Summary
Food manufacturing is the process of transforming raw materials into finished food products. All of these fully prepared foodstuffs are used in the kitchen or the food processing sector. As production in agriculture has become increasingly industrialized, the chemical burden on ecological systems has increased. Agrochemicals are chemicals used in farmlands, health services, and urban green areas to protect people and crops against disease (Reps & Johnson, 2020). Only a few examples include fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. On the other hand, because of their shown ability to cause a wide range of harmful environmental and health consequences, their side effects can be a substantial environmental health risk factor.
Farmers prepare the ground for large-scale agricultural production after clearing it. This is accomplished by using large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers to inhibit the spread of undesired weeds that compete for resources with the crop. This enhances the minerals available in the soil to maximize the crop’s production. To satisfy the demands for crop output, nutrient-deficient soils may demand even more fertilizers. These agrochemicals are used all across the growing cycle to boost development, limit competition from other plants, and prevent crop-eating pests from degrading the crop (Reps & Johnson, 2020). As a result, individual and commercial farmers’ use of agrochemicals during food production endangers the environment and people’s health.
Risk Analysis
For two reasons, improper agrochemical use is unhealthy and damaging to the ecology. Foremost, compounds can be harmful to organisms when present in high amounts. The techniques used in applying these substances to crops avert them from harboring excessive levels in the food. The chemicals are hard for body cells and tissues to breakdown, and consuming large much food produced in such a manner could pose health implications due to bio-accumulation and bio-magnification. Moreover, such chemicals are released as harmful air pollutants into the atmosphere.
Surface run-off when it rains transports contaminants away from farms, polluting soils, rivers, and other habitats. When habitats are poisoned in this way, chemicals are absorbed by body tissues of living organisms such as algae and fish. Larger creatures higher up the food chain consume these simple species, and the toxins lodge in their bodies rather than being removed (Reps & Johnson, 2020). Chemicals released into ecological processes can build up to harmful levels due to bioaccumulation. Such pollutants have affected the ecosystem’s health by reducing reproduction, causing lasting genetic mutations, and even killing key populations and humans.
Being apex predators in their food chain, humans tend to accumulate large levels of harmful substances in our bodies. Agrochemical remnants can also be found in a wide range of ordinary foods and beverages, such as prepared meals, wine, milk, fruit juices, and livestock feed, adding to the bioaccumulation burden. Bioaccumulation can cause chronic disorders in addition to acute toxicity.
Many agrochemicals, particularly pesticides that are widely utilized, have been labeled as probably carcinogenic to humans based on animal testing. Even though the findings of numerous epidemiological research are contradictory, there is no question that continuous exposure increases the risk of cancer of blood and non-Hodgkin lymphomas (Demeneix, 2020). Agrochemicals use has also been linked to sarcomas, numerous myelomas, cancers of the bladder, lungs, ovaries, liver, kidneys, and brain tumors. Laboratory, clinical, and epidemiologic findings indicate that neurotoxic chemicals can produce developmental neurotoxicity at significantly lower exposure levels (Demeneix, 2020). Cognitive impairment and loss of balance, among other neurological health effects, are cause for concern. Faber (2020) claim that around 200,000 people die each year due to pesticide and other agro-based chemical poisonings. Therefore, there is a need for the implementation of risk-reduction measures.
Risk Communication
Risk communication is an important aspect when handling harms to the environment. Farmworkers can reduce pesticide exposure’s dangers if they know about specific hazards. However, there are numerous possible roadblocks to risk communication. Many California agricultural workers are usually poor Latino immigrants, mostly from Mexico, with 50% of them not speaking English and 80% unable to read the language (Falta, 2021). As a result, growers must be aware of their staff’s unique pesticide training requirements. It is not only vital for farmworkers to be aware of the dangers in their surroundings but also required by law.
The effects of long-term pesticide exposure and bioaccumulation are usually delayed, taking a long time to appear, but when they do, they are alarming because of their severity and chronic nature (Falta, 2021). For example, birth deformities, fetal toxicity, the formation of malignant or benign tumors, genetic mutations, blood illnesses, neurodegenerative disorders, hormone disruption, and reproductive impacts with a long-term nature are all considered chronic implications of pesticide exposure. After a long time, the characteristics provoke outrage among the victims, members of society, and the public health system and manifest in so many people.
Management and Harm Reduction
Agrochemicals are devised under strict regulations to work with relative certainty and have a minimal impact on human and environmental health. However, concerns have been raised about the dangers presented by workplace risk exposure and the residues in drinking water and food. Several approaches have been developed and implemented to minimize the potential health risks.
Agrochemical registration is a scientifically-based, administrative, and legal process that assesses a wide variety of pesticide-related outcomes and their potential influence on human health and the environment. Registration has been a significant strategy in agrochemical management because it allows authorities to evaluate which agrochemical product lines are allowed and for what uses. Moreover, it helps exercise control over the quality, rates of application, claims, packaging, labeling, and marketing of agrochemicals, ensuring that end-users and the ecosystem’s best interests are all well-protected. The registration of a pesticide normally necessitates the manufacturer to conduct, analyze, and pay for a slew of scientific experiments. This is used to limit the danger of agrochemical poisoning and exposure. Remarkably, pesticide registration teaches farmers how to handle chemicals, how much to use safely, and how to protect themselves from exposure.
Furthermore, the USEPA Worker Protection Standard mandates that growers offer adequate, clear training to their personnel on the dangers of pesticide exposure and effective pesticide application (Environmental Protection Agency, 2021). Therefore, farmworkers can consciously limit the health hazards associated with agrochemical exposure after receiving this training. Farmers and producers are also advised to think about using an Integrated Pest Management strategy. This strategy only uses pesticides as a last resort after all other choices have failed and emphasizes prevention, sanitation, and exclusion. The hazards are greatly reduced because agrochemicals are only employed as a latter option after all other choices have been tried.
In conclusion, production in agriculture has become increasingly industrialized, resulting in an increased chemical burden on ecological systems. Because of the chemicals’ shown ability to cause a wide range of harmful environmental and health consequences, their side effects can be a substantial environmental health risk factor. The methods used in applying these substances to crops avert them from harboring in excessive levels in the food. Agricultural chemicals are hard for body cells and tissues to breakdown, and consuming large much food produced in such a manner could pose health implications due to bio-accumulation and bio-magnification. Agrochemicals are devised under strict regulations to work with relative certainty and have a minimal impact on human and environmental health. Concerns have been raised about the dangers presented by workplace risk exposure and residues in drinking water and food. To reduce the risk, many approaches have been developed, such as registration and educating farmworkers on agrochemical use.
References
Demeneix, B. A. (2020). How fossil fuel-derived, pesticides and plastics harm health, biodiversity, and the climate. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 8(6), 462-464.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Web.
Faber, D. (2020). Poisoning the world for profit: petro-chemical capital and the global pesticide crisis. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 31(4), 1-17.
Falta, D. A. (2021). Maxwell’s understanding environmental health: How we live in the world (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Reps, N. I. F. A., & Johnson, M. (2020). W1045: Agrochemical impacts on human and environmental health: Mechanisms and mitigation. NIMSS. Web.