Thanks for the link!
I don't have any knowledge about the toxicity of herbicides
versus pesticides and haven't given it much thought up til
now. I'll tell you a story anyway though (any invitation
to chew up an ear)
When my kids were toddlers, before that really, and I knew
they'd be crawling around on the lawn, I went to an organic
lawn and yard. I suppose it was mostly organic to begin with
but I went further and have used no pesticides or herbicides
around the house over the past decade. My youngest seems to
be on a kick of chewing on grass a lot, we spend a lot of
time on the lawn, it was an easy choice--extra weeds and
extra bugs are easy to live with.
So, the other day a nest of ants came streaming up out of
a crack in our driveway--close enough to invade the garage.
Without thinking, I went to my storage chest with all the
various unused poisons I've never thrown out (waiting
for a hazardous material pick up day I suppose).
I grab a can of hornet spray--the sort you aim at the nest,
and I soak all the ants. Bug spray, all over the driveway
where the girls walk, barefoot, where they climb in and out
of a pool I'd set up.
What have I done?! Well, this is getting long and boring but
in a nutshell I was nervous for only the time it took to
read up on the chemical. Turns out I hadn't contaminated my
yard with arsenic, but rather a small amount of a synthetic
pyrethroid. Well, I'm no chemist, but after a few minutes
of reading, I'm perfectly comfortable and wont hesitate to
grab that can again if another swarm of ants return.
Anyway, I think if I could see the amount of herbicides and
pesticides that go into raising the crops we eat...and if
I knew more about how they break down (and whether meaningful
amounts actually remain in the environment) then I'd could
make an intelligent choice between organic and regular food
etc etc. But of course I'm not even that far along!
The question of how I feel about GMOs is even farther removed.
I eat them, they taste great, they're cheaper than organic
food most of the time--and that's all I know. It is a wonder
I was into biotech stocks at one time for all I know.
Anyway, I'll be sure to read that Monsanto subthread on the
biotech valuation board, thanks very much for that and
thanks for enduring my little anecdote.
(here it that url again for anybody who had trouble with a
comma or something that kept it from working for me)
Message 26249071 |
