Today, fewer farmers feed more people than ever before in the history of food production. This farming success, however, has not happened without enormous costs and environmental tradeoffs. Pesticide proponents argue that the benefits far outweigh the harm. After all, pesticides do save lives. Since the late 1940s DDT has prevented millions from contracting malaria, bubonic plague and typhus.
Proponents also contend that pesticides work faster and are more effective than the alternatives.
Insects breed rapidly, however, and quickly develop resistance to insecticides. In addition, broad-spectrum pesticides kill natural predators that keep pests in check. In addition, for more than 40 years, ranchers and growers have been feeding low levels of penicillin, tetracycline, and other antibiotics to poultry, cattle, and pigs to speed growth and cut costs. Scientists worldwide have decried the use of antibiotics to promote animal growth because it increases the prevalence of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics' effects and jeopardizes human health. Today about 2.5 million tons of pesticides are used worldwide.