Use and Abuse of Pesticides.
Provide a 7 pages analysis while answering the following question: Use and Abuse of Pesticides. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. All of these pesticides are very commonly used to restrict the movement of pests. For farmers, pesticides serve as crop protection products that protect the crops from being spoiled or infected by different kinds of harmful insects, weeds, animals, and bacteria.
Different products have been developed for restricting the movements of different pests. These products include insecticides, herbicides, miticides, fungicides, and rodenticides. All of these products are used according to their nature of pests. For example, insecticides are used to control the movements of aphids. Similarly, fungicides are used to ensure seed germination, crop growth, and quality of crops. Pesticides are groups of chemicals that are widely used in agriculture (Jeyaratnam, 1990). Pesticides play a very important role in protecting our food and crops from various kinds of harmful insects. Miller and Spoolman (2009) assert, “Every $1 spent on pesticides leads to an increase in U.S. crop yields worth approximately $4” (p.295). However, as pesticides bring many benefits for us by protecting our food and health, there are also some negative points associated with the use of pesticides in humans, plants, and the environment. This is the reason why there are strict controls in some countries over the sale of pesticides to the public. Let us discuss in detail the harmful use of pesticides in humans, animals, plants, and the environment.
Pesticides bring many harmful effects on the health of human beings and animals. People use pesticides to kill the insects but the chemical, which is sprayed in the air for this purpose, becomes very harmful even for their own health. Pesticides are designed to kill insects, which are living organisms just like humans. Therefore, where the pesticides adversely affect the insects, they also bring a harmful effect on humans if sprayed from a very close distance. Pesticides do not disappear immediately after they are applied, rather they take a very long time to disappear completely. Pesticides enter into the body through skin or mouth (Ogden, 2004, p.69). Some of the most common effects of pesticides on human beings include sneezing, coughing, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and skin rashes. Difficulty in breathing is also a common symptom of the use of pesticides in homes.