Mounting Worldwide Crisis in Agriculture

Chemicals have become a weapon in man’s arsenal against crop-destroying insects and weeds. Fifty million tons of toxins are applied annually to soil and crops in America alone. What these poisons are doing to the entire web of life—and to personal health—began to be known some 40 to 50 years ago. We warned at that time that unless mankind drastically changed its ways, we were heading for disaster. And now, today, as you read these words, we are in the middle of that forecasted disaster—and are witnesses of an ever-expanding crisis!

The most common pesticides 40 years ago were DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons. In 1972, after Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring brought the world’s attention to DDT’s adverse environmental effects, the United States and many other nations worldwide banned the application of this compound. Because of its effectiveness in fighting diseases such as malaria, however, use of DDT persists in some countries, including China. Today, toxins from DDT and similar compounds that have replaced it are manifold, found virtually everywhere in the soil, on the soil, and in food and feed crops—from mega-farms to community landscapes, even including home lawns and flower and vegetable gardens. In many areas, organic phosphorus compounds—or organophosphates—have replaced DDT and chlorinated hydrocarbons. These were originally developed in World War II as German nerve gases. Over 30 million pounds of organophosphates are being spread unchecked as pesticides on America’s farms and gardens annually (EPA). Because these pesticides break down much more quickly than chlorinated hydrocarbons, many assume they are safer. In reality, these odorless and colorless chemicals are potentially more dangerous.
Another major problem with using pesticides is that predators of the pest are often killed along with the target. Since these natural enemies have been partially successful in controlling the pest population, wiping them out temporarily leaves the primary offender free of important natural restraints. Under these circumstances, the pest will develop a resistance through mutation and multiply before natural enemies can multiply to control them.

Source: Real Truth, excerpted from the book Mounting Worldwide Crisis in Agriculture by Dale L. Schurter.
http://realtruth.org/articles/130710-002.html