can highlight the kinds of chemicals we are exposed to as we live out each day of our
lives. Of the tens of thousands of chemicals that are used in the United States, we do
not know how many can become a part of our body burden, but we do know that
several hundred of these chemicals have been measured in people’s bodies around the
world.
Scientists estimate that everyone alive today carries within her or his body at least
700 contaminants, many being pesticides, most of which have not been well stud-
ied.^6 This is true whether we live in a rural or isolated area, in the middle of a large
city, or near an industrialized area. Because many chemicals have the ability to
attachtodustparticlesand/orcatchairandwatercurrentsandtravelfarfrom
where they are produced or used, the globe is bathed in a chemical soup. Our
bodies have no alternative but to absorb these chemicals and sometimes store them
for long periods of time. Wherever we live, we all live in chemically contaminated
neighborhoods.
The fact that we have residues of hundreds of industrial and agricultural chemicals
in our bodies is a direct invasion of our most private property. Pesticides that present
serious health risks should simply be banned from use. Under such a policy, research
would focus only on detecting those pesticides that cause such problems. This would
eliminate the task of developing tolerance levels and eliminate risk rather than
attempting but failing to manage it. Effective alternatives currently exist for most pes-
ticides. The social costs of continuing their use outweigh the short-term economic
gains they provide to the pesticide and food companies.
Although organic food is more expensive than crops grown with pesticides, the
external costs of pesticides are not included in the price of commercially grown food.
It has been very roughly estimated that a direct investment of $4 billion in pesticides
saves about $16 billion in crop losses, but causes an estimated $8 billion in environ-
mental and health costs to society. Five billion dollars of that is paid for by society
and not by pesticide manufacturers or direct users.^7 Buying organic food from local
farms not only enhances our own health and that of future generations, but also ben-
efits us as it decreases pollution; supports local, small-scale farmers; and makes farm-
ing itself more sustainable in the long run.
Pesticides have been in existence for only about sixty years. Gardeners, farmers,
and foresters have always had to control pests using methods such as crop rotation,
companion planting, and biological controls. Pest management has only recently
become virtually synonymous with the use of pesticides. We must reverse this unsus-
tainable trend.
Pesticide manufacturers should be required to submit safety data that cover all
the likely combinations affecting the human body. Safety data should be required
on possible impacts on the most vulnerable—the elderly, infants, and young chil-
dren. Safety data should specifically cover individuals most likely to receive excep-
tionally high does of pesticides and similar chemicals, such as bystanders who are
also farmworkers, those who also use pesticides in their gardens, and those who do
not peel their fruit.240 | Pesticides