An Agricultural Movement

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use. (16).
Even so, pesticides have been used for centuries. In James Whorton’s book, Before Silent Spring, he describes agriculture before the Industrial Revolution. He writes that farmers in the 1800's used arsenic and sulphur to stop insects and molds from harming their crops. Even then it was known that arsenic caused skin lesions, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and swollen, painful hands and feet. In England in the late 1800's, arsenic was found in contaminated sulphuric acid, used then to make glucose for “cheap beer”. People in the poorest classes, who could only afford this “cheap beer”, were displaying these symptoms, along with neurological problems and in severe cases, death. An estimated seventy people died and six thousand became seriously ill from pesticide poisoning. (83). As the Industrial Revolution continued, more and more chemicals were available to farmers, pesticides such as Malathion, DDT, dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB.
Their use went ...

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low as 4%, of local eggs hatch, as opposed to 65% in other parts of Florida. Even if the eggs do hatch, the adult alligators have abnormally high female hormones, even the males, and cannot reproduce due to abnormal anatomy. (296).
To add more on the subject of hormones and infertility, Fred Wright, Jr., wrote that these problems in the alligators may be a forewarning to what will happen to people. Alligators and humans are at the top of the food chain; we both unknowingly eat contaminated food out of contaminated waters. People will be able to have fewer children, possibly due to global pesticide contamination, much like the alligators of Lake Apopka. (14). Adding more chemicals ...

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