Geological Engineer Fahri Çelik said that the widespread use of pesticides pollutes groundwater and this negatively affects human health.
In his statement, Çelik stated that water is one of the greatest needs of human beings and that water is one of the most valuable resources found underground. Çelik said, "However, lately we have seen the widespread use of pesticides. We think that our groundwater is being seriously polluted due to these pesticides. These polluted waters are drunk in some way and as a result, people are struggling with various diseases not only in Türkiye but also in many parts of the world. We can say that healthy life is damaged due to the negative effects of pesticides."
Stating that there should be restrictions on pesticides, Çelik said, "We do not want our groundwater to be polluted. For this reason, we think that the state should impose serious restrictions on the pesticides used in agriculture. For example, let's take a wheat field of one hundred decares. When pesticides are used in this field, most of the weeds dry out. We think that this situation disrupts the natural balance."
Stating that the destruction of weeds reduces the nutritional value of the products, Çelik said:
"We think that with the disappearance of weeds, their mineral, odor and natural properties are not reflected sufficiently in agricultural products. For this reason, we state that mineral deficiency occurs in wheat, tomatoes or other fruits and vegetables, which causes vitamin and mineral deficiency in people and increases health problems."
Arguing that pesticides may also have an effect on the population, Çelik said, "We also think that pesticides have an effect on population decline. We argue that one of the reasons why the population growth rate is low in developed countries and higher in underdeveloped countries may be the use of pesticides. We think that some weeds support female hormones, and the destruction of these weeds with pesticides may have negative effects on fertility."
"The use of pesticides is not always mandatory"
Referring to the recently increasing health problems, Çelik said, "We think that situations such as people feeling more tired lately, the increase in various health problems and the spread of diabetes may be related to the pesticides entering the groundwater. We also state that the complete destruction of weeds disrupts the natural nutritional balance and this negatively affects public health."
Çelik stated that productivity can be achieved without pesticides in production and said, "If we give an example regarding the use of pesticides, let's assume that approximately 50 tons of wheat is obtained in a field of one hundred decares. We think that even if pesticides are not used, approximately 45 tons of wheat can be produced. For this reason, we argue that the use of pesticides is not always mandatory. We believe that wheat, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products are produced in sufficient quantities in Türkiye; therefore, practices that will risk human health should be avoided when there is a surplus of production. A society and population consisting of healthy individuals." "If the increase is aimed, we state that there must be strict and serious restrictions on the use of pesticides," he said. - MARDIN