Beyond agriculture, pesticides combat vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, by targeting mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects. Experts recognize that controlled pesticide use has significantly reduced the incidence of these illnesses, saving millions of lives. Moreover, pesticides reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses by controlling pathogens and toxins that can contaminate crops.
Critics are quick to retort that pesticide use increases the risk of serious disease without providing any compensating benefit. But these claims are often rooted in bad science and amplified by activists who don’t know any better—or who deliberately mislead the public. Scientists routinely correct their false allegations, yet the critics consistently spread the same baseless fearmongering year after year.
The problem is amplified by sensationalized reporting that promotes unverified findings designed to attract readers, even if it badly misleads and leaves them unnecessarily fearful of benign chemicals that protect their health in a variety of ways.
