By: Maria R.
Photo from: Jeff Zenner on Flickr
Growing up in a Brazilian household, products that are not produced with agrochemicals were something extremely uncommon in my family's diet, even though my parents know it is something that poses risks to health. The same is true for the vast majority of Brazillian households, which routinely consume foods with pesticide residues, without minding the potential outcomes of it. This phenomenon can be understood knowing that Brazil, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is the biggest consumer of pesticides in the world—almost $9 thousand million spent in 2017 alone. The main reason is due to Brazil being one of the biggest agricultural producers— especially of soybeans, sugar cane, maize and coffee.
The total value of pesticides used in different countries.
Photo from: Carbonari, C., Velini, E.
While countries in the European Union have more strict surveillance over the use of agrochemicals, the Brazilian pesticide regiment moves in the opposite direction. In 2019, the Brazilian government broke the record and registered the highest number of pesticides in the history of Brazil - 474 new pesticides. Although agrochemicals are banned in the EU, countries like the US, Canada, and Brazil still utilize these toxic chemicals that routinely spray near houses, animals, and river sources. Thus, human health as well as the environment are put into danger.
Pesticide registration in Brazil.
Photo from: G1
Rural workers that labor directly with pesticide application are the ones who are the most impacted, as there are no 100% effective protections available. The most common issue is poisoning, which happens when someone has been exposed to a high dose of pesticide or to small amounts over a long period of time. The symptoms of severe poisoning include vomiting, convulsions, fever and inability to breathe. Between 2011 and 2015, 58,266 cases were registered in the nation. Additionally, research indicates that some pesticides may cause neurological problems, fetal malformation, and endocrine disruption in constantly exposed people. It is also known that exposure to pesticides may cause cell modifications and, consequently, be associated with some types of cancer such as brain neoplasm, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cutaneous melanoma, digestive, urinary and respiratory system cancer, breast cancer and esophageal cancer.
There are also risks for those who regularly consume products contaminated with pesticide residues. In Brazil, the maximum residue limit (MRL) for one kilogram of soy, for instance, is 10 micrograms, while in the US it is 5 µg and in the EU, 0.2 µg. However, this regulation is frequently not respected. Research has found that 40% of oranges in the state of São Paulo contain pesticides, some of them above the MRL and others not allowed for that crop. But it is not only in fruits and vegetables that pesticide residues are found. In research conducted in 2021 by the Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection (Idec), residues were found in ultra-processed food. 59.3% of the analyzed foods were contaminated, especially those which have wheat in their composition, such as water crackers, sandwich cookies (including Oreo), and cereals.
Furthermore, pesticide residues are present in the water used for cooking and drinking of various Brazilian residences. Data from the Drinking Water Quality Surveillance Information System (Sisagua) indicate that, between 2014 and 2017, there were pesticide residues in the water of 1 in 4 Brazilian municipalities. In the water of the city where I reside - and of other 1,396 municipalities - all of the 27 types of chemicals analyzed were detected. Of those, 16 are classified by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) as extremely or highly toxic and 11 are associated with the development of chronic diseases, such as cancer, fetal malformation, hormonal and reproductive dysfunctions.
Photo from: Por trás do alimento
Although it may seem that only Brazilians suffer negative consequences, the fact that this Latin American nation exports vast quantities of fruits, vegetables, and coffee beans produced with pesticides should be worrisome. In 2017, for instance, the Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues in Food (PRiF), an independent body that advises the UK government, found worrying amounts (above the legal limit) of the insecticide Carbofuran in limes imported from Brazil.
Yet it is not only for human health that pesticides are noxious - they also negatively impact the environment. Several pieces of research show the damages caused on the waters of rivers and seas, soils, insects and fish because of the undue use of these substances, oftentimes for altering their natural habitat. Pesticides can contaminate water reservoirs, rivers, water resources and river basins, interfering with living aquatic organisms. Some substances already banned for decades in Brazil, such as Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), are still being detected in water samples, wells and springs. Fish can also be poisoned by exposure to pesticide-contaminated waters, which can cause aneurysms and capillary changes. Through the contamination of water by these chemicals, protozoa may have their growth and replication impaired and tadpoles may show biochemical changes. In addition, some pesticides can cause damage to arthropod species, decrease the total number of nematodes in the soil, cause chronic toxicity in earthworms and harm the development of insects, altering the local biodiversity.
