Re: [PANUPS: Children's Exposure]
Hayo van der Werf (derwerf@roazhon.inra.fr)
Tue, 09 Jun 1998 08:55:07 +0200
A 22:43 08/06/98 -0600, vous avez écrit :
>Steve Groff wrote:
>
>> Let's use another analogy. Medications are much like pesticides- they
are both
>> designed to kill a targeted organism. Taken at recommended doses they
can be
>> very effective and cause little harm.
>
>Steve, I´d wager that medicine is not your field. What makes a given
medicine
>more or less effective and therefore more or less valuable, is precisely the
>degree of selectivity built into it, in relation to the human organism.
>
>Unfortunately, commercial pesticides in general tend to be non selective,
and are
>highly toxic to most if not all forms of life. Not only that, but the
tecnology
>is simply unnecessary - there are far better and less toxic methods
available,
>whose effectiveness has been clearly demonstrated. On the other hand,
commercial
>pesticides can be easily patented, packaged and distributed. They are
better than
>biological means of pest control for making money for a few, while needlessly
>contaminating the environment for the rest of us.
>
>In short, I feel your analogy is rather unaccurate. Toxic agrochemicals
are as
>doomed as the tobacco industry, and it´s just a matter of time. However,
it´s up
>to all of us to keep pointing this out. Doing any less will only lengthen
the
>time it will take to make to transition and will contribute to untold
needless
>deaths and suffering.
>
>DH, back in Jalisco.
>Douglas M. Hinds, Director General
Douglas,
Medicine probably is not Steve's field, but it seems agriculture is not
your field. It is kind of unusual for me to speak in defence of pesticides
but you are exagerating too much.
You are mistaken to say that "commercial pesticides in general tend to be
non selective, and are highly toxic to most if not all forms of life." In
fact all pesticides are more or less selective, otherwise they would not be
of much use.
You go on to say "Toxic agrochemicals are as doomed as the tobacco
industry, and it´s just a matter of time." You seem overly optimistic
concerning the tobacco industry, and you seem to put all pesticides in the
same bag, which reminds me of those who put all drugs ("hard" and "soft")
on the same level. This is a ridiculous simplification. There is an
enormous range among pesticides with respect to their harmfullness to the
environment. I think in the future pesticides will continue to exist but
they will have to be much less dangerous for humans and the environment.
Hayo van der Werf
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