Smundak, Katharina. The Truth Behind Antibiotics, Pesticides, and Hormones. Part of the From Factory to Table: What You’re Really Eating series. 2018. 48p. ISBN 978-1-4994-3922-9. Available at 615.32 SMU on the library shelves.
Since the 1950s, the world’s food production has increased dramatically, outpacing the growth in total population and enabling billions of people to be fed. This increase is due in part to modern antibiotics, pesticides, and hormones, which have allowed faster growth in plants and animals alike. Unfortunately, these modern tools are also negatively influencing the environment, leading some to wonder whether we should continue to use them in our food supply.
Used to treat illnesses caused by bacteria, antibiotics were first developed to help humans, but quickly were adapted to treat animals. An over reliance on and over prescription of antibiotics has meant that there are now several bacteria which are resistant to treatment. This resistance threatens humans by removing one avenue of healing. Pesticides were developed to kill bugs and other pests that infect plants and animals, but their spreading ensure that they are present in the food chain through bigger animals eating smaller ones, and they end up in human diets Hormones occur naturally in the body, but can be manipulated to increase the growth rate. Traces of these hormones then transfer to humans through eating, and may lead to a decrease in the age at which puberty starts, especially for girls.
Anyone concerned about the food supply should read this book to discover how these aids to agriculture and food production are affecting not only what we eat, but our own bodies as well.
Other books in this series include:
Other books in this series include:
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