Spraying pesticides on crops is majorly contested because of different ways that people see this idea. Both sides to this issue can have an impact on whether or not farmers should continue the use of pesticides. Some argue that pesticides prevent pests from ruining crops so that individuals can eat clean fruits and vegetables. However, other people may insist that pesticide residue (which is caused by usage) is toxic to humans, such as cancer causing or leading into animal deaths. This paper will argue that farmers should put an end to pesticide usage.
First of all, bees are useful for many attributes: making honey, pollination, providing food sources, etc. Could you imagine what would happen if bees were dying because of the pesticides accessing the crops that they are collecting pollen from? That is a true fact. Pesticides are killing bees, especially nicotine pesticides. Evidence proves that 50% of the pollen collected by bees contains nicotine pesticides (especially in pollen collected from honey bees). 50% of nicotine is too much for bees to handle. The tale of most of the samples contain 700,000 times the bee’s lethal dosage of nicotine pesticides. Because of the large amount of nicotine in bee pollen, bees are dying.

On the other hand, the opposing side claims that nicotine residue should not affect the bees or even their hives. Since the residues are so small, they think that the nicotine in bee pollen should not harm the bee or hive’s health. Even though residues are not noticeable by sight, people need to understand that the nicotine spreads inside the crop. Also, think about the comparison in the size of a bee and a human being. A bee’s system is way smaller than a human’s, so they cannot take in as much nicotine without it adversely affecting them. This is why the bee population is decreasing. Scientists are even finding nicotine pesticides in every dead and dying bee, including the pollen they brought back to their hives. So it is now known how bees are affected by pesticides, but how are humans affected?

Factually speaking, pesticide residue on fruits and vegetables is toxic to humans. Pesticide residues make people very sick with health disorders such as Cancer. Studies show that pesticide residue in a human’s system is increasing the risk of Cancer. Not only can crops with pesticide residue cause Cancer, but produces a more expensive outcome. The director of the Carcinogenic Potency Project states, “But by targeting pesticide residues as a major problem, we risk making fruits and vegetables more expensive and indirectly increasing Cancer risks, especially among the poor,” -(Cancer Funds Are Chasing The Red Herring of Pesticides).

Besides the cost of fruits and vegetables with pesticide residue and part of the society becoming ill, the opposing side says that coffee is worse than pesticide residue. They also claim that people consume more carcinogens in one cup of coffee than the amount of pesticide residue on all the fruits and vegetables people eat a day. Coffee has a drug called “caffeine” that wakes someone up and makes them more hyper, so caffeine does have an effect on others. However, drinking one cup of coffee does not increase the risk of Cancer. Some people drink more than one cup of coffee a day and are not affected. Pesticides are the same as bug spray; bug spray keeps bugs off of people, and pesticides keep bugs off of crops. To tell the truth, pesticides are far more dangerous and Cancer causing than a cup of coffee is. Some of the effects that certain pesticides can have on people and animals are unbelievable.

“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that rats fed vinclozolin in utero had feminized genitalia with malformations like vaginal pouches, undescended testicles, malformed penises, nipples, and shrunken prostate glands,” -(“Better Living Through Chemistry… Or Not”). Vinclozolin is a pesticide that is sprayed on some of our fruits and vegetables. Now remember; it is unlikely to succeed in removing pesticides from a fruit or vegetable because it goes inside the crop. Vinclozolin is a very toxic pesticide and can even affect certain body parts - and this is not the only type of pesticide out there (some other pesticides contain ammonia, arsenic, benzene chlorine, dioxins, formaldehyde, and methanol). Would anybody want that sprayed on the fruits and vegetables they eat? In fact, studies have proven that vinclozolin is even harmful to animals and children. This hazardous pesticide can harm a majority of living organisms, so this does not belong on our crops.

In contrast, the opposing side insists that vinclozolin works better than machines do, especially because it prevents mold from spreading. Some people claim that the machines could not distinguish between beans with mold and those without. Because of this, the growers began to use fungicides to kill the mold. Farmers believed that vinclozolin would be more potent - this led to the constant use of vinclozolin on crops. Vinclozolin is easy to use because it is a pesticide that can be sprayed onto the farmer’s crops. However, it is more important for crops to stay in their natural state and for people not to get sick than for the crops being protected from pests.
In conclusion, farmers should put an end to spraying pesticides on their crops. This action would have an impact on how healthy our fruits and vegetables are, human and animal health, bee populations, and decrease Cancer and other health risks. As mentioned earlier, pesticides are like bug spray. Imagine if a farmer sprayed bug spray on the fruits and vegetables you eat - that is the same as eating crops with pesticides sprayed on them. If pesticide residues are affecting human and animal health, then that is a problem... a problem that should be fixed.