Impact of Pesticides on Human Last year we heard news, many farmers died in Maharashtra due to pesticide poisoning. Initial reports suggest that the deaths are due to “Monocrotophos”: a highly toxic chemical been banned in more than 60 countries but allowed to be sold in our country. This is the same chemical that was responsible for the death of 23 children who consumed the toxic midday meal in Bihar in 2013. The chemical was completely banned by the US in 1991, because it killed huge populations of birds. According to the Directorate Of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, 148 of the 414 metric tonnes of weedicides consumed in the country in 2014-15 was glyphosate. In 2015-16, a little more than 370 metric tonnes of monocrotophos was used on Indian soil. Anupam Verma, who leads the committee that reviews the list of 66 pesticides and their usage in the country said that this was the first time that such a large number of pesticides were being banned at one go. The