What is a Pesticide?

The harms done by some chemicals on our health and environment still continue to emerge years after due to their being introduced into the market before completely understanding their impacts. One of these is pesticides, i.e., chemicals generally used in agriculture.

Pesticide utilization was added to the reasons of climate crisis in addition to extreme precipitation, flood, drought and forest fires. The dangerous increase in weather temperatures leads to an increase in weeds and insect pests, and in turn, this leads to more pesticide utilization.

In 2022, with the number of pesticide residue reports originating from Türkiye reaching 430, the country became the leading importer country in the EU. According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest, a 40 percent increase was seen in pesticides in the last 10 years and this number went over 55,000 tons in 2022.

The research conducted in the United States of America and Europe showed that pesticides pose a serious neurological threat for children. Therefore, in 2020, the pesticide called chlorpyrifos used as a plant protection product in many vegetables and fruits was banned in European Union. The same year, Türkiye also took the same decision as Europe, its main importation market, and banned the utilization of this pesticide.

Despite all these decisions and laws, there are still residues of pesticides found in food importation. Products sent to the world from Türkiye are being routinely sent back. The EU’s Rapid Alarm System for Food and Feed’s (RASFF) annual report showed that Türkiye takes the lead in pesticide residues identified in the fruits and vegetables sold. According to the mentioned report, pesticide residue notifications made to RASFF from Türkiye reached 430.

Although alternative methods and approaches in pest control are increasingly multiplying, the concerns in public opinion continue to increase due to the failure to comply with the regulations and rules governing the utilization of pesticide in our country.

What are Pesticides?

Pesticides are chemical compounds consisting of materials or substances used to prevent, control or reduce the harm of pests. Insecticides, herbicides and fungicides are all called pesticides. Likewise, rodenticides and antimicrobials are also kinds of pesticides.

Insecticides in general are the most acute toxic substances that enters into the blood stream in a rapid manner. Most insecticides are designed to attack the brain and nervous system of insects, and this causes neurotoxic effects in humans. Herbicides, on the other hand, are used more commonly. For example, RoundUp and Atrazine are two pesticides that are most frequently used in the world and pose chronic disease risks for humans. In addition, they can also cause diseases such as cancer, Parkinson and infertility based on the exposure rate.

Moreover, pesticides harm the environment, leading to reduction in biodiversity. Check out this blog post for further details on biodiversity.

Pesticide Types

1. By their functions:

Insecticide: These are pesticides used against insects and pests.

Fungicide: These are pesticides used against fungi.

Herbicide: These are pesticides used against weed.

Mollucide: These are pesticides used against mollusks.

Rodenticide: These are pesticides used against rodents.

Nematicide: These are pesticides used against nematodes (microscopic parasitic worms living in the soil or water).

Acaricide: These are pesticides used against acari.

2. By their chemical compositions:

Carbamates, Organochlorides (developed for chemical war), Triazines, Pyrethroids, Neonicotinoids.

What is a Pesticide Trap?

The phenomenon called as "pesticide trap" refers to farmers utilizing even more toxic chemicals at an increasing rate to control insects / weeds that developed resistance against pesticides.

However, the substances called as pesticides are not actually medicine, they are toxins. While they kill insects and weed, they also cause many farmers who use these and the people who eat these products to become ill. Other than insects and diseases harming the products, these toxins also kill many organisms that are beneficial for the soil and plants which can be visible and invisible to the eye. Pesticides lead to pollution in the soil and water by mixing in the natural life and this pollution can contaminate various food products. For example, over 98% of sprayed pesticides and 95% of herbicides disseminate in environments such as air, water and soil other than their area of use and contaminate living species which were not targeted.

As “super insects” and “super weeds,” which mutated as a reaction to the common and continuous utilization of chemicals arise, the farmers tend to use even more pesticides every year to prevent produce loss.

Due to economic concerns, the farmers are forced to return to these types of chemicals despite them leading to serious and various diseases such as cancer.

You can learn more about pesticide utilization, its harms to human health and toxin-free production from Non-toxic Tables Producer Guide prepared by Buğday Derneği (Wheat Association).

What is Pesticide Resistance?

Farmers in the USA were losing seven percent of their crops due to pests in 1940s. This loss rate increased to 13 percent in 1980 despite more pesticide utilization. Between 1940 and 1980, 500 to 1,000 insect species and weed species developed pesticide resistance. This resistance is increasingly getting stronger, causing a vicious cycle.

Exposure and Impacts

Pesticide exposure depends on where you live and how much you were exposed to pesticide.

• For example, an estimated amount of 450 million kilos of pesticide is being used at farms, forests, grass and golf courses in the USA.

• There are more than 17,000 pesticide products in the market in the USA and most of these are products that found a legal gap that allowed them to be introduced in the marker before an extensive assessment was conducted.

• And consumers are being exposed to pesticides through food and water residues. For example, the herbicide atrazine is found in 94% of the drinking water in the USA.

This common and long-term utilization of pesticides has serious ecological impacts other than being a human health hazard, from environmental pollution to the decreasing number of honey bees.

Alternatives of Pesticide Utilization and Innovative Solutions

Various alternative methods and innovative solutions were developed in order to be protected against the negative impacts of pesticides and to ensure a more sustainable agriculture. Biological fight, organic agriculture and integrated pest management come forth among these solutions. Biological fight aims to control the populations of pests by using their natural enemies. For example, hunter insects or parasitoids may be effective in reducing the number of pests. And organic agriculture bans completely the utilization of synthetic chemicals and promotes healthy and sustainable agricultural practices by using natural fertilizers and biological pesticides.

Integrated pest management is an economically sustainable approach which uses various methods in combination, causing the least damage on the environment. Integrated pest management involves the integration of cultural, biological and chemical methods to prevent the pest to exceed, causing a certain level of economic damage. These methods aim to reduce utilization of pesticide and promote healthier agricultural practices.

Global Impacts of Pesticide Utilization and Legal Regulations

Efforts are made to control the impacts of pesticide on environment and health through various international conventions and legal regulations. There are strict regulations with regard to pesticide utilization especially in developed countries while the control of this type of chemicals may be weaker in developing countries. International conventions such as Stockholm Convention and Rotterdam Agreement regulate the utilization and trade of pesticides and promote development of safer alternatives.

European Union implements strict regulations to monitor and limit the residues of pesticides. Member countries enacted various laws regulating utilization of pesticides and made significant investments in research and development activities to minimize the environmental impacts of these chemicals. Türkiye also made similar attempts to comply with the import markets and banned the utilization of certain pesticides. Despite these regulations, however, pesticide residues can still be found on the food products, and returned product number is increasing.

Cleaning our Food from Toxicity

Although pesticides play an important role in agricultural production, they should be used in a careful and controlled manner due to their negative impacts on the environment and health. Encouraging more sustainable agricultural practices, promoting biological fighting methods and approaches such as integrated pest management are critical in reducing the utilization of pesticides and producing healthy agricultural products. Important steps towards minimizing the environmental and health problems caused by pesticides will be tightening up legal regulations at a global scale and supporting alternative solutions.

In this context, it is critical to raise awareness among both producers and consumers to reduce the harmful impacts of pesticides and to build a healthier future. We should adopt more sustainable agricultural practices all together to protect the health of our planet and to leave a habitable earth to the future generations. We should all stand against the toxins in our food and use our power as consumers!