The initial introduction of pesticides and preservatives into foods and crops was not highly debated or tested. However, as time went on, the use of both types of chemicals increased.
According to takingcharge.org, since the heaviest use of pesticides began in 1950 and the heaviest use of preservatives began in around 2000, the large-scale and possibly irreversible risks to people and the environment have become more clear.
Now in 2014, it looks like the use of pesticides and preservatives is a black swan event – or an unexpected, high-magnitude event that is beyond what society could have predicted. In 1950 and 2000, scientists and society did not predict the negative effects both could have.
Preservatives in food have many negative effects. These include breathing difficulties, behavior changes, heart damage and even cancer. Aspartame, sulfites, benzoates and yellow dye number 5 are known to exacerbate breathing problems in people with asthma and cause shortness of breath and other breathing problems in people without asthma.
According to livestrong.org, in 2003, there was a heavy increase in the number of diagnosed cases of asthma. The heavy use of “approved” pesticides began around 2000. Do the math. Each year after I was diagnosed, I knew more and more kids being diagnosed with asthma as well.
Pesticides are no chemicals to shrug off either. Pesticides, especially xenoestrogens, are linked to headaches, fatigue, muscle pain, skin rashes, cancers, reproductive health problems and digestive problems. Chronic migraines are being diagnosed more and more, and pesticides may be to blame.
It is also no secret that since the introduction of pesticides, infertility has increased, as well as cancer and digestive problems. One example of a digestive problem is acid reflux. Acid reflux was considered uncommon when I was younger. I only knew one person with acid reflux in 2001.
By 2003, I was also diagnosed with acid reflux. Now in 2014, about two-thirds of my friends have either diagnosed acid reflux or acid reflux symptoms that they take over-the-counter medicine for.
While preservatives and pesticides may affect us, they also affect the environment. Pesticides and preservatives poison plants, soil and animals. These toxins cause “dead zones” in bodies of water, meaning that the water cannot house or sustain any living creature or plants. One such area is the Gulf of Mexico.
Pesticides disrupt animal hormone systems, causing developmental and reproductive issues. They also cause plants to produce less phytochemicals, which are healthy for humans to ingest and when a plant has less of them, allows more harmful bugs to destroy the plant.
What we put into our environment, we eventually take back in. Pesticides and preservatives not only harm the environment, but they harm us. We depend on our environment, as the toxins from pesticides and preservatives build up in our environment and in us, the effects of them are becoming less and less reversible.
If we do not take action now to lessen and eventually stop their use, the negative consequences and health effects will soon affect everyone – even those who have yet to be born.