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Question
Explain how the pesticides enter a food chain and subsequently get into our body.
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Solution 1
A large number of pesticides and chemicals are used to protect our crops from pests and diseases. Some of these chemicals are washed down from the soil, while some enter the water bodies. From the soil, they are absorbed by plants along with water and minerals; and from the water bodies, they are taken up by aquatic plants and animals. This is how these chemicals enter the food chain. As these chemicals cannot decompose, they accumulate progressively at each trophic level. This increase in the concentration of harmful chemicals with each step of the food chain is called biomagnification. As human beings occupy the top level in any food chain, these chemicals get accumulated in our bodies.
Solution 2
Pesticides are non-biodegradable wastes which pass along the food chain from crops to man or other animals and birds and harm them.
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