[_vdpp]

This is a bit hyperbolic - unless you mean excess deaths caused by obesity, heart disease and diabetes because of how abundant food has gotten.

But starvation is less of a problem anymore, largely because of agricultural advances like fertilizers, machinery enabling better practices (like no-till farming) and yes, herbicides and pesticides.

Undoubtedly there are harmful side effects but they need to be viewed with a sensible cost-benefit analysis.