article on harmful effects of pesticides
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Chemical pesticides are known to pollute the environment. While their intended effects are often short-lived, studies have shown that chemical pesticides linger in the atmosphere, the ground and in our waterways long after the job is over. Chemicals have been used on fields across the world for almost 100 years, creating a buildup of adverse pollution in our environment, which continues to grow with every application.
Unfortunately, when pesticides are applied onto a surface, they travel outside their intended area of use by air, soil or water. This is one common way in which chemical pesticides cause collateral damage, beyond their intended use. The Agricultural MU Guide, Pesticides and the Environment, explains that "for certain pesticides to be effective, they must move within the soil…too much movement can transfer a pesticide away from the target pest. This can lead to reduced pest control, contamination of surface water and groundwater and injury of non-target species, including humans." When farmers across the world began to rely on chemical pesticides, a drastic change in soil health followed. When the health of soil is compromised, the nutritional value of the food it yields is compromised as well. “The United States government estimates that levels of trace minerals in fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991" says Cleeton. This change is tied directly to the widespread increased exposure to pesticides.
Chemical pesticides not only deplete the nutritional value of our food, but they also contaminate it. Research has consistently found pesticide residues in a third of food, including apples, baby food, bread, cereal bars, fresh salmon, lemons, lettuces, peaches, nectarines, potatoes and strawberries. While pesticides are designed to kill living organisms, they are certainly not meant to enter our bodies.
Going organic allows us to start from scratch with the soil. Decreasing soil chemical contamination creates an overall "return to nature", bringing back nutrients and helpful organisms, and yielding clean, unaltered produce.
Pesticides have been linked to a myriad of diseases. The Pesticides Literature Review, which is based on studies conducted by a multi-university research team in Toronto, concludes, "people should reduce their exposure to pesticides because of links to serious illnesses. Results of this study found consistent evidence of serious health risks such as cancer, nervous system diseases and reproductive problems in people exposed to pesticides…through home and garden exposure."