Food production environmental problems

From this analysis it is clear that in addition to their benefits, the use of pesticides in food production not only causes serious public health problems but also considerable damage to vital agricultural and natural ecosystems in the United States and world. A conservative estimate suggests that the environmental and social costs of pesticide use in the United States total about 4 billion each year. Worldwide the yearly environmental and public health costs are probably at least 100 billion. This is several times the 18 bllllon/yr spent on pesticides in the world. 

The nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl in April 1986 (IAEA Technical Report 1991) proved to be a much more potent source of environmental contamination in many surrounding countries, over distances up to several thousands of kilometers, and was a cause of worldwide problems in international trade in food products contaminated (or possibly contaminated) with radionuclides. The resulting requirement by many countries to establish systems for monitoring radionuclides in foodstuffs and in the environment led to a large worldwide increase in the demand for suitable reference materials. 

A large increase in biomass energy production has the potential to cause serious environmental problems. Land use issues and concerns about pollution are major concerns. Areas with fragile ecosystems and rare species would need to be preserved. Agricultural lands would also compete with food production. The loss of soil fertility from overuse is a concern. Biomass production would need to be varied and sustainable while preserving local ecosystems. 

From a different (but related) environmental perspective, provision of adequate supplies of food, shelter, medicines and resources of energy and raw materials already constitute serious global challenges. Superimposed over the issues of safety and the environment introduced above are difficult and long-term problems involving sustainability. The current population of planet earth, approximately 6 billion, has tripled since 1938. Various projections indicate that by 2050 it will be about 11 billion, nearly twice the present level. Innovative methods for greater food production from diminishing tracts of available arable land and increased and efficient utilization of renewable resources will be essential. 

Pesticides are crucial for maintanence of our modern food production. However, current patterns of use and misuse of chemical pesticides have resulted In some environmental problems. Ground water contamination by herbicides and other pesticides may threaten... 

The tremendous achievements which have been accomplished by the judicious use of pesticides in increased world-wide food production and the control of vector-bome diseases are very evident. In addition, pesticidal materials contribute to the effective control of undesirable species of pests including insects, plants, bacteria, fungi, etc., and assist in the nutrition, growth, and reproduction of certain desirable species. However, because of widespread use in these applications, pesticides have proliferated intensely in the biosphere and thus have significantly contributed to problems of environmental pollution. For example, the effects of these chemicals on public health and the survival of species of fish and wildlife are two specific areas of critical concern. The attention which has been focused in recent years on the occiurence of residues of pesticides and their metabohtes, as well as other industrially significant chemicals in the environment, is demonstrated by the numerous reports of various official and unofficial committees of inquiry which have considered this problem and have reported the results of large numbers of assays of pesticide residues in such diverse substrates as human and animal tissues, food, plants, water, soil, and air. 

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