Pesticides are used against insects and pests, and are the most deadly and pollutant of the three Biocides. Eighteen million tonnes of Pesticides are sprayed per year. The reason that Pesticides are so deadly is that they are designed to kill animal organisms instead of plant organisms. This means that accidental poisoning of humans and non-target organisms are more likely to occur. Pesticides are also usually sprayed in much larger quantities, from an aeroplane or truck, which can lead to it settling in forests or neighbouring farms and towns if proper caution is not exercised. Health hazards again vary depending on the Biocide composition, but they range from irritation to cancer, organ failure and death if ingested. .
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The use of Biocides originated in the 1950s, when the Green Revolution came into play. This was a huge change from the traditional farming, which was always geared towards sustaining the family that worked the farm and providing the township with some crop or animal produce. The Green Revolution really started in Britain, America and Australia, when many scientists started to work on Biocides that could be applied to farming, which could kill disease and help plants survive in adverse conditions. These kinds of Biocides were widely proliferated over most of the world, however in many countries, Biocides that were formulated for use in America and Britain had no effect in Africa, India and many other countries that required growth quickly. Many Biocides that were hailed as "miracle" cures for pests and weeds became heavy pollutants and toxicants in these countries; DDT is one example of this. In World War 2, many US Soldiers died or became sick from malaria, a disease that could not be cured or treated at the time. DDT was literally swatting mosquitoes out of the sky and stopping malaria in it's tracks. Eventually, the US Department of Agriculture saw that DDT could be useful in farming.
