Health and disease in human populations - Essay Example

Task Health and Disease in Human Populations Introduction The aspiration to accomplish food safety has pushed for an increase in farming activities. Regrettably, agricultural production comes with several health risks. Farming activities attract various health risks. These include exposure to harsh climatic conditions, health risk derived from contact with fauna and flora, exposure to risky chemical and organic products, hard working conditions and hours, and use of dangerous tools and machinery.

There is also a positive side to farming. Agriculture contributes to fit communities and provide work and recreation improving individual and public well-being. This essay outlines the hazards of agriculture on health with regard to diseases, illnesses, and work hazards; and will outline the benefits of farm production by taking a look at food security, physical and mental health, and social environments.Agriculture Negative Impacts On Wellbeing and Disease in Human PopulationsAccording to Schenker (661-664), farming involves contact to a variety of respiratory toxins exposing farmers to various respiratory conditions.

This includes contact to organic dusts through grain handling and enclosed animal feeding ways. For example, farmers that keep a large number animals can spend long hours in confined facilities exposing them to organic dust. Grain dirt is also inorganic dust and grains like sorghum appear to be the most associated with respiratory symptoms. Farmers risk exposed to bacterial, microbial, fungal organisms and toxic gases. Inorganic dirt is mainly soil component and has a high level of silica. This risk is associated mainly with farmers in arid regions.

Chemical poisoning is another risk attached to farming practices. When not properly used can lead to death through poisoning. Price of medical attention, reduced productivity can be high. In emergent countries, wellbeing risks related to farming chemical products are having high chances of occurrence. Farmers in developing countries lack the knowledge on proper use of farm chemicals and regulatory systems of chemicals. Chemicals used in agriculture cause metal poisoning to natural sources of water.

This can create immense health risks for populations that live in those areas. Agriculture practices provide reproduction places for disease and promote parasite longevity; cause loss of essential marauder species that control parasites increasing man-vector contact (Agricultural Development and Vector-Borne Diseases, 16). This includes parasites like mosquitoes. Irrigation schemes, crops grown, chemical inputs can all lead to the promotion of breeding of vectors that cause disease.Facilities like dams can also promote the later.

Agriculture development causes the accumulation of people in a single place promoting disease transmission. The movement of labor involved in farming can also lead to spread of diseases. People involved in agricultural practices get risks that come with their occupation. This includes exposure to harsh weather conditions that can lead skin cancer. Fatal or injurious bites from insect and reptiles may happen. The tools used in farming can cause cuts and earshot impairments from loud machinery.

The physical labor involved can cause musculoskeletal disorders.Agriculture Positive Effects On Health and Disease in Human PopulationsAgricultural development comes with the development of infrastructure. This means better access to health facilities to the farming community. The income generated from agriculture improves the living conditions of the communities around. This improves the mental health of people involved in agriculture due to the economic security that comes with improved living conditions.

The produce from agriculture, fish meat, eggs, and vegetables provides nutritional supplements (Bellows & Brown, 2). Agriculture provides rations security ensuring health and life in times of need.ConclusionAgricultural development has both unconstructive and assenting effect on health and diseases in the human populace. Through the essay, we see hazards of agriculture on health with regard to diseases, illnesses, and work injuries. We also outline the benefits of farm production by looking at food security, physical and mental health.

The relation between agriculture and health is related, they both work together.Works CitedBellows, Anne and Brown, Katherine. Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture. Venice: Community food security coalition. 2000. PEEM, Secretariat. Agricultural Development and Vector-Borne Diseases. Geneva: World Health Organization. 1996. Schenker, Marc. Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases. Exposures and health effects from inorganic agricultural dusts 2000: pp. 661-664. Web. December 13, 2011. Available at: Schenker, M.B. (2000).

Exposures and health effects from inorganic agricultural dusts.Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases Env Hlth Persp Supp, 108(4)661-664.