Think Organic Food is Pesticide Free? More Like Only Half The Time

the organic bananas from tescos, have a definite unpallatable unatural taste .. which i would describe as likely chemical ...

they have a very mild taste of banana ... which is prob down to GM ... i am sure natures fruit at its best is usually bursting with 'lovely' flavours .. not overpowering chemical taste, with hint of fruit ...

and also sooo pee'd at not being able to buy fruit that is ripe .. a lot of teh stuff supposed to 'ripen at home' .. but picked soo early, that it never actually ripens .. and gets tossed out ... i lose so much money, and dont get to eat the fruit i want ... its done his way so the supermarkets or suppliers don't 'lose' out, due to rotten food ...

of course .. i have tyhe option of going to the local fruit shop .. and equally pay over the odds, for fruit that is already turning bad, but only visibly goes bad approx 2 hours after i get it home ...

cant win .. sooo wish i had a patch to grown my own ... rant over ...

Ya the title is right, that mostly half of organic pesticides are organic and remaining are chemical pesticides. Recently my farm was badly infested by pest so we had to call a pest control firm to treat them out. We had heard that Clarke pest control or pinnaclepest control of our area is a good choice and they use organic pesticides. Moreover, I had done little research and came to know that before using any pesticides they are to be verified by government. So in my opinion one must go for government verified pesticides rather than going with organic pesticides.

a reply to: VoidHawk

About Organic Produce

Organic produce has become increasingly popular in recent years, as consumers have grown more health conscious and environmentally aware. Many stores and supermarkets now have large sections devoted to organic fruits and vegetables.

WHAT MAKES PRODUCE "ORGANIC"?

Contrary to what most people believe, "organic" does not automatically mean "pesticide-free" or "chemical-free". In fact, under the laws of most states, organic farmers are allowed to use a wide variety of chemical sprays and powders on their crops.
So what does organic mean? It means that these pesticides, if used, must be derived from natural sources, not synthetically manufactured. Also, these pesticides must be applied using equipment that has not been used to apply any synthetic materials for the past three years, and the land being planted cannot have been treated with synthetic materials for that period either.

Most organic farmers (and even some conventional farmers, too) employ mechanical and cultural tools to help control pests. These include insect traps, careful crop selection (there are a growing number of disease-resistant varieties), and biological controls (such as predator insects and beneficial microorganisms).

ORGANIC PRODUCE AND PERSONAL HEALTH

When you test synthetic chemicals for their ability to cause cancer, you find that about half of them are carcinogenic.

Until recently, nobody bothered to look at natural chemicals (such as organic pesticides), because it was assumed that they posed little risk. But when the studies were done, the results were somewhat shocking: you find that about half of the natural chemicals studied are carcinogenic as well.

This is a case where everyone (consumers, farmers, researchers) made the same, dangerous mistake. We assumed that "natural" chemicals were automatically better and safer than synthetic materials, and we were wrong. It's important that we be more prudent in our acceptance of "natural" as being innocuous and harmless.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES VERSUS SYNTHETIC PESTICIDES

Clearly, the less we impact our environment, the better off we all are. Organic farming practices have greatly advanced the use of non-chemical means to control pests, as mentioned earlier.
Unfortunately, these non-chemical methods do not always provide enough protection, and it's necessary to use chemical pesticides. How do organic pesticides compare with conventional pesticides?

A recent study compared the effectiveness of a rotenone-pyrethrin mixture versus a synthetic pesticide, imidan. Rotenone and pyrethrin are two common organic pesticides; imidan is considered a "soft" synthetic pesticide (i.e., designed to have a brief lifetime after application, and other traits that minimize unwanted effects). It was found that up to 7 applications of the rotenone- pyrethrin mixture were required to obtain the level of protection provided by 2 applications of imidan.

It seems unlikely that 7 applications of rotenone and pyrethrin are really better for the environment than 2 applications of imidan, especially when rotenone is extremely toxic to fish and other aquatic life.

It should be noted, however, that we don't know for certain which system is more harmful. This is because we do not look at organic pesticides the same way that we look at conventional pesticides. We don't know how long these organic pesticides persist in the environment, or the full extent of their effects.

When you look at lists