officials are working to keep pesticides off lawns and gardens.^4 We c ou l d do wo rs e
than to emulate their actions.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Another area that does not receive the attention it deserves concerns the plight of
persons who are afflicted with multiple chemical sensitivities. These people include
those with asthma or allergies, as well as individuals with chemical sensitivities who
suffer the effects of pesticide exposure more severely than those without. But how do
some people become so sensitive to begin with? Is it because of multiple exposures
they’ve received throughout their fetal development and adult lives? For such people,
day-to-day living can present challenges, for there is often nowhere to hide from the
widespread and persistent use of these toxins.
Changes in Agriculture
In Chapter Two, pesticide use in U.S. agriculture was examined since it is the locus
of the heaviest pesticide utilization. Many changes have occurred in agriculture in the
past few decades. During the 1950s and 1960s American farmers depended on cheap
energy, plentiful water supplies, and extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
to produce high yields with decreasing labor on reduced amounts of land. In recent
years the costs of fuel and chemicals have increased sharply, the high use of pesticides
has led to resistance in many pest species, and concern has developed over environ-
mental contamination from fertilizers and pesticides. Increasing attention, therefore,
is being given to means of reducing the reliance of American farmers on highly chem-
ical means of production. To produce high yields, protect soil productivity, and
maintain environmental quality, farming must be based on an understanding of how
water and dissolved chemicals move through the plant-soil-groundwater system. A
small but growing percentage of farmers are farming with no pesticides, and many
others are reducing their overall chemical use. Agricultural research has begun to
focus on ways of maintaining environmental quality while producing acceptable crop
yields. One example is Integrated Pest Management, aimed at controlling pests
through a combination of methods that minimize undesirable ecological effects. Con-
tinuing research and education need to be conducted on farming practices that pro-
duce profitable yields while maintaining environmental quality and the long-term
productivity of the land.
A Long Way To Go
Opposition to the use of pesticides has been most successful in wealthy countries
such as Canada and the United States. Many communities have passed restrictive
legislation, mostly pertaining to cosmetic use of pesticides. While this has been
rightly hailed as a major step forward for the environmentally sensitive and for the
protection of community health, there remains the larger question of how to protect
the young and the poor from excessive exposures. While it’s nice that alternatives are
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