this week on the farm... spraying

Old MacDonalds Kid's have gone to university and they're home running the farm now, so it is large, it's more specilized, they use technology, but you know what? They still operate it with the same care, commitment and values their Grandparents did - Crystal Mackay

{this week on the farm...}

This time of year we apply pesticides to our crops.  Pesticides are one of the hot/controversial topics that consumers like to talk about when they talk about how food is grown.  The stories that are told about pesticides are usually associated with dramatic words like: douse, toxic and poison, and short on facts and science.  As always I can only speak from my own perspective (a city girl learning about the farm)  but hopefully I can use some simple words and science to tell our story.

Everyone uses pesticides, us, organic farmers, general consumers.  If you have ever used anything to deter mosquitoes you have used a pesticide, even homemade mosquito spray with citronella and eucalyptus is a pesticide. 

Agriculture pesticides are highly regulated and closely watched by health and environmental scientists.  The companies that produce pesticides are always trying to create safer, more effective, more affordable products.  The science used errors on the side of caution, when they are used properly, they are perfectly safe.

glossery terms:  there are 3 types of agriculture pesticides:

1. Herbicides: used to control weeds

2. Fungicides: used to control disease which are generally fungi
3. Insecticides: used to control bugs

 

Pesticides are expensive, and like in any small business, every expense is weighed carefully.  Unless the pesticide is effective and safe (for the land and consumers), it will be a waste of money. Often newer synthetic pesticides are adopted because they are created by highly educated plant pathologist who take natural substances and tweak them to make them more efficient,  more affordable and offer more safety than the alternatives.   One of the biggest misunderstandings about pesticide is once it is sprayed on to the crop it stays there forever, however pesticides are created to breakdown long before the consumer receives the product. 

We are allowed to use registered synthetic and natural pesticides and organic farmers are allowed to use natural pesticides. The difference between natural and synthetic has nothing to do with toxicity or safety and has everything to do if the chemical is found in nature or altered in a lab.  Natural does not mean safe, some of the most toxic substances on earth are natural:  botulism, cyanide, nicotine just to name a few.  Also just because you can not pronounce something doesn't mean it is harmful

 

photo credits  James Kennedy

What you can see with these graphics is that we are exposed to very tiny amounts of  toxicity all the time.  Our bodies are designed to breakdown the basic structures, and then use the energy and filter the waste.  The dose is in the poison is a basic chemistry principle: anything is safe at a small enough dose and anything can be toxic at a high enough dose.  

The most used pesticide in modern farming is glyphosate (more commonly known as Round Up).  If you look on the table above you will see that it is less toxic than salt, caffeine and baking soda.  Mixing a 1-5% solution with water (or 1-4 tbsp in 4 cups of water) loaded in a sprayer, then drops land on the plants. 

I am not an expert, knowing these simple facts is enough for me to be comfortable with eating the food we and others produce.

For more information and scientific explanation, I would suggest checking out:
 Dr. Steve Savage at Applied Mythology
 The dose makes the poison -  Cami Ryan
Perspective on Dirty Dozen -Sarah Schultz