Question

Several local farms have been using pesticides associated with illnesses appearing in your community. You are a public monitoring official in charge of making a decision to address the problem, and you choose to make a law that forces those farmers to reduce their use of pesticides. Which of the following is a social consequence that may be expected?

1) Increase in organic farming practices
2) Decrease in crop yield
3) Improved public health
4) Higher cost of produce

Answer 1

The law reducing pesticide use may lead to more organic farming, potentially decrease crop yields, improve public health, and increase produce costs.

Step-by-step explanation:

The introduction of a law that forces farmers to reduce their use of pesticides can be expected to have multiple social consequences,

• An increase in organic farming practices may occur as farmers seek alternatives to prohibited synthetic pesticides.
• There may be a decrease in crop yield, at least initially, as farmers adjust to new practices and potentially face increased pest damage without conventional pesticides.
• Improved public health might be observed due to lower pesticide contamination in food and water supplies.
• The higher cost of produce may result from increased production costs associated with alternative pest management methods.

Each of these consequences carries implications for the health of community members, the local economy, and environmental sustainability.