PESTICIDES

 

Sources of Food

In order to get food some people start a farm.  In farms, you
usually plant things or raise animals.  There used to be a lot of
farms in Vermont, but now they seem to be diminishing.
 Another way to get food, is to hunt for it.  This used to be the
common way to get food when America was still being colonized and even way before that.

Threats to Food

Pesticides are a threat to food.  A pesticide is any substance
or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying or
repelling any pest.  Pests can be insects, mice or other animals,
unwanted plants, fungi, or even microorganisms like bacteria and
viruses.  Many household products are pesticides.  Did you know that all of these common household products are considered pesticides?
· Cockroach sprays and baits
· Insect repellents
· Rat and rodent poison
· Flea and tick sprays
· Kitchen, laundry and bath disinfectants
· Products that kill mold
· some swimming pool chemicals
(“Pesticides in your environment”)
 

         Some solutions to food threats are:

Before a company can sell or distribute any pesticide in the United States of America, the EPA must study the pesticide to determine that it will not pose a threat to human health or the environment.  Once the EPA has made that determination, it will license that pesticide for use.  Recognizing pesticides licensed in the past may not meet today’s safety standards, the EPA is reviewing and registering older pesticides, making sure that they are still safe for use.  

Before allowing a pesticide to be used on food, the EPA sets limits on how much of a pesticide can be used on food products when they are being grown or produced, and how much can remain on the food that you buy.  Government inspectors monitor pesticide use when they are being
applied to make sure that they don’t exceed the limits that the EPA has set.  EPA also makes standards to protect workers from the exposure to pesticides on the job.  

The Food Quality Protection Act, signed in law by President Clinton in 1996, sets a tougher standard for pesticide use on food.  When the EPA makes its decisions about how much and what kind of pesticide can be used, it considers the public’s exposure to pesticides.  EACH PESTICIDE DECISION MUST PROTECT INFANTS AND CHILDREN.  Also, whenever the EPA makes a decision, one of the first things that they consider is whether or not it does any harm to children and babies.  They think of this first because children’s bodies are still developing and pesticides can do much more harm to them than adults.  

By 2006, the EPA must review all old pesticides to make sure that their use on food meets the new, tougher safety standard.  At the same time, the federal government is encouraging the making of safer pesticides that
are less likely to cause health problems (“Pesticides and Food”).

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