August 16, 1999
Mr. Ned Crabb
Editorial Editor
The Wall Street Journal
Dear Mr. Crabb:
Regarding the August 12th column 'Why Greens Should Love Pesticides' by
Dennis T. Avery, director of the Center for Global Food Issues for the
Hudson
Institute:
It is very sad that Mr. Avery persists in portraying organic food
production
as a return to agricultural systems that do not utilize any of the
scientific
advances of the last 50 years and produce poor yields. The challenges of
agricultural production are, in fact, far more complex than Mr. Avery
suggests in his black and white statements about yields, wildlands and
cancer.
Based on scientific research at The Rodale Institute, we can discount
Mr.
Avery's suggestion that organic agriculture is "low yielding,
traditional
agriculture." In fact, conventional and organic farming both rely on
technology advances and sophisticated knowledge of crop requirements.
The
primary difference is that organic agriculture, far more than
industrially
based conventional agriculture, attempts to understand and manage
biological
processes in order to optimize yields while reducing environmental
impacts.
Organic management depends more on applied ecology and less on applied
chemistry than does conventional agriculture. Research at The Rodale
Institute and land grant universities, comparing conventional and
organic
crop production, has shown that organic systems can produce yields that
are
similar to the same crop under conventional management.
Just as Mr. Avery's remarks about yields are erroneous, so too is his
view of
industrial agriculture as an environmentally benign world-saving
enterprise.
Unfortunately, the "wildlands" have been damaged by the industrial
agriculture that is purported to protect them. Extensive scientific
literature demonstrates without question that there are numerous
unexpected
problems resulting from the widespread use of agricultural chemicals.
In
many cases, the direct effects on human health are not fully understood
until
the chemical has already been in use for decades. This is partly
because the
effects of toxins on animals, particularly long-lived animals such as
humans,
are often not visible immediately and may only be evident in the next
generation. The carcinogenic effects of DES on the daughters of mothers
who
took the drug twenty years beforehand are case in point.
The future of agricultural production is complex, but what is clear is
that
food production is a crucial issue for us all to consider. At present,
very
little research has focused on the development of organic crop
production
techniques and therefore, if the world stopped using all pesticides and
synthetic fertilizers tomorrow, yields would indeed suffer. However,
rather
than decry the organic system, our universal goal should be to increase
research into environmentally sound production systems without resorting
to
an increase in pesticide use, in order to ensure access to healthy food
for
everyone, while protecting our natural resources.
Sincerely,
Laurie E. Drinkwater, Ph.D.
Director, US Regenerative Agriculture Resource Center
*****************************
Laurie E. Drinkwater, Ph.D.
Director, US RARC
Rodale Institute
611 Siegfriedale Road
Kutztown, PA 19530
voice: 610-683-1437
FAX: 610-683-8548
ldrink@rodaleinst.org
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