As displayed in Figure 1 below, one could state that the amount of pesticides sprayed onto crops skyrocketed in 1981.
The amount of pesticides are monitored from country to country; however, the reliability of these tests vary considerably from country to country because of lack of technology available, therefore we cannot be entirely sure how much pesticides are being applied to food, or if it is safe to consume these produce items in large amounts. (Pesticide Residue Monitoring, 2015). Pesticides are not the only chemicals that are being added into our daily food supply. Over the years, consumers have become very greedy and always demand to have bigger and better products. This drove the industries to add growth hormones into the feed of livestock and creating GMO seeds for crops. This creates a health risk for consumers and farmers. These chemicals are a type of hormone that induces rapid growth upon the animal that is exposed to it. These hormones affect humans by attacking the endocrine system of the person that consumes the animal such as cancer of the pituitary glands (Toxicological Research, 2010). These health risks have been increasing over the years and putting more and more people at risk. Many organizations have tried to stop of the industries from adding these hormones, people like scientists, activists, regulators and even some politicians. This strategy was made to save money, however in some cases it seemed to be counter-productive for some companies. Even though fat deposition could be acquired at a young age, by the time the animal aged, a large portion of the livestock needed to be fed 23% more feed than the other animals (MN.S, 2003). These statistics show that sometimes this way of saving money is a gamble with money. In order to reduce the rates of growth hormones being used, information showing that it is not saving money may discourage companies to use them.