But perhaps the most tragic and alarming impact of the excessive use of pesticides is the one on bees. According to a survey by the investigative journalism agency Agência Pública in the first trimester of 2019, over 500 million honey bees were found dead by beekeepers only in four of the 27 Brazilian states. Insecticides are neurotoxic to insects - they essentially mess up the nerve impulse conduction, causing hyperactivity followed by the nervous system breakdown. This ends up killing not only insects that harm agricultural production but also insects that are beneficial such as honey bees. Bees have a mutualistic relationship with angiosperms, as they are essential for the reproduction of these plants since they are responsible for pollination. When collecting nectar from flowers, bees end up getting some pollen (which contains the plant's male gametophytes) on their hairy bodies and take them to another flower that contains the oosphere (the plant female gamete). However, with the excessive use of pesticides, this cycle is often interrupted, originating drastic consequences, since bees are responsible for pollinating 75% of all flowering plants there are on the planet.
In conclusion, although the use of agricultural substances has enabled a revolution in terms of agricultural production, all of this serves to demonstrate the interference of pesticides in the balance of ecosystems and, consequently, in human and animal life. To ensure food and environmental security in Brazil, there needs to be an improvement in public policies for regulating the use of agrochemicals, increasing rigidity in the release and use of these substances, as well as adopting alternate pest control methods.
Discussion Questions:
What alternate pest control methods could be adopted by Brazilian farmers?
What could be done to remove pesticide residues from the water of Brazilian residences?
Works cited:
Albuquerque, G., Lopes, C. (2018, February 02). Agrochemicals and their impacts on human and environmental health: a systematic review. Retrieved June 10, 2021, from
Australian Government Department of Health (2010, November). 16 First aid procedures for pesticide poisoning. Retrieved June 29, 2021, from https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l~ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l-ch5~ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l-ch5.16
Conolly, C., Harvey, J., Moffat, C., Palmer, M., Saranzewa, N., Wright, G. (2013, March 27). Cholinergic pesticides cause mushroom body neuronal inactivation in honeybees. Nature Communications. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2648#citeas
Carbonari, C., Velini, E. (2020, December 03). Risk assessment of herbicides compared to other pesticides in Brazil. Short Communication. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from https://www.scielo.br/j/aws/a/LP7DSq54LGJG4HbYprZv6qj/?lang=en&format=pdf
G1 (2021, January 11). Governo libera o registro de 51 agrotóxicos genéricos e 5 inéditos para uso dos agricultores. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2021/01/11/governo-libera-o-registro-de-51-agrotoxicos-genericos-e-5-ineditos-para-uso-dos-agricultores.ghtml
Grigori, P. (2019, June 25). Afinal, o Brasil é o maior consumidor de agrotóxico do mundo? Galileu. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from https://revistagalileu.globo.com/Ciencia/Meio-Ambiente/noticia/2019/06/afinal-o-brasil-e-o-maior-consumidor-de-agrotoxico-do-mundo.html
Grigori, P. (2019, March 07). Apicultores brasileiros encontram meio bilhão de abelhas mortas em três meses. Repórter Brasil. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://reporterbrasil.org.br/2019/03/apicultores-brasileiros-encontram-meio-bilhao-de-abelhas-mortas-em-tres-meses/
Gross, A. (2018, August 27). Brazil’s pesticide poisoning problem poses global dilemma, say critics. Mongabay. Retrieved June 10, 2021, from https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/brazils-pesticide-poisoning-problem-poses-global-dilemma-say-critics/
Idec - Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (2021). Tem veneno nesse pacote. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from https://idec.org.br/system/files/ferramentas/idec_cartilha_tem-veneno-nesse-pacote.pdf
Ministry of Health Brazil (2018). Relatório Nacional de Vigilância em Saúde de Populações Expostas a Agrotóxicos. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/relatorio_nacional_vigilancia_populacoes_expostas_agrotoxicos.pdf
Por trás do alimento (n.d.). Você bebe agrotóxicos? Descubra se a água da sua torneira foi contaminada, de acordo com dados do Sisagua. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://portrasdoalimento.info/agrotoxico-na-agua/
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