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Organic, pesticides, and Integrated Pest Management

Gavin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:09:28 +0000

In ‘Food for Thought: Organic Grub Worth Buying?’ we hear that as US organic sales increase, so do consumer questions about what ‘organic‘ actually means. Answers to this same question in the UK met with surprise early this year, as a report explained that organic does not mean ‘pesticide free’ – perhaps as shocking to some as an earlier report published by the UK Food Standards Agency, claiming that organic food ‘has no health benefits‘ over conventionally grown produce. Essentially this is good news for the consumer – you can receive the same health benefits from conventionally grown (and mostly cheaper) fruits and vegetables.

Organic pesticides

It is true that organic farmers, faced with the loss of their crops, often use ‘conventional’ pesticides, but there are more tools in the organic farmers toolbox, so called ‘organic’ pesticides (sometimes referred to as ‘green’ or ‘ecological’ pesticides). Organic pesticides are claimed to be naturally derived rather than synthetically produced, but this does not tell us anything about their relative safety or impact on the environment. We must also remind ourselves that the most toxic substances known are found in nature: in other words, natural does not always equal safe. Steve Savage, who keeps a blog at eatdrinkbetter.com last week posted ‘The “Pesticide From Hell” (oh, by the the way, its “Organic”)‘, an interesting article on one the oldest and still most used ‘organic’ pesticides – Sulphur (sulfur). Steve points out that sulphur compounds must be used in considerably higher quantities than effective and highly targeted ‘manufactured’ crop protection products; in addition to being one of the most common causes of pesticide user health complaints, there is also an association with bird mortality. Copper sulphate, another commonly use organic pesticide, combines copper and sulphur in a form that is permanently destructive of soil if overused. In terms of the regulation of use of crop protection measures, in the European Union organic pesticides are subject to the same strict regulations as conventional products.

Overlooked

The fact that organic farming often makes use of pesticides (of the organic and conventional varieties) is largely overlooked or poorly communicated – reinforcing misconceptions about crop production and crop protection. Recent media coverage of organic agriculture does suggest that the public is beginning to question their understanding of the term ‘organic’. The current economic crisis will have no doubt contributed; with less disposable income it is perhaps no surprise that consumers pass on some of the more expensive items on their shopping list. Rightly or wrongly, organic is often considered something of a ‘niche market’ – with products being more expensive than their conventionally grown alternatives they are unlikely to feature in a ‘recession diet‘.

Unsustainable

The reality of agriculture is that pests must be managed to avoid devastating loss to crops, something independent of the ideology of farmer or consumer. Whilst some loss is indeed expected, without crop protection measures a loss of over 40% yield is possible – this is unsustainable.

An ecological way

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a good practice approach to crop protection. IPM is an integrated strategy for crop management, designed to solve ecological problems when applied in agriculture. Performed in three main stages: prevention, observation, and intervention IPM combines pesticide use with biological and sophisticated management techniques to manage pest populations in an ecological way. IPM can be used by both conventional and organic agriculture.

In the video below, Professor Sir Gordon Conway of the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, explains Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and how it helps farmers. He goes on to tell us how pesticides can be used in conjunction with natural enemy controls, such as parasites and other predators, to help protect farmers’ crops from losses.

Thank you 700 times, and pesticide Tweets…

Gavin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:46:57 +0000

If you didn’t know it already, we use Twitter, and we now have more than 700 followers – for this we would like to say a big thank you to all.

If you don’t use Twitter, you might not be aware of how useful it can be as a resource for information and good ideas. Here’s a collection of pesticide information from tweets from us, and tweets we’ve re-tweeted from the past few days. Enjoy!

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Via @cropprotection

News of the EU’s ‘REAL Fake’ competition to raise awareness of the dangers and problems associated with counterfeit and fake products – recognised as a great opportunity for EU agricultural schools to explore counterfeit pesticide issues.

Follow the debate on the FSA organic report

Phil — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:45:52 +0000

The debate around organic has boiled up over the week after the release of the FSA’s study (see our last post below.) Here are some articles published this week on the topic. Do feel free to comment or recommend other news and articles.

Press

Argument is about capitalism, not food (The Guardian)
It’s wrong to believe that nature is always best (The Guardian)
Organic food debate boils over (The Independent)
BBC snubs organic food as it teaches us how to eat well (The Daily Express)
Les défenseurs du bio rapellent son role écologique (Le Monde)
Misleading claims on the credentials of food marketed as organic (The Daily Telegraph)
Organics sector hits back in nutrition row (Freshinfo)
Organic food contains toxic natural pesticides (The Times)

Blogs

UK FSA’s organic study confusing and inconclusive? (The Green Room blog)
Slate: Organic vs. Conventional? Too Complex… (Organic Nation)
Organic food has no health or nutrition benefits, FSA study finds (VitalRead)
Study Finds Organic Foods Not More Nutritous (Pays to Live Green)
Nature’s Path CEO Responds to Organic Food Study Results (DailyBlender)
Is There a Change Afoot in How Organics Are Marketed? (GreenBiz)

UK Food Standards Agency: organic not healthier. Reactions from the press and blogosphere.

