Nowadays there is greater public awareness of the requirements for living a healthy life such as consuming food which is free from chemical substances. The following article looks at a topic related to this - the problems inherent with using pesticides in agriculture.

While you read the article, try this activity to match a summary sentence to each paragraph numbered below.

The Problem with Pesticides

1

Nowadays, the use of pesticides in agriculture is widespread, even though it is widely accepted that they are toxic and can harm humans as well as the environment. The British government recently released figures showing that in the last decade, use of pesticides has risen by 30% in the UK, while the amount of land cultivated has decreased. Pesticides are defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) as “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest”.

2

Most fruits and vegetables contain residues of pesticides even after washing and peeling. These residues are limited to tolerance levels that are considered to be safe, based on toxicological studies, exposure modelling and residue studies produced by pesticide manufacturers. However, research has shown that, even at these levels, pesticides can cause problems in the human endocrine, nervous and immune systems. A study carried out by the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANA) found that the amount of toxic pesticides that many U.S. citizens have in their bodies is above these accepted “tolerance levels”. It also found that many of these toxins are linked to conditions such as infertility, cancer and reproductive problems.

3

As well as these health risks, another negative consequence of pesticides is the damage they do to the environment. In an environment where a pest also has a natural predator; known as a beneficial predator, the use of pesticides kills both. Often the pest recovers before the predator and returns to a predator-free area. In many instances, pests become very resistant to pesticides through natural selection, and so the farmers often use even larger quantities in order to kill pests; a vicious circle which leaves the environment badly affected. What is more, the chemicals used in pesticides often remain in the soil for decades, poisoning non-target organisms – that is living things that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - long after their intended period of use. Little is known about the chronic effects of these substances known as “Persistent Organic Pollutants” (POPs), but research is beginning to show that these negative effects are very real and here to stay.

4

Public concern about the effects of pesticides on health and the environment has fuelled the increase in the sales of organic food. As well as this, more and more voices are speaking up against pesticides. Even the UK government’s own advisory body, the Committee on Carcinogenicity found a link between exposure to pesticides and prostrate cancer. And the Health Protection Agency recently stated that “the long term consequences of low-level, chronic exposure to chemicals and poisons are not well understood and there is increasing public concern about the possible impact … (on) … reproductive health, asthma and cancers.”.

So, will the present situation remain as it is or will something be done to combat the negative effects of pesticides?

In the article there is a lot of vocabulary you can use when describing trends. Try an activity which focuses on this area of vocabulary.