Food Additives, Pesticides and the Effects they have on Human health, other Organism and the environment

Food Additives, Pesticides and the Effects they have on Human health, other Organism and the environment

Food additives are chemical substances added to food to improve appearance, taste and other qualities while pesticides are chemical used to kill organism, such as weed, rodents, and fungi. This paper will examine some examples of food additives, their short- term, long- term effects on human beings, and the environment (Zweig 100). The article will further examine some examples of pesticides and their effects on environment. Most common example of food additives include, Trans fat, monosodium Glutamate, artificial sweeteners, and sodium nitrate. Firstly, monosodium Glutamate is an amino acid that is used to flavor soups and chips..

Secondly, there is an example of artificial sweeteners. Aspartame (E951) is believed to be carcinogenic and has other adverse effects. Aspartame is popular in eroding personal intelligence and interferes with short-term memory. Toxic sweeteners may lead to brain tumor and diseases like lymphoma chronic fatigue and diabetes. Moreover, there is an example of Tran’s fat: it is used to extent the shelf life of food components.

On the other hand, we have pesticides. Pesticides are divided according to the target organism e.g., herbicides which are meant to control weeds. Additionally, fungicides, which are for controlling of fungi, and rodenticides, which are used to keep off rodents (Zweig 227). These pesticides have a negative influence on environment in that, when they are released to atmosphere, the form acidic rainfall that eventually leads to the leaching of plant nutrients.

Ultimately, the use of food additives and pesticides has many negative effects on both human beings and the environment.