Pesticides: Can't Live With Them, Can Live Without Them

Pesticides….they are everywhere. No, seriously, they’re literally everywhere. It’s being put into our air; not just by Bob the landscaper. It's the local non-organic farms crop dusting, it’s our neighbors, or even ourselves taking the easy way out and spraying toxic chemicals onto the weeds instead of getting dirty and pulling the damn thing out.

According to the National Pesticide Information Center: “Scientists have found that particles released in the atmosphere in Asia can reach the forests and national park on the west coast of the United States in less than a week.”

 If particles released in Asia can reach over 6,900 miles in less than a week, then how do we 

not think the weed killer our neighbor is spraying into the wind is not being breathed in by 

all of us? Annually, 20,000 farm workers get pesticide poisoning. Below is a video from a specific, but unfortunately not rare case, that occurred in Florida:

Here is another short interview with some of America's farmers

As a mom, I fear the scary truth… That we can’t get away from these toxic chemicals. I go to 

the grocery store and there is a special section for “organic food”

Organic
adjective  or·gan·ic  \ȯr-ˈga-nik\

3 a (1) :  of, relating to, or derived from living organisms <organic evolution> (2) :  of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides

This makes me think, Why did we even start using pesticides and herbicides on our agriculture in the first place? Shouldn't all food be organic? Well, America saw its biggest interest in pesticides in the 1940's with the discovery of DDT, or dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, and it became so popular for four main reasons:

1. It is toxic to a wide range of insect pests, yet initially thought to have low toxicity to mammals

2. It didn't need to be reapplied often

3. It was inexpensive

4. It is water soluble

And also a slew of propaganda:

It wasn't until 1962 when Rachel Carson released her book "Silent Spring" highlighting the effect DDT was having on "non-target" creatures, specifically birds, that the public became concerned. For many years after, and even currently traces of DDT is showing up in our atmosphere, in our fishes and mammals hundreds of miles away from any pesticide use, and scary enough traces of DDT, and other toxic chemicals that are in pesticides and herbicides, has even been found in human BREAST MILK!!! This all from a chemical that has been banned since 1972!

In 2013, a grim infographic was released:

With scary infographics like these being published, and misleading propaganda still being released: 

When in fact Monsanto is today's leading manufacturer and distributer of pesticides, and many of these chemicals stay on the food even after a thorough washing, prompting people to create a "Dirty Dozen" list of foods that should be boughten organically.

Education is key to future of our world and our children. We can start the solution at home, by growing our own foods, supporting local organic farms, and raising our voices and let big companies like Monsanto, and our own governments know that " No! We don't want your poisons and No! we are not Roundup ready!"