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All Documents in Health Tagged agriculture

Pesticides: What You Need to Know
Pesticides are designed to kill pests, but they don't stop there.
Overview

Pesticides are designed to kill pests, but they don't stop there. People, pets, farmers, agriculture workers, and wildlife are all harmed by overuse, misuse, and even lawful use of these toxic chemicals.

Raising Resistance: Feeding Antibiotics to Healthy Food Animals Breeds Bacteria Dangerous to Human Health
Overview

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a major public health crisis, leading to infections that are difficult to treat and sometimes impossible to cure, require longer and more expensive hospital stays, and are more likely to be fatal. At the same time, the development of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle. In some cases, there are now few or no antibiotics that work to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections. Meanwhile, scientific studies have shown that consumers are exposed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their meat and other food. While improper use of antibiotics in the health care sector is a problem, organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize that the "overuse and misuse of antibiotics in food animals" is a major source of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Curbing inappropriate use of antibiotics is key to maintaining their effectiveness in humans and slowing the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Get document in pdf.

Atrazine: Poisoning the Well
Atrazine Continues to Contaminate Surface Water and Drinking Water in the United States
Report

Watersheds and drinking water systems across the nation remain at risk for contamination from the endocrine-disrupting pesticide atrazine. The U.S. EPA's inadequate monitoring systems and weak regulations have compounded the problem, allowing levels of atrazine in watersheds and drinking water to peak at extremely high concentrations.

More Integrated Pest Management Please
Issue Paper

This February 2007 issue paper recommends specific actions for how Congress and USDA can increase the quantity and quality of Integrated pest management (IPM) assistance to farmers to improve air, water, soil and habitat.

Hidden Danger
Environmental Health Threats to the Latino Community
Report

Pollution poses health risks for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, language, or country of origin. A large percentage of U.S. Latinos, however, live and work in urban and agricultural areas where they face heightened danger of exposure to air pollution, unsafe drinking water, pesticides, and lead and mercury contamination. This October 2004 report underscores the urgent need for government action on these environmental health threats.

Trouble on the Farm: Growing Up with Pesticides in Agricultural Communities
Report

A report examining the disproportionate exposure to dangerous pesticides borne by children of farmers and farm workers, and the related threats to their health.

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