Some of the pesticides used on cotton are extraordinarily dangerous chemicals.
Aldicarb, paraquat and chlorpyrifos are among those used on the cotton crop (Fatal Harvest
Aldicarb is the most toxic in its class of insecticides, the carbamates. Aldicarb is a nerve poison that is toxic to insects but is also highly toxic to a wide range of organisms including birds, fish and humans. Carbamates are so toxic that they “are responsible for the most acute pesticide poisonings and deaths in the United States and worldwide” (Fatal Harvest
Paraquat is a similarly dangerous chemical which attacks the lungs of mammals and has resulted in “many human fatalities” (Use and Significance of Pesticides in the Environment
Paraquat is used worldwide and causes “pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, nosebleeds, loss of appetite, and death” (Fatal Harvest
While not as toxic as the others, chlorpyrifos is persistent in soil and has the ability to evaporate into the air. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, states on their website that chlorpyrifos causes a “variety of nervous system effects, ranging from headaches, blurred vision, and salivation to seizures, coma, and death, depending on the amount and length of exposure.”
These are the kinds of chemicals that are being used to provide the masses with their latest pair of jeans!!
