More depressing news .... Weedkillers and pesticides

[Maggi Young]

We often hear moans that the news is always full of "bad"  things and it is true that an awful lot of it seems depressing.



Following this report from June on weedkiller reside found in humans, comes another with worries that the plants folk are buying to be "pollinator friendly" in their gardens may already be contaminated by pesticides.

   Hard to be cheery sometimes, isn't it?  I'm going to stop reading the Horticulture Week digests.

 

[Gene Mirro]

They measured 0.2 microgram per liter.  If a liter weighs 1 kilogram, the concentration of Glyphosate is   0.2x10^-6/1000 = 2x10^-10 = 1 part in 5 billion.  I would not worry.  This is NOTHING.

The scientific report:  http://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/glyphosate_studyresults_june12.pdf

The Friends of the Earth report takes a routine scientific report which finds trace amounts of Glyphosate, and turns it into their typical hysterical "the sky is falling" anti-everything propaganda.  I think it would be wise to be suspicious of their motives.  At least as suspicious as you should be of Monsanto.  I don't want either of them getting dictatorial control over my life.

[Maggi Young]

I'm sure you are right Gene  - though I'd prefer not to have ANY weedkiller in me 

[David Pilling]

Is it time to bring up that problem given to students  "work out how likely it is that you've just breathed in some of the oxygen molecules in Mussolini's last breath" - it is quite likely.

Big numbers, small amounts.

We all rely on the anti-homeopathy principle, small enough amounts have no effect.

[Gene Mirro]

The solution to pollution is dilution.

[Alan_b]

The solution to pollution is dilution.

Hmm, I wonder who said that first?

[David Shaw]

Gene does not seem to take into account 'cause and effect'. What is the ratio of the weight of 1000 lungfuls of cigarette smoke to the weight of a human body? The effect can be very devastating. Like Maggi, I prefer NO pesticides in my body.

[Gene Mirro]

As long as the human race refuses to control its population growth, we will have to live with agricultural chemicals.  It is simply impossible to feed 7 billion people otherwise.  Given the amounts of Glyphosate that are used globally, it is a miracle that the amount measured in the human body is so low. 

Remember that modern scientific instruments can detect the presence of a few molecules of a substance.  So Friends of the Earth will never run out of things to scream about.  Reading their rants will probably do more damage to you than the nearly undetectable amount of Glyphosate in your body.

[johnralphcarpenter]

There are enough things to worry about without getting hung up on this. Sure, we would all like to keep our bodies free of contamination (shades of Dr Strangelove and the mad USAF Base Commander?). But these is an old north-of-England saying: "You've got to eat a peck of dirt before you die".

[David Pilling]

I suppose it is not all bad, the "weedkiller reside found in humans" was in their urine, so they were getting rid of it.

Yes finding pesticides in "bee friendly plants" is a bit of a joke - but hardly surprising...

I've seen a lot of bees this year. Friday night's Gardeners' World said Dahlias were not the thing, but they're going mad for them outside. Bees seem to like whatever I plant - whether there is a dark side to this; like the Dahlia is the bee equivalent of the stick of celery - eat too much and you'll starve to death because the energy taken to eat it is greater than you can get out of it.

[Anthony Darby]

..........and if we didn't had groups like Friends of the Earth we would be considerably worse off.

[Martinr]

..........and if we didn't had groups like Friends of the Earth we would be considerably worse off.

That's debatable.

[Anthony Darby]

Being the worlds largest environmental organisation must produce some benefits, or should we just pollute and be damned?

[Martinr]

Sadly, like most pressure groups founded on reasonable principles it has become populated by zealots, power hungry egos and legions of the ill informed.

[David Shaw]

Being an FoE supporter, and I am sure that I am not the only one on the Forum,I must say that I am disapointed by some of the negativity on here.
Let us take just one example, pollinating insects and insecticides. The decline in the bee population is already well documented by responsible institutions, but would multinational companies reduce the production and use of insecticides if it was not for pressure put on Governments by FoE, Soil Association etc to restrict the use of them? I very much doubt it.