ higher respiratory rates make it easier for them to inhale airborne pesticides at a faster rate than adults. As kids grow older, they spend a lot of time playing on and in close contact with floors, lawns, playgrounds and other similar behavior. Most pesticide exposure happens through skin. Children have a higher surface area of skin for their size that of adults, making young ones more susceptible to exposure. For children and families in low income communities, the risk is higher due to inadequate living conditions. In these communities, the soil is more likely to be contaminated than it is in other areas. People live in houses that have lead paint or high dust levels, which is an added risk for those living in these areas. ids with inadequate diets are more likely for their digestive systems to absorb toxic chemicals. Exposure to pesticides can significantly harm or even cause permanent damage during stages in early childhood development to all body systems, the endocrine and nervous system are most at risk in these cases.
Farm workers, migrant workers, pesticide applicators, and neighbors are also at risk to acute and chronic health effects of industrial chemicals used in agriculture. Exposure to these chemicals can affect anyone living, working, or even passing by, within close proximity to the farm at which pesticides are being sprayed. Farm workers can carry the chemicals home to their families if they come home in the same clothes they had been working in all day. A paper by Dr. Joanna Burger and Michael Gochfeld, “disproportionate Exposures in Environmental Justice and Other Populations: The Importance of Outliers” includes data research that found associations between organophosphate residues in house dust and organophosphate metabolites in the urine of farmworkers and children were significantly positive (Gochfeld). Also found is that women who were pregnant in this area had a 6.1 ratio odds for having a kid with autism. A study done in the homes of 41 members of a farming community. The study found that in 39 of the 41 households surveyed, pesticides were found on 71% of toys and in 55% of children’s hands (Gochfeld). This is why it is always important to follow the Federal government’s regulations on pesticide use and guidelines to limit exposure.
Although there are rules and regulations in place to limit pesticide exposure, these rules are not always followed. Farmers may not always be given the proper safety equipment and clothing to wear when spraying pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. A farmer or farm hand may need to work in or near a field that is still not dried from a recent application. The unabsorbed chemicals can easily seek into your skin or clothing materials, and if airborne could enter your respiratory system. The first solution I will offer is for the farmers themselves. Farm managers and owners should have proper safety regulations set in place to keep their staff and their family members safe. Safety equipment, first aid kids, emergency numbers and procedures, clean-up procedures, hazardous clothing washes, eye washes, and even locker rooms and showers, should be set up at any and all farms, but especially at those who apply chemicals to their properties. All workers should remove their work clothes and leave them at work to be washed before leaving the farm. The FDA should take more action towards ensuring the safety of farm workers and their families by performing yearly safety inspections on farms.
According to their website, the USDA regularly finds that all food samples have at least one, if not more, pesticide residues on their skin. They also discovered that up to 70% of produce samples were contaminated with pesticide residues. It is clear that it is not just enough to just “wash your vegetables” before eating in order to avoid exposure.
The only sustainable solution is a push towards agroecological farming practices. It would be impractical to assume that the only option is to completely outlaw the use of chemicals for farming practices all at once. It does, however, sound like the ultimate utopian society in my eyes. Industrial farmers would lose their businesses and there would be major food shortages across the country. Ecological farming takes time to implement. Nonetheless, we, as consumers and daily eaters, should become aware of the risks that come along with supporting businesses that poison the environment and their workers. Supporting local and organic farmers is better for our health and farmers. Sustainable agriculture practices work with the natural environment. Careful ecosystem management works in the favor of the farmer. Crop rotations maintain good soil health, which attracts a population of beneficial pests and organisms. In return, the microorganisms and “good” bugs ward off unwanted pests and weeds. We can make a change by attending local and state government meetings and speaking up about these concerns.
Sources:
Gochfeld, Michael, and Joanna Burger. “Disproportionate Exposures in Environmental Justice and Other Populations: The Importance of Outliers.” American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, Dec. 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222496/.
