Food Contamination Due To Industrial Agriculture – Organic Foods Best!

Over the last couple of decades, agricultural contamination due to the excessive use of chemicals has become relevant in the healthcare domain. The contemporary agricultural system has been highly industrialized to optimize crop production. This, in turn, leads to various environmental and health impacts. The conventional agricultural practices have been taken to the industrial scale, and various health risks are associated with the same. The agricultural workers, along with the consumers are being affected as a result of crop and fruit contamination.

Healthcare professionals and dieticians are largely recommending sustainable food systems, but this is hardly close to reality. In order to maximize yields, environmental and health conditions of the individuals are being compromised.

Have a look at the different adverse impacts of agricultural contamination:

• The farm owners and workers are exposed to different health risks. These include high exposure to pesticides, as well as high risk to get injured.
• When antibiotics are used in animal agriculture on a routine basis, it diminishes resistance, and these drugs become less effective in humans.
• In both rural and urban areas, pesticides, phosphorous, nitrates, and other agricultural contaminants impact the surface and groundwater quality.
• The soil health is also compromised, due to the usage of synthetic fertilizers.
• Pollution at different stages of agriculture, particularly pesticide and methane drift affects the quality of air, pacifying the process of climate change.

 The farm owners and workers are exposed to maximum risk from such practices. People in the cities, who consume these products, are also affected.

 The extensive use of fertilizers

• Phosphorous and nitrogen, which are extensively used in agriculture, are washed off and get drained into the water bodies. In the process, it makes the water unfit for consumption by humans, along with destroying the aquatic ecosystems.
• In some areas, farmers use animal waste as fertilizers. This leads to nitrate contamination in water, both surface and under the ground. It can also lead to antimicrobial resistance spreading rapidly.
• Ammonia, used in the fertilizers, has an adverse impact on air quality. Combining with other pollutants in the air, it forms aerosols. This can lead to pulmonary and heart diseases.

Effects of pesticide drift

• Due to pesticide drift, the dust and other elements in the air mix with the vaporized form of these chemicals. This, too, has a negative impact on the environment.
• The food that we consume carries pesticides, which directly affects our health. It can lead to a number of complications in the body when consumed over a period of time. These include nervous disorders, lack of immunity, infertility and certain cancers.
• The groundwater gets contaminated as a result of leaching and runoff of agricultural pesticides.

Therefore, it appears that people should consume organic food, rather than the ones produced through the industrial agricultural process. Given that the long-term exposure to these contaminants leads to the lower effectiveness of drugs in humans, they remain vulnerable to various diseases. Besides, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria can get into humans from the farms through airborne dust and food. It is important to take care of what you consume, and from where you procure the same.