The United States relies heavily on pesticides to meet the nation's food demand. Pesticides eradicate pests by making produce taste bad or causing illness. It can, however, affect humans (Huff). Due to the constant use of sprays, natural selection causes pests to become more and more resistant over the years. Harmful effects on the environment and humans are generally irreversible and last a lifetime. Pesticides cause more damage to the environment and people than they protect crops. Although pesticide production requires careful inspection, harmful residue still covers supermarket aisles. The Dow Chemical Co. produces the most used pesticides in the United States, and even in the world (Lu). In fact, over 1,350,000,000 pounds of pesticides and related products are produced in the United States alone (Huff). Additionally, production increases by 3% each year (Huff). However, as bacteria and insect pests become increasingly resistant to the spray (Huff), new forms of pesticides must be tested each year by the EPA (EPA). These tests include checking for possible side effects, strength and problems created in the environment (EPA). According to the Food Quality Protection Act, the EPA must determine a safe amount of pesticides in food (Lu). However, due to apparent birth defects and neurological problems, Chuck Benbrook states, "The EPA's allowable pesticide limits are far too high to call them safe" (Lu). Additionally, pesticides harmful enough to be banned in the United States are being shipped to developing foreign countries (Huff). It is not surprising that, given that the United States imports food products when crops are out of season, traces of pesticides found in urine samples are higher in winter (Lu). The harmful effect...... middle of paper ...... However, it is wise to know whether food should be purchased conventionally or organically. In conclusion, pesticides pose a threat to the world, to life and to people. Works Cited Blades, Steven. “How harmful are pesticides to the environment? » Lawn Care Tips :: Lawn Care. Blades Lawn Care, 2009. Web. March 1, 2011. Lu, Chensheng. “Harmful Pesticides Found in Everyday Food Products.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattlepi., January 30, 2008. Web. March 01, 2011.EPA. "Ecological Risk Assessments | Pesticides | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA, February 16, 2011. Web. March 01, 2011.Huff, James. “Stop pesticides: insects are better.” Ibiblio - The public library and digital archive. Ibiblio, 2009. Web. March 1, 2011. Lorenz, Eric S. “Potential health effects of pesticides.” Pesticide safety fact sheet. PennState, 2009. The web. March 01. 2011.