Question

"Our food grains such as wheat and rice, the vegetables and fruits and even meat are found to contain varying amounts of pesticide residues' '. State the reason to explain how and why it happens.

Answer 1

Hint: Pesticides are mainly used for the protection of crops from harmful insects like grasshopper which can damage its parts and result in a bad yield. But these have several disadvantages that became a matter of concern for the people.

Complete answer:
In today's agricultural system, pesticides and fertilizers have become a popular and unavoidable part. Although it is helping in a greater yield of food products and helping mankind, it leaves several harmful effects for humans as well as animals. The pesticides used in the crops by the farmers keep the harmful pests away from the plants and thus prevents damage. However, only 40-45% of it gets used and the rest just remains there on the surface of Different parts of the plants. The herbivores eat them and as a result, the remains of pesticides stay inside the animal and get passed onto different levels of the food chain. Humans are omnivores. Therefore, the food we eat, no matter if it's obtained from plants like wheat and rice, fruits and vegetables, or animals such as meat, contains varying amounts of the remains of the pesticides. This is very harmful to our body and hence a very serious issue to deal with.

Note: Pesticide poisoning is a very concerning issue for the worldwide human population as about 1 million people suffer or die of this poisoning per year. After eating the pesticide-contaminated food, it resides in the colon and poisons the body slowly. Studies show that pesticides are related to cancer, Alzheimer's disease, ADHD, and also birth defects. They may harm the human nervous system, reproductive system, and endocrine system.