Most of the contamination of the earth happens not in the massive sprayings of huge government operations but in the small-scale sprayings of individuals. People are subjected daily to small doses of chemical poisoning. This exposure builds up over time until people get diseases and die. People have been trained to accept chemical poisons as safe for use. These chemicals are readily available in all kinds of stores and are packaged in such a way that makes them seem safe.
Chemical poisons are used in every corner of the house. From shelf paper treated with insecticides to lotions rubbed directly onto the skin to paint and varnish which comes pre-treated with poisons, the common household is becoming a dangerous area. No one is telling people of the dangers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture even encourages the use of insecticides in the home, urging people to spray their clothing with oil solutions of DDT, Dieldrin, Chlordane and other moth killers.
Gardening has also become a highly toxic home enterprise. Hardware stores and garden supplies have rows of chemicals for all kinds of specialized uses. No one seems aware of the dangers or the need to use caution and discretion when using them. Even the rapidly lethal organic phosphorous insecticides are readily available for the lawn and for ornamental plants. Finally, in 1960, the Florida State Board of Health forbid the use of pesticides in residential areas by anyone without a permit. They took this action only after a number of deaths by Parathion happened. Most gardeners, however, receive no warning about the dangers of using chemicals. For instance, it's become popular to apply such chemicals as Chlordane and Dieldrin to the lawn by use of an attachment to the garden hose. This method can hurt the person applying the chemicals and it can also lead to poisoning of the public water supply since back siphonage is possible. One physician used this method to apply DDT to his lawn weekly. Suddenly, he became severely debilitated. Tests showed an accumulation of 23 parts per million of DDT in his fatty tissues.
People have often wondered about chemical residues on the food they eat, but industry spokespeople and government officials deny the danger of chemical poisoning of food. Before 1942, when DDT was created, people didn't have DDT in their bodies. Now, samples of body fat collected from the general population from 1954 to 1956 contained from 5.3 to 7.4 parts per million of DDT. Among the population of people who have no known exposures to DDT directly, exposure must have come from the food they ate. When the U.S. Public Health Service sampled restaurants and institutional meals, they found that every single meal contained DDT. At home, the diet of most people consists of a good deal of meat and other products derived from animal fats. These contain the heaviest residues of chlorinated hydrocarbons. Residues on fruits and vegetables are less, but washing them does little good and cooking doesn't destroy residues.
Scientists have found only one group of people in the U.S. who are free from DDT in their body. They are Eskimos. However, those Eskimos who had to go to a hospital in a small town for surgery or other medical treatment, became exposed when they ate the food at the hospital. Every meal we eat carries a load of chlorinated hydrocarbons. Even the chemical industry recognizes the misuse of chemicals. Most people don't even read the label to understand the methods of use prescribed. Much food isn't contaminated by spraying, but by exposure during shipping and handling. Food on board ships is exposed when it's stored alongside chemicals. Food kept in warehouses is sprayed for bugs; the chemicals seep through the packaging to contaminate the food.
The food and Drug Administration has little power to deal with the problem of chemically contaminated food. Their jurisdiction only covers food that is shipped across state lines. Second, it employs an inadequate number of food inspectors. Third, the food and Drug Administration's rationale is faulty. They operate on a logic of "tolerances." They decide how tolerant people are to certain chemicals and regulate the industry accordingly. The problem here is that often they don't know what people's tolerance is for certain chemicals. They've often had to change the tolerance level of chemicals when more information was accumulated about them. Second, the tests for tolerance are done on laboratory animals who live under controlled circumstances and only eat the food given them. People, on the other hand, mix all kinds of foods, many of which have multiple portions of chemical contamination. To establish tolerances is to authorize contamination of public food supplies with poisoned chemicals.
The solution is the elimination of tolerances for chlorinated hydrocarbons, the organic phosphorus group, and other highly toxic chemicals. Second, an expanded enforcement procedure is necessary. More food inspectors are greatly needed. However, if we look at the larger picture, the current system is illogical. People are deliberately poisoning food and then later policing it. There are many ways to combat the problems which chemical poisons are meant to combat. There are nonchemical methods, such as the agricultural use of insect diseases.
Carson names her chapter after the famous Borgia family of Renaissance Italy, who are said to have poisoned their dinner guests. The book has prepared the reader to understand the implications of this chapter. Carson has carefully dealt with all the major chemicals used as insecticides and pesticides and she has dealt comprehensively with all the areas targeted by chemical control programs, land, water, animals. Now she reaches the area the reader has perhaps wondered about through each of the chapters leading up to this point--the contamination of people's food.
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone".
TheBestNotes.com.
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