Pesticides and Herbicides: Friends or Foe?

The use of natural herbicides and pesticides existed even centuries ago. Most of the first herbicides and pesticides were chemicals which occurred naturally that warded off unnecessary plants and animals. However, as the years progressed, scientists discovered that man-made repellants are more effective in warding off these pests than the natural chemicals

Pesticide is an all-encompassing term which refers to chemicals used to kill pests. This includes herbicides used for weeds, insecticides to eliminate insects, fungicides for fungi, nematocides for nematodes and rodenticides for verterbrates such as rats.

During the Green Revolution, pesticides were used to control insectivorous and herbaceous pests that invade the food produce. The use of pesticides in the “chemical age” since the 1950s has helped in pest control. Regrettably, the pesticides also brought a number of disadvantages including the disruption of the predator-prey relationships which could lead to threats of the survival of the major ecosystems. Not only that, there is the much feared loss of biodiversity and the danger it poses to the human health.

These chemicals which are used as the modern-day pesticides and herbicides cause negative effects to the environment and people. A number of studies have been conducted to determine its ill-effects among them poisoning, birth defects and environmental pollution.

Agriculture use of pesticides comprises a small portion of the total use of industrial chemicals harmful to humans in the modern society. American Chemical Society data reveals that in 1993 alone there were around 13million chemicals with 500,000 new compounds added in an annual basis.

A study conducted by the International Joint Commission in the Great Lakes of North America showed that there are more than 200 chemicals in water and sediments found in the Great Lakes ecosystem. There is undeniable evidence that agricultural use of pesticides affect the water quality and causes harmful effects to the environment and the human body.

In the United States alone some 888 million pound of pesticides and herbicides were used each year. That would translate to roughly three pounds of pesticides and herbicides for every person in the country.

An estimated 10 percent of the pesticides and herbicides are used by Americans to lawns and gardens. The majority of 90 percent are for industrial, agricultural and commercial uses.

The heavy use of these toxins carries a very high price tag to humans and the environment. These pesticides and herbicides could cause contamination to the environment. Take this scenario, for instance, applying these chemicals would affect the air which are inhaled by innocent people merely passing by. These are also borne by the winds even further into streams, lakes, rivers and underground water that provide the consumable water supply.