Essay 2-Pesticide and Children

小鲈鱼

Pesticide and Children

Pesticides have been widely used in agriculture and daily life for several decades. Pesticide manufacturers claim that pesticides can eliminate pests that are harmful to crops and human health. However, research has indicated that children, especially those in developing countries, are suffering great pesticide exposure. Hence, some people argue that pesticides should be banned worldwide in order to provide a healthy environment to children.

In fact, pesticides contribute to a positive effect on ensuring food supply to the hungry children in developing countries, as well as preventing insect-transmitted diseases that seem to be more dangerous to children. Furthermore, The best way to avoid children being exposed to pesticides and remain healthy is to carry out an effective pesticide education instead of a ban.

It is estimated that there are about 10,000 deaths caused by pesticide exposure every year (Chitra, et al, 2006). However, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2005) indicates that there are 6 million children die from hunger and malnutrition annually. This number might increase rapidly if pesticides are banned, since research has showed that pesticides have contributed to a significant increase in crop production. Delaplane indicates in his research that herbicides have contributed to a 10-20 percent growth in bread grains. If there were a pesticide ban, supplies of corn, wheat and soybeans in the United States would sharply drop 73 percent, and the exportations of these products would decrease 27 percent. This may lead to a slowdown in the U.S. food aid programs to developing countries, as well as causing a significant raise in global food price and hunger (Knutson, et al, cited by Delaplane). Pesticides are needed to raise food production in order to meet the food demand of hungry children.

Those people who claim that pesticides are hazardous to children must have ignored the fact that pesticides can eliminate a variety of pests that can transmit fatal diseases to humans. It is also well known that the immune system of children are weaker than adults, thus they may be more likely to be infected by those diseases. For example, World Health Organization (cited by Syngenta) points out that malaria kills 1 million people per year. Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes and it mostly effects pregnant women and children under 5 years. One of the most effective methods to prevent malaria is bednets treated with pyrethroid insecticides (Syngenta). Moreover, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which is defined by federal law as a multi-way pest management, has acknowledged that even though it controls pests by combining several methods (including pesticides), it finds pesticides important and indispensable in some cases in schools and families, where children are involved. In addition, a number of dangerous insect-borne diseases are now under control by insecticides (Delaplane). Therefore, Pesticides are beneficial to daily life and necessary to children’s health.
One of the major causes of pesticide exposure on children should be due to lacking information of hazards from pesticides, as well as the misuse and overuse of these poisonous chemicals. Research in Ethiopia (Mekonnen and Agonafir, 2002) indicates that pesticide sprayers’ information, attitude and behavior towards pesticide hazards have not been well accessed. This situation has led to negative effects on children exposed to pesticides. Environmental Justice Foundation (Shanahan, et al, 2002) displays that almost half of Cambodian farmers allow children to spray pesticides; this situation is similar to other developing countries. While being exposed to pesticides, the detoxification and excretion abilities in children’s bodies are less effective, that means they are in great danger to gain pesticide-related diseases when exposing to pesticides. Thereby, an effective pesticide education must be provided to farmers in developing countries. This pesticide education should include providing correct information and proper use of pesticides, avoiding applying extremely toxic chemicals to agriculture, and mostly, educating children to keep away from pesticides. If this plan works, pesticide exposure to children would be dramatically decreased.

It is proved that pesticides are positive and beneficial to humans. We do need pesticides to raise crop production in order to feed hungry children, to kill insects for the purpose of preventing pest-borne diseases to children, and to educate people to get rid of pesticide exposure.


















Reference List

Chitra, G. A., Muraleedharan, V. R., Swaminathan, T., Veeraraghavan, D. (2006). Use of Pesticides and Its Impact on Health of Farmers in South India. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. Jul-Sep 2006. Vol. 12, Iss. 3; pg. 228, 6pgs.

Northoff, E. (2005). Hunger slows progress forwards Millennium Development Goals. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (website). 22 November 2005.
Full text on-line available:
<:http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/1000151/index.html>
http://www.fao.org/
Accessed 25/04/2007

Delaplane, K. S. Pesticide Usage in the United States: History, Benefits, Risks, and Trends. The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Products & Services: Public Health. Syngenta GLOBAL.
Full text on-line available:
<http://www.syngenta.com/en/products_services/icon_page.aspx>
http://www.syngenta.com/en/index.aspx
Accessed 27/04/2007

Mekonnen, Y., Agonafir, T. (2002). Pesticide sprayers’ knowledge, attitude and practice of pesticide use on agricultural farms of Ethiopia. Society of Occupational Medicine. Occup. Med. Vol. 52 No. 6, pp. 311-315, 2002.

小鲈鱼

书写学术类文章要求用语规范工整，拒绝带有个人主观色彩的表达，所有引用不仅要在文中注明作者和年份（in-text reference），而且在文章末尾必须要注明出处

写作这篇文章只花了我两个晚上6小时左右，但是前期的准备工作长达一个半星期，阅读超过10篇学术文章，至少3万英文，引用7篇文章观点并加以扩张

可惜最后还是给老师发现一堆错误

或者大家可以从这篇文章当中看到国外大学关于学术写作的一些规范

冬子

不错，E版很少见如此原创的学术文章，加分以资鼓励，望LZ继续努力

gavining

good[em06]

kuby905

LZ真油菜~~~