Rose-Marie Chaperon

Pesticides



Posted: Sunday, June 05, 2011

by Rose-Marie Chaperon
Chaperon Consulting, LLC

Pesticides or farm chemicals are those substances which are used to control, destroy, repel or attract pests in order to minimize their detrimental effects. Pests are those organisms like weeds, insects, bacteria, fungi, viruses and animals which adversely affect our way of life (U.S. Environmnetal Protection Agency, 2011). Pest activity greatly increases the costs of farming. Pesticides therefore are used in many situations such as livestock farming, cropping, horticulture, forestry, home gardening, homes, hospitals, kitchens, and roadsides, recreational and industrial areas. Pesticides may be derived from inorganic sources (copper, sulphur), natural organic sources (plants) or be organic compounds synthesized in a laboratory. Many of these synthesized products mimic the activity of natural organic compounds.

There are many gains when pesticides are used in farming. Economically pesticide production is a $50 billion dollar business - about 40% is exported to other countries to help with their agriculture (Creighton University, 2007). It has been estimated that millions of lives have been saved from death through malaria, yellow fever, sleeping sickness, Black plague and typhoid by using pesticides in farming especially in third world countries. In the US we would not have had what we call ‘perfect fruits” 100% of we did not use pesticides.

As with many drugs, chemicals the use of pesticides has its negative effects on agriculture. One of the most pressing issues is genetic resistance because every year the number of resistant species evolving increases. Pesticide use has threatened and continues to impact wildlife negatively which is considered a major environmental issue. Lastly according to the World Health Organization (WHO) each year it is estimated that 1-5 million people have acute poisoning and die (World Health Organization, 2003). In the US, 20,000 are estimated to suffer from some form of pesticide poisoning.

The million dollar question remains - Do we think the benefits of pesticides outweigh their potential risks? A few might say - Yes. We use pesticides to increase the productivity of our croplands. Without pesticides, we would be looking at more human starvation. Others might say - We are poisoning the earth!
Rose-Marie Chaperon also works as a Director of Revenue Cycle for healthcare operations. Rose-Marie's experience is process improvement and redesigning patient access and patient financial services areas. Rose Marie is an exceptional A/R guru and has held many Business Office and Patient Financial Services positions throughout her twenty-year tenure in revenue cycle. She is a very proactive leader and the kind of person who can direct a group of people towards their goals. Rose Marie has experience with a variety of software systems and led three hospitals through a system conversion during her assignments there. Rose-Marie is a Certified Healthcare Access Manager (CHAM). Rose-Marie can be reached via e-mail: rosechaperon@hotmail.com or rchaperon@shenahaiti.org

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