Interesting article about OP residues

FYI:

http://www.newfarm.org/depts/gleanings/0504/pesticide.shtml

All the best to my garden friends
Tamara

Tamara,

I read this link last night when you posted it in the thread started by 101 on Federal Guidelines for organic commercial growers. I'm not sure why you elected to repost it in a new thread.

I can't think of one person who would deny that there's a pesticide residue problem, both on some commercially grown crops and also organically grown crops, as the article points out.

Digging a bit deeper I think you'll also see that many of the crops with the h igest residues are fruits and fruits that are imported from other countries. The USDA has no say in what is used in other countries and there's no way to test each shipment of fruits into the US. Just a fact.

You posted this in response to a link given by Bob, whch you said was ridiculous, so it's hard for folks to compare the two when only one is here in front of them.

I was saddened to see you refer to that article as "ridiculous" without attempting to address some of the issues raised, which I think are legitimate issues, for the most part.

I happen to think some excellent points were made in the article Bob linked to.

But let me share with you the following before you condemn me as being anti-organic, which I'm not, as a way of growing veggies and fruits.

I had to retire from teachng in 1999 b/c I need two new hips and two new knees and a new spinal column wouldn't hurt either. LOL

When I retired I moved an hour north of where I was raised on a farm and thus lost all my acreage where I used to grow tremendous amounts o f veggies and fruits. I didn't live in the old farmhouse there, which was abandoned, but I used the land that my grandfather acquired from the Shakers in th elast century.

But this move and my physical disabilities has meant that I'v e had to cut back on my gardening. Where I live I have 30 acres, and I love it, but it's lots of rock and I have just a very large raised bed to work with here. And all there is grown organically.

So all my other crops are grown by two friends for me since I can no longer do the physical labor. I raise the seedlings and/or provide seeds.

The one garden is only about 10 min from me and Steve has been working on that soil for over 30 years using the Steiner method of biodynamic organic soil improvement. All in that garden is grown strictly organically.

My other garden is about a 40 min drive away at a Charlie's, a dear commercial farmer friend of mine.

many times I'm growing some of the same varieties of this or that at both places so have an opportunity to compare tastes and yields.

But a few questions.

What do you consider a pesticide to be? There are different interpretations of that word. Products used just for insect pests or products used for infectious agents such as bacteria and fungi, or both?

What does it mean when someone claims that organically grown veggies and fruits are healthier to eat? What does healthier really mean in terms of something that can be quantitated and isn't just an opinion?

What does it mean when someone claims that organically grown veggies and fruits are more nutritious? What definitions of nutritious does one use.? And what specific components of a fruit or veggie define what is nutritious and can they be quantitated to support an opinion?.

What does it mean when someone claims that organically grown fruits and veggies taste better? Taste is a personal perception and actually has a genetic component and can't be quantitated.

Why do so many organic certifying agencies allow non-synthetic products such as Rotenone to be used, when indeed there are synthetic products that are much less toxic, based in info at Extoxnet, an excellent source of info, and also the Federal MSDS sheets? In other words, quantitated, not just an opinion.

To me the use of any product should be dictated by the possible impact that product might have not just on the veggies or fruits being treated, but also th eimpact on the environment.

So saying that synthetically derived products are always unacceptable and that non-synthetically derived products are always acceptable, without looking at individual toxicities and impact on the environment seems to me to be more than a little bit short sighted.

These are some of the questions I had to face and think about and research many many years ago, and I would hope that others would do the same kind of questioning and thinking and researching ..

While I grow organically here at home and at one of my two away gardens, I accept the growing methods of ALL home gardeners, b/c growing is much more to many than just growing. It's an escape, it's fun, it's a quiet spot in a life of business, and more. And many gardeners with physical disabilites and/or the inability to grow organically for a variety of reasons I don't think is reason to condemn their efforts.

In addition, organic living can be a philosphy, a way of life, which I think can be divorced from a way of growing crops, for some people, and that's why I don't and won't condemn those who might do things differently than I do, for it serves no real purpose to do so, in my mind.

Carolyn, old lady gardener who has been growing "stuff" since she was maybe 5 yo on the farm and then had gardens thoughout her academic schooling and teaching career ( various scuence courses at different levels from med students to college students, wherever she was, up to the present time, and now has her Medicare card ( with supplemental AARP insurance I might add). LOL

Well said, Carolyn. I'm another old lady gardener who strives to garden as naturally as possible. When we use any substance, natural or synthetic, we may be causing reactions in soil and harm to beneficial insects and birds that we don't expect or realize. As a child visiting my grandparents and great-grandparents on their farms I watched them go about their careful stewardship. How I wish I'd had the wisdom to ask them to write out their secrets in journals for us!

Agribusiness has caused some serious damage to the environment, and the worst of the mistakes (DDT, etc) was often shifted to other countries. Yet a great deal has been learned, too, about the naturally-occurring chemical components in our food, and about allergies. No one of us has all the answers, so a bit of tolerance is a good trait to exercise. Yuska