Phil — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:43:45 +0000

An independent review published by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) concludes that there are no differences in nutrition content or other health benefits between food produced using organic methods and that grown using scientific agriculture (read the FSA’s new release here). It will come as no surprise to anyone that the report has sparked a heated debate in the press and the blogosphere! Please find below a small selection of press articles and blog posts from across the divide discussing the report. Do feel free to comment or to recommend further articles by clicking on the tab above.

Press
Organic food is not healthier, says FSA (The Guardian)
Don’t write off organic food (The Daily Telegraph)
Organic food ‘no healthier than conventional’ (The Independent)
Organic has no health benefits (BBC)
Les bénéfices du «bio» en question (Le Figaro)
Il biologico? Fa bene solo a chi lo produce (La Stampa)

Blogs
Organic Versus Conventional Food: UK Report Flawed (Huffington Post)
News Report: Organic food no healthier, but is that all that matters… (Daily Cup of Yoga)
Organic Isn’t Healthier, But People Will Keep Buying (Humblement)
Organic Food Trash? Or Just Trashing Organic Food? (Unbossed)
Organic Versus Conventional Food: UK Report Flawed (Civil Eats)
Will you still shop organic after the publication of the FSA findings? (Ooffoo)
Joanna Blythman: Please Read the Data Appendices About Organic Food Before Conjuring ‘Cancerous Conspiracies’: Part 1 (Holford Watch)
Organic no better says FSA (Grow organic food)

Recent articles on pesticides and related topics

Phil — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:40:53 +0000

Please find below some recent articles on pesticides and related topics. Do feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.

The Three A’s of Food Security (Sciencebase blog)
Differing patterns in food price falls (BBC)
French village goes organic one day a week (3News)
EU survey reveals poor state of biodiversity (Euractiv)
EU farm subsidies ‘inconsistent’ with global food security (Euractiv)
Sweden introduces climate labelling for food (Euractiv)
World food prices: Whatever happened to the food crisis? (The Economist)
Agriculture Demand Outpacing Honeybee Increase, Researchers Say (Bloomberg)
EFSA publishes report on pesticide residues in food (Food Production Daily)
Forum on the Future of Agriculture goes on the road… (Blogactiv)

Recent press on pesticides

Helen Dunnett — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:38:21 +0000

Some recent articles on pesticides and related topics. Feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.

Agri-food sector to assess its environmental footprint (EurActiv)
Is Local Food Better? (EurActiv)
Vote for future of farming in EU (Farmers Guardian)
Co-op donation creates buzz around British black bees (Guardian)
Green Revolution Key to food Security in Africa (European Water News)
Climate change ‘killing coral triangle’ (Telegraph)
Threat to European biodiversity ‘as serious as climate change’ (The Optimum population trust blog)
Pesticides: Operator Safety Is Paramount (ScienceDaily)
Consumers are savvy about organic food (Financial Times)
EU agricultural research to tackle food security (Euractiv)
French organic food sales rise 25 pct in 2008 (Reuters)
Demand for emergency food rises (BBC)

Some posts on pesticides from around the blogosphere

Helen Dunnett — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:09:53 +0000

For those readers who don’t regularly check out the posts by other bloggers that prop up in our Netvibes Universe, here’s a sample from the last month or so that might be of interest.

Rob Edwards writes about alleged reports of record levels of pesticide contamination in European food.

Nogger’s blog reports on the Eurocare study on alleged price increases that might come about if the revision of Directive 91/414 is passed (see our post on this same topic).

The European Journal has a post about the scientists’ petition against the revision of 91/414 due to the effect it could have on fighting malaria in some developing countries.

Beyond Pesticides reports on PAN’s claims that record levels of pesticide residues have been found in food in Europe.

In her blog, Jane King of Farmers Weekly also reports on alleged price increases if 91/414 is passed.

MCS America contains a post entitled Potential developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides used in Europe.

Campagnes et Environnement also post on the potential price increases reported in the EuroCare study (in French).

Alimentazione Made in Italy report on the threat to “Made in Italy” agricultural products, refering to hazel nuts in particular, from imports from Turkey if 91/414 is passed (in Italian).

Loss of pesticides threatens EU food production

Helen Dunnett — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:17:31 +0000

Blogger, Wyn Grant, posted an interesting entry today on his blog Good Agricultural Practice. He is following the EU legislation reform on pesticides and is on the stakeholders’ committee involved in the implementation strategy of thePesticides Safety Directorate in the UK. He’s fully aware of the dangers of pesticides, saying: “Pesticides are toxic and they need stringent regulation, which they receive. However, there has to be a balance in terms of food security, the availability of fruit and vegetables in particular at affordable prices and the desirability of a healthy and balanced diet. New detection methods can pick up miniscule residues which pose no threat to health. Indeed, where there are problems, they tend to be with produce imported from outside the EU.”

I recommend you read his complete article as it’s a balanced view on the risks and benefits of crop protection in Europe.