Many pesticides and chemicals are not biodegradable, and due to bioaccumulation, can enter into food chain and ultimately affect human and animal health. Environmental exposure of pesticides to humans through
ecosystems may be during cropping/ agriculture practices, consumption of food materials or air inhalation etc. Without pesticides or agricultural chemicals (herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides and plant growth regulators), crop yield could drop by as much as a third and food prices would increase by as much as 75%. In India, 145 pesticides
are registered for use at present and production has increased to approximately 85,000 metric tones. Though consumption in India is just about 0.5 kg/ha, but 51% food commodities are contaminated pesticide residues.