Pesticides are essential for increasing food productivity, but in the long run, they cause serious damage to the environment, ecosystems, and human health. Alternatives to minimize pesticide use, such as eco-friendly farming, improved varieties, and glasshouse technology, have been proposed, increasing the importance of sustainable agriculture.
Food is the most important resource for human survival. Humans must eat to sustain life and obtain the source of energy needed to perform labor. The importance of food goes beyond just providing energy; it also has a profound impact on the stability and prosperity of human societies. Throughout history, societies with abundant food resources have experienced population growth and economic development, while food shortages have led to wars, famines, and social disruption. This is no different today. Countries around the world are making food security an important part of their national strategies and are adopting a variety of policies and technologies to develop sustainable agriculture.
Humans have tried many different ways to ensure a sustainable and sufficient supply of food, one of which is the use of pesticides. Since World War II, the world’s population has grown dramatically, from 2.5 billion people in 1950 to 5 billion in 1987 and nearly 7 billion in 2013. Based on this population growth trend, it is estimated that the world population will reach 10 billion by 2030. This rapid population growth and urbanization is putting even more pressure on agricultural productivity.
In the United States, the number of people supported by a farmer has steadily increased from four in the 1820s, 10 in the 1940s, and 47 in 1978. This is due to the development and mechanization of agricultural technology and the introduction of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers. The increased productivity of modern agriculture relies heavily on these technological innovations. However, despite these achievements, there are concerns that the use of pesticides is not sustainable in the long term.
Food scarcity is not just a matter of production, but also of distribution and access. While some regions have surpluses of food, hunger is widespread in others. This is due to the unequal distribution of food and the economic and political instability of food-producing regions. Some agricultural economists estimate that nearly 1 billion people will go hungry in the future due to food shortages, with poorer countries being particularly affected. This situation cannot be solved by simply increasing food production; it requires sustainable agriculture and a fair food distribution system.
Therefore, the need for increased food production is growing, and at the same time, the use of pesticides is increasing. But is it okay to use pesticides indiscriminately just to balance short-term food supply and demand? Pesticides are generally defined as agents used to control organisms that damage crops or agricultural products, and are categorized as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, growth regulators, attractants, repellents, and more. The use of pesticides is a very convenient tool for farmers in terms of increasing productivity. However, their use can have a devastating effect on the ecosystems we live in, which in turn can have serious consequences for human society.
First, pesticides adversely affect water quality. Pesticides are supposed to act on the organisms they’re meant to control and break down into harmless substances once they’ve fulfilled their purpose of controlling pests or weeds. However, current technology cannot ensure that all pesticides used are immediately degraded, and some inevitably end up in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and oceans. The Ministry of Environment measures BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) as part of water quality testing in the same agricultural watersheds every year. BOD is a measure of the amount of organic matter produced by bacteria in a given amount of time. The more organic matter in the water, the more oxygen the bacteria need to break down the organic matter. Therefore, the more pesticides enter the water, the higher the BOD. According to a survey released by the Ministry of Environment, BOD increased from 1.1 ppm to 1.5 ppm before and after pesticide use in the agricultural watershed of the Namhan River.
Some of the pesticides evaporate into the air and enter rivers with rainwater, while others seep deep into the ground and contaminate groundwater. In Japan, for example, the Environment Agency surveyed groundwater in 1,300 locations in 15 cities across the country in 1982 and found that much of it was contaminated by pesticides. Subsequent revelations of groundwater contamination around agricultural areas shocked residents who relied on well water for drinking.
When pesticides contaminate a vital resource like groundwater, it has serious implications for the environment and ecosystems. Groundwater contamination, in particular, is a problem that cannot be solved in the short term; contaminated groundwater can take decades to become clean again. This environmental damage disrupts local ecosystems and poses a serious threat to human health and livelihoods.
Next, pesticides adversely affect ecosystems. As mentioned earlier, some of the pesticides end up in streams, where they surround aquatic organisms in the form of various inorganic or organic toxins. Since natural ecosystems are intricately organized by food chains, pesticides can disrupt entire ecosystems. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 75% of the planet’s water is contaminated by large-scale, corporate farming, which has led to the extinction of 75% of marine animals. The most obvious example is the death of fish and other aquatic animals in farmed areas due to contaminated water sources, and the creatures that feed on them are directly or indirectly harmed and killed. Water pollution can also lead to a significant decrease in insect reproduction, a corresponding decrease in birdlife, and even species extinction. For example, DDT, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1948, was highly publicized for its effectiveness as a pesticide. However, it was later discovered that DDT is difficult to break down in nature or in living organisms, so it concentrates up the food chain from birds to large mammals and disrupts ecosystems.
