Pesticide usage has been a well debated argument for a while now due to the way plants and animals react to them.  Some people choose to think that pesticides are helpful in the way that they eliminate many pests such as rodents and insects so that their crops can maintain healthy, but others think that pesticides are no good chemicals that are known to cause Cancer and other health issues.  Overall, Pesticides seem to have many negative impacts on the Environment and Population.  There is no reason to have these deadly chemicals at use. 

First off, Pesticides can be a nice alternative to not having damaged crops, but they are not a wise choice regarding our health. Pesticides can cause many diseases and health conditions such as, Cancer, Leukemia, Birth defects, Brain/ Blood disorders, Skin irritation, Liver/ Kidney damage, and many more.  Pesticides cause issues like these when people have early exposure to them because, “children seem to be greatly susceptible to the toxic effects of pesticides.”  (Page Two,  Globalhealingcenter).  

Some ways to stay healthy are; using organic pesticides, keeping skin covered (if using), grow your own crops or try to shop healthy by going to a farmers market (if you are not comfortable with eating fruits and veggies that may have been sprayed).  “There are certain produce items which contain the highest amount of pesticides.  Avoiding these crops can reduce your pesticide consumption by as much as 90%.  Some of these items are fruit such as cherries, apples, peaches, pears and grapes.  Vegetables you could avoid are celery, spinach and sweet bell peppers.  Remember, if they are organically grown then these are safe to eat.”  (Page three, Globalhealingcenter).

Pesticide production can be very dangerous as well.  Pesticides are made in a factory so called a ‘plant’.  If a plant releases any methyl isocyanate (a gas chemical used in pesticides), many lives are easily at risk due to the fact that Methyl Isocyanate is highly toxin to the human population.  “It can take a small amount of toxins to kill.  And other toxins that are slower acting, may take a long time to cause harm to the human body.”  (Page Two, Globalhealingcenter).  “One disaster at a pesticide manufacturing plant was in Bhopal India.  The plant accidentally released 40 tons of an intermediate chemical gas, methyl isocyanate, used to produce some pesticides.  In that disaster nearly 3,000 people were killed immediately, overall approximately 15,000 deaths occurred.  Today nearly 100,000 people suffer from mild to severe permanent damage as a result of that disaster.”  (Page Two, Globalhealingcenter).

Plus, Pesticides could be killing off important pollinators like Butterflies and Bee’s by poisoning the nectar and it is very costly to get Narrow-spectrum pesticides, which, is designed to target Specific Organisms.  “First, whenever possible, choose a pesticide that targets the pest, rather than a broad spectrum product that kills nearly everything in its path.” (Page Two, Insects.about).  It is important that the Environment does not lose it’s pollinator’s because without them most crops and plants wouldn’t grow.

Although pesticides may appear to be the worst idea in the world, there are some benefits for using them.  For one, they can protect the plants. “Since the machines couldn’t distinguish between beans with and those without mold, the growers began using pesticides to kill the mold.” (Page one, earthjustice).  They are also relatively quick to use.  They are speedy to spray on and work fast to patrol the pests.  Pesticides take care of all pests and are a one time job, as well as make the plant’s grow faster, too. But overall, there are many more reasons held against them.
  

In summary, we learn that pesticides are commonly found as a problem and that there are many other ways to eliminate pests. We realize that chemicals are not only a threat to insects and rodents, but the Environment and Population as well.  Overall, pesticides can be helpful as to keeping our crops safe from harmful pests, but can cause other issues as well.