Pesticides: Just how bad for you are these chemicals?

February is National Pesticide Safety Education Month. We’re taking the opportunity to look into the obscure chemicals in our food: What are they? Do we really need them? How bad are they for humans and the environment? How safe are they to eat, really? We’re answering those questions — and more.

Pesticides

We’re all familiar with this term, in a vague sense. Specifically, pesticides are chemicals used to kill, prevent, or control a plant or animal considered to be a pest. Some of the most common pesticides are antimicrobials, fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. (See a comprehensive list!)

When it comes to the food system, pests affect productivity by eating or spoiling otherwise salable crops. Additionally, pests like rodents or mosquitoes can carry bacteria and viruses that are dangerous to our health. Pesticides decrease this risk and make food last longer in storage. In doing all this, pesticides “improve” the quality of food. Think about a worm-eaten apple compared to an untouched one — which would you rather eat?!

How much pesticide do different methods of growing food use?

Conventional

Traditional farming employs heavy use of synthetic pesticides. Around one billion pounds of pesticides are used annually in the U.S.

Organic

Contrary to popular belief, organic produce can be grown using pesticides. The difference is that these pesticides are typically made using natural substances and less potent than conventional pesticides. Certain chemicals are prohibited for certified organic produce.

Greenhouse Growing

The warm and humid environment in greenhouses makes them a breeding ground for pests. To mitigate this, greenhouse farmers use pesticides to prevent pests from impacting their crops.

Freight Farm

Freight Farmers don’t typically need pesticides. Controlled environment agriculture means that Freight Farmers have the ability to control humidity, temperature, and plant hydration to avoid conditions that pests like. Plus, the farm is a closed system, so it’s harder for pests to get in.

Is food with pesticides safe to eat?

The majority of fresh fruits and vegetables we consume contain minimal traces of pesticides. At such low concentrations, these pesticides aren’t toxic to humans and can be washed away with water.

However, barely there is still there. The FDA has reported that 54% of fruit and 36% of vegetables contain detectable amounts of pesticides. Furthermore, lettuce tests by the USDA found residues from 52 different pesticides that have health and environmental risk factors:

3 known or probable carcinogens
17 suspected hormone disruptors
10 neurotoxins
8 developmental or reproductive toxins
14 honeybee toxins.

Sometimes, fresh foods don’t get washed or processed correctly before ending up at the grocery store. In one case, USDA researchers found lettuce in the market with twice the concentration of a toxic pesticide (Oxydemeton methyl) deemed safe for a six-year-old child. While this is atypical, it goes to show that dangerous pesticides can make it onto our plates in significant quantities.

What’s the impact of pesticides on human health?

While eating an apple or a salad without washing the produce first isn't necessarily harmful, pesticides are very dangerous for people living or working near pesticide-treated farmland. Pesticide poisoning is widespread and can be deadly: Every year, approximately 200,000 fatal pesticide poisoning cases occur worldwide (it’s likely more, but many cases go unreported). Additionally, long-term exposure to pesticides can make you very sick. For example, pesticide exposure can:

Induce oxidative stress. This, in turn, can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases (like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's), cancer, and more.
Disrupt the human endocrine system and cause reproductive problems.
Lead to mood disorders, depression, anxiety, and suicide.

What’s the impact of pesticides on the environment and other species?

If this is what pesticides can do to humans, think of the effects they have on other species! Pesticide usage to target real pests doesn't occur in a vacuum. Killing the intended pest can lead to negative impacts on many other animals and insects. Bees are an example of the terrible environmental impact of pesticides: from 2015 to 2016 alone, the U.S. bee population decreased by 44%. Correlate this statistic with the rampant use of Imidacloprid (found on 48% of grapes and 20% of apples) and Bifenthrin (found on 24% of strawberries and 25% of cherry tomatoes), both bee toxins, and a grim picture of the effects of pesticides becomes clear.

Pesticides often create negative environmental effects far outside their application zones. This is because the chemicals infiltrate surface and groundwater and break down into the atmosphere at large. This creates ecological stress for surrounding plants, insects, birds, and mammals. Pesticides can also be ingested secondhand (for example, when a bird or fish eats an affected insect).

So, what kind of produce should you buy?

The experts agree: the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables outweigh the potential risks of consuming the chemicals used in the growing and packaging process. So, if you’re limited in your spending, stick to the standard, conventional options in the produce aisle.

However, if you’re able to spend an extra dollar or two, opt for organic or local produce. In both instances, you’re eliminating harmful chemicals from your own diet while also choosing to avoid buying into farming methods that are harmful to workers and the environment alike.

Organic

Organic is a regulated term; for their produce to be certified, farmers must prove that they are following specific guidelines. These generally include attention to natural resources, conservation of biodiversity, and use only of approved substances. However, as consumers increasingly look to buy organic, the once-community-centered practice has become less environmentally sustainable. Today, “big organic” uses huge centralized operations to supply growing demands. Fresh produce ends up traveling thousands of miles, which not only affects the food’s quality and nutritional value but also contributes to greenhouse gases (thus undermining the idea of eco-friendly farming).

Local

On the other hand, local food does not have this problem. While local can mean many things to many people, it’s largely centered around the idea of growing and selling produce to the immediate community. This has translated to people choosing to identify as “locavores” or participating in 100-mile diets, both prioritizing chemical-free farming and also encouraging small and local businesses to flourish and entire communities to come together around sharing good food.

It’s important to note that local and organic aren’t mutually exclusive. Many local farms operate using organic principles. However, don’t limit your local purchasing to just organic produce. Many small farmers choose not to go through the long and expensive process of obtaining a USDA organic certification, even though they follow all practices of organic farming. Organic is also a term that is very rarely applied to alternative farming methods, like hydroponics or aquaponics, even though neither requires the use of any kind of chemicals.