Consider what you have learned about natural selection and mutation concerning health issues like TB and head lice, and apply it to pesticide use and farming. Explain what is meant by a “pesticide treadmill” and why it is a concern to farmers and consumers.
Pesticide Treadmill
Natural selection and mutation are processes that have gone a long way to shape the evolutionary process among living organisms. Understanding how diverse life can be among plants and animals necessitates the appreciation of the role of natural selection in impacting behavioral, physiological, and morphological adaptions (Lenski, 2017). These processes have determined the choice of farming and pesticide use among farmers. Pesticide treadmill which denotes the loss of natural control of pests and the need to employ more pesticides to combat others has reportedly escalated. The relative adaptation of pests via mutation and natural selection has undoubtedly impacted both farmers and consumers in several ways.
The pesticide treadmill phenomenon has negatively impacted farmers in means that terminally decrease productivity. Firstly, the cost of farming has increased as it has become difficult for farmers to plant seasonal crops without the employment of pesticides (Hu, 2020). Secondly, the development of resistance to pesticides by some pests due to the continued use of these chemicals has necessitated the use of even more chemicals to cover more pests (Hu, 2020). These effects thus demonstrate the need for advanced strategies that would cover a wide variety of pests with minimal chances of pesticide resistance.
Consumers have also suffered from the ripple effect of pesticide treadmill as the consumers of the farmers’ produce. The increased cost of farming incurred due to the phenomena is expected to translate into an increase in the market price of the commodities (Hu, 2020). This aspect thus reduces consumers” purchasing power. Additionally, the use of multiple chemicals in pest control confers negative health effects on consumers (Hu, 2020). These chemicals are thus passed on in the food chain to reach humans. Therefore, measures aimed at addressing the treadmill phenomenon should also cover the health aspects of the pesticides in use.
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References
Hu, Z. (2020). What Socio-Economic and Political Factors Lead to Global Pesticide Dependence? A Critical Review from a Social Science Perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8119. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17218119.
Lenski, R. E. (2017). What is adaptation by natural selection? Perspectives of an experimental microbiologist. PLoS Genetics, 13(4), e1006668. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006668.