Pesticide exposure and human health: Toxic legacy

Abstract

Pesticide exposure and human health: Toxic legacyIn the last decades, agriculture had started to take on a global scale, not only in the sense that a significant part of the agricultural production started to be globally commercialized but also because it began to become dependent on the (synthetic) chemical industries producing patented fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. [1][2]2][3] In these terms, the justification for the industrialization of agriculture was the promise of overcoming hunger, through the use of technology. [1][2]2][3] Unfortunately, more than half a century has passed since the inception of "Green Revolution" technologies and world hunger persists. [1][2]2][3] Whilst global hunger has increased, humans and their environment have been intensely contaminated by synthetic chemical substances used in agriculture. [1][2]2][3] In fact, between 2010 and 2021, the use of pesticides in Brazil substantially increased by 91% (IBAMA 2010-2020). 4As a consequence of this increase, the authors are witnessing harmful chemical violence, which arises as an unfolding of the aforementioned Green Revolution. 1,2Thus,

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