The term pesticide is a compound word that includes all chemicals used to destroy or control pests. In agriculture, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, nematicides and rodenticides are used. A key factor in the Green Revolution has been the development and application of pesticides to combat a wide variety of insects and herbaceous pests that would otherwise reduce the volume and quality of food production. The use of pesticides coincides with the chemical age, which has transformed society since the 1950s. In places where intensive monoculture is practiced, pesticides are the usual method of pest control. Unfortunately, the benefits of chemistry have been accompanied by a number of harms, some of them so serious that they now pose a threat to the long-term survival of important ecosystems as a result of predator-prey relations and biodiversity loss. In addition, pesticides can have important human health consequences.