One of the most important advancement of the industrialized farming in addition to the use of genetic engineering technologies to modify crops in a way that can increase the amount of food produced and the quality of fruits bared by trees, is the use of several chemicals as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, and insecticides, and these chemicals are used for different purposes for example fungicides are used to kill fungus that can destroy crops, while fertilizers are used to increase the soil fertility and supply nutrients to the different plants in the farms.The issue of farming was a focus point since the industrialization began as many farmers were happy knowing the fact, that we are able to produce huge amount of food for the generations living, and we could export some to neighboring countries, many corporate holders thought that fortunes could be made out of food industry and plus it is a source of power for a country to be able to compete in food industry, as a result the farming section flourished over years providing supplies for communities and sustaining lives. Many companies started producing chemicals that can reduce fungus, herbs, and pests that destroy crops, also genetic engineering section began to develop its ability to produce genetically engineered seeds that can survive harsh conditions and yet still give high yield with good quality fruits.
Many of the chemicals are used in farming on a regular base and some are applied several times a day which raises some concerns about whether they are safe to be used frequently for human especially for farmers, who are in regular and direct contact every day with these materials. Accordingly many studies have been done to create an understanding for the various chemicals that are being used in farms, some studies showed some bad side effects of different pesticides and herbicides on human health, while other studies suggest the devastating effects that these chemicals are producing for the environment.
During the last 20-30 years many researches were don, and many bad effects of the chemicals used in farming were discovered, some of the laws have been issued to switch certain materials or to forbid the use of others, but the question here remain valid should it be considered illegal to use chemicals in farming and to expose farmer who could be uneducated enough to avoid the side effects of certain chemicals?
As researches took place scientist started studying farmers, because they had the most contact with chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides. It has been shown that farmers tend to have higher amount of immunoglobulin (antibodies) in there blood samples, and this is due to their continuous exposure to allergens, pollens, and chemicals. One of the diseases that was found in high percentage among farmers is multiple myeloma, as it has been reported by the British journal of cancer “Several occupational risks have been demonstrated, showing elevated mortality for myeloma among farmers, woodworkers, smeltermen and forgemen” (milham,1976).
“Multiple myeloma is a cancer that begins in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell. These cells are part of your immune system, which helps protect the body from germs and other harmful substances”, as came in the US
Another research studied farmers have shown that many materials used as pesticides such as methyl bromide which is the most frequently used in California and Iowa farms can cause another type of cancer which is prostate cancer, it has been known that male over 50 years old have a risk factor for developing prostate cancer, but male farmers have higher percentage to develop that cancer. Methyl bromide was specifically mentioned in the American journal of epidemiology by many medical doctors and researchers from the department of epidemiology in university of Iowa “However, methyl bromide was significantly associated with prostate cancer risk among both North Carolina and Iowa
The health issues that are mentioned, are part of the problems that chemistry-industrialized farming causes, other potential problem that was recently the subject of interest is the effects on the environment, as the chemicals that are used are dumped into the soil, where many types of bacteria live in harmony with plants, where bacteria help to transform the air nitrogen into nitrates that the plants need to thrive, and the heavy use of pesticides can cause these beneficial bacteria to deteriorate, it is also known that this bacteria is needed to decompose the dead animal and plant parts which help restore soil fertility, as Misty Huber who wrote in magazines including “shape”, and “natural health” have stated that “Heavy use of pesticides in soil can cause beneficial bacteria in soil to deteriorate”.
Another environmental concern is the water, as these chemicals including pesticides and herbicides have high solubility in water, as John Marton a PhD student of environmental science at Indiana university says “These compounds can be picked up by rainwater and get carried away to nearby streams, lakes and wetlands, where they can contaminate drinking water and other aquatic resources, this can potentially threaten endangered species as well as other non-target organisms for which the effects resulting from exposure are not known”.
One solution could be made is the switch to what is called the “organic farming”, in organic farming farmers uses both the industrial technologies and machines plus the ecological knowledge in food production so instead of using chemically prepared pesticides they use a naturally occurring ones, where these natural pesticides would not cause diseases like the chemical pesticides, this is done by “using several methods like crop rotations, animal husbandry, bio-fertilizers”, and many other methods (Tim J. LaSalle, PhD., Paul Hepperly, PhD., Director of research and Fulbright Scholar Rodale Institute).
One solution could be made is the switch to what is called the “organic farming”, in organic farming farmers uses both the industrial technologies and machines plus the ecological knowledge in food production so instead of using chemically prepared pesticides they use a naturally occurring ones, where these natural pesticides would not cause diseases like the chemical pesticides, this is done by “using several methods like crop rotations, animal husbandry, bio-fertilizers”, and many other methods (Tim J. LaSalle, PhD., Paul Hepperly, PhD., Director of research and Fulbright Scholar Rodale Institute).
Business keepers where concerned about the amount of production and whether the switch could impact their business, “The clash has become one of “capital versus communities,” whereby corporations use the Interstate Commerce Clause in an attempt to override state legislation aimed at protecting family farming and communities”(Linda Lobao and curtis stofferahn, community resource department Ohio state university), so it has been suggested that without the chemically intensive agriculture farmers will not be able to produce the same amount of food with the same quality, but according to the UN environment program reports, it has been shown that not only we will improve the food production qualitatively and quantitatively, but also we will have better environmental results, such as better soil fertility, retention of water, and resistance to drought.
Organic farming practices where done in Africa for several years showed yield increase for over 100%, “the potential contribution of organic farming to feeding the world may be far higher than many had supposed.” (UNEP, “Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa ,” 2008).
Though chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides helped farmers to produce large amount of food supplies for the world, many bad environmental effects were left behind such chemicals, as it had killed many beneficial bacteria in the soil, and may contaminate many water supplies as these chemicals are sprayed into the soil and they have high water solubility, also it had caused disease for farmers over the long run such multiple myeloma and prostate cancer. There were some laws passed about forbidding the use of some chemicals such as the use of the well known chemical DDT, but the old conventional ways are still used nowadays even with the presence of an alternatives such as the organic farming solution, which makes it necessary to focus on this subject as it is unethical to expose the huge amount of farmers to these chemicals that can kill then later.
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Work Cited Page:
Huber, Misty. "Herbicide and Pesticide Effects on Soil Bacteria." Meanstogreens (2020): n. Web. 24 Apr 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/about_6612542_herbicide-pesticide-effects-soil-bacteria.html
Bowman, Greg. "Organic vs. Industrial Agriculture." organic consumers association (2008): n. Web. 23 Apr 2011. <http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18988.cfm
Lobao, Linda, and Curtis W. Stofferahn. "The community effects of industrialized farming." Agriculture and Human Values (2007): 1-22. Web. 23 Apr 2011. <http://www.und.nodak.edu/org/ndrural/Community%20Effects%20of%20Industrialized%20Farming.pdf
Gallagher, R. P., J. J. Spinelli, J. M. Elwood, and D. H. Skippen. "Allergies and agricultural exposure as risk factors for multiple myeloma.." BJC british journal of cancer 48.6 (1983): 853-857. Web. 11 Apr 2011. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2011571/.
Epidemiol, Am. J. "Use of Agricultural Pesticides and Prostate Cancer." american journal of epidemiology 157.9 (2003): 800-814. Web. 11 Apr 2011. http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/157/9/800.short.