The ecosystem destruction caused by pesticides doesn’t stop with the extinction of animals. It can also have devastating effects on humans. Pesticide-induced ecosystem changes reduce biodiversity, which in turn affects human food and resource security. For example, a reduction in insects affects the pollination process of crops, which can lead to lower crop productivity. These ecosystem changes can have cascading consequences that are difficult to predict, and the damage is not just limited to the agricultural sector.
Finally, pesticides also harm human health. Pesticides, which are made from chemicals, are extremely dangerous to farmers and consumers from manufacturing to transportation to use. Workers at pesticide manufacturers and farmers can become ill or even die from long-term exposure to large amounts of pesticides. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme report that 3 million workers in the agricultural sector in developing countries experience severe poisoning from pesticides each year, and about 18,000 of them die. A 2000 study also found that 25 million workers in developing countries have moderate symptoms of pesticide poisoning each year, and suffer from a number of diseases, including leukemia, prostate cancer, and multiple myeloma. Meanwhile, the health of people who eat food treated with pesticides to control pests is also at risk. A 1993 study published by an American laboratory found that infants and children are exposed to pesticides primarily through food.
The health problems caused by pesticides go beyond individual illnesses and lead to increased societal costs. Increased healthcare costs and lost labor due to pesticide poisoning also weigh heavily on national economies. Especially in developing countries, when the health of agricultural workers is threatened, it not only reduces productivity, but can also shake the economic stability of entire communities.
In the end, overuse of pesticides can do more harm than good in the long run. Recognizing these risks, it’s important to find ways to use as few pesticides as possible. Let’s take a look at how we can improve agricultural productivity while minimizing our reliance on pesticides.
First, governments should support farmers to expand eco-friendly farming. Green farming, or organic farming, is an eco-friendly farming method that does not use any chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, but instead uses natural controls such as organic matter, natural minerals, and microorganisms. This can be accomplished, for example, by timing farming to coincide with times when pests are less of a problem, using natural enemies of pests that harm crops, or using traditional methods to eliminate pests. In fact, in the United States, farmers have had success controlling insects by spraying hot water at about the same cost as spraying pesticides.
There are also ways to disrupt pest reproduction. For example, sterilizing the males of certain pests and then releasing the sterile males into the wild, where they will mate with females but not produce offspring. This technique was first used on parasitic flies in 1958 and has since been applied to Mediterranean fruit flies, tsetse flies, gypsy moths, and more. This method can effectively control pests without costing a lot of money and is an alternative to reducing pesticide use.
In addition, the improvement of crop varieties should be more active and widely practiced. Varietal improvement is essential to maintain crop quality without the use of pesticides. Varietal improvement can improve the productivity and pest resistance of crops. Over the past two decades, these methods have led to significant increases in yields per unit area of various crops worldwide, while providing quality that meets consumer preferences.
Finally, there is a need to improve the technology for growing crops in glasshouses. Greenhouse agriculture can optimize the growth of crops by artificially controlling temperature and humidity. It also provides a way to protect crops from pests while reducing pesticide use. For example, glass greenhouses can regulate temperatures or use ultraviolet light to protect crops from disease. These technologies can be an effective alternative for increasing crop productivity while reducing pesticide use.
Of course, there are counterarguments. As mentioned earlier, crop variety improvement is the best way to maintain quality without pesticides, but due to the current lack of technology in South Korea, pesticides are essential for the control of pests, diseases, and weeds in modern agriculture. According to statistics from the WHO, pests cause about 15% of all crops to be lost each year. Without pesticides, food productivity would be drastically reduced, as well as agricultural profitability.
As you can see, pesticides contribute greatly not only to food production, but also to saving labor and time, and making farming more convenient. Some argue that we should use more pesticides because they can effectively kill weeds, reduce production costs, and provide better quality grains, fruits, and vegetables at lower prices.
But this is a short-sighted argument. Pesticides may be effective in the short term, but in the long term, they have a very negative impact on the environment and ecosystems, as mentioned above. Pesticides are meant to keep pests at bay, but they can be poisonous to humans and animals. In fact, a 2012 report by Navdanya, “Poison in Our Food,” found that pesticides used in agriculture have been linked to the rise of diseases like cancer. Therefore, for the sake of our health, we need to curb the use of pesticides and take the lead in promoting eco-friendly agriculture.
