Synthetic pesticides, problems

The host of new synthetic organic pesticides presents a variety of problems to the practicing physician because of the lack of basic fundamental information on these chemicals. The American Medical Association has organized a committee on pesticides to consider the following problems of economic poisons and to coordinate information and make it available to physicians and other interested persons or groups safe standards of use, development of prophylactic and antidotal measures, voluntary industry controls, standardization of nomenclature, and professional and public education. 

The bewildering host of new synthetic organic chemicals presents a variety of complex problems to the medical practitioner, many of which are entirely new to him. The basis for these problems lies in the lack of essential information about the many ways in which pesticides seem to influence physiologic function and the apparent indifference and carelessness with which many of these new and untried compounds are handled and used. 

Natural products represent an immense reservoir of new molecules for the development of pesticide agents. In particular, natural products based herbicides have become attractive in recent years for a few reasons. One of the reasons is that they are environmentally benign. Furthermore, the novelty of their structures offers the possibility of finding compounds with new mode of actions, thus diminishing the induction of plant resistance, a problem associated with commonly used synthetic herbicides. 

Until recently most people and nearly all corporations accepted the release of at least some level of hazardous wastes into the environment as an unpleasant, but necessary, consequence of the huge success of modern chemical technology. Certainly no one is happy about the presence of dioxins (and PCBs and PAHs and other hazardous chemicals) in the environment. They undoubtedly result in some number of health problems and deaths around the world each year. But that is a small price to pay, some would argue, for having such a diverse and rich supply of pesticides, drugs, perfumes, synthetic foods, medicines, and other chemical products. 

Herbicide-resistant and pesticide-resistant crops should avoid soil erosion and limit the spread of synthetic herbicides and pesticides. Modified crops may also provide heat-stable monounsaturated oleic acid, avoiding the problem of heat-unstable poljainsaturated fetty acids that give unhealthy trans-fatty acids as side products of industrial hydrogenation (Mazur 1999). On the longer term, biotechnology may also provide renewable fuel and raw chemicals that may replace petroleum. 

The introduction of synthetic pesticides heralded a new era in which agricultural production flourished. However, the use of pesticides introduced unexpected problems. In the case of insecticides, beneficial as well as harmful Insects were killed. Insects rapidly developed resistance to the insecticides, requiring the introduction of new and more potent chemicals. 

Yield is not the only indicator of farm productivity. Inputs used to deliver those yields should also be considered, and can be in the form of materials, as discussed below, but they may also be in different forms. For example, one way to manage soil fertility and pest problems on organic farms is to employ a different rotation from that on conventional farms where synthetic fertilisers and pesticides can perform those tasks. Because of the difference in rotation, which may also mean a larger diversity of crops, the whole farm needs to be considered when determining productivity and profitability. 

Chemistry is everywhere, even in industries that do not seem chemical. Making a single electronic microcircuit, for example, involves nearly one hundred different chemical processes. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and even the sunlight that we used to bask in, all are affected by chemical processes that we understand better thanks to new research. We depend on synthetic materials in our homes and workplaces, and even in our clothing. Our society is built in large part on plastics and semiconductors. Many of the problems that we confront have causes that chemistry can elucidate. Many of the remedies that we apply to these problems are chemical remedies, which often, as in the agreement to phase out CFCs, involve political solutions too. Whether we like it or not, the present scale of food production around the globe would be impossible without extensive use of chemical aids, in the form of pesticides and fertilizers. 

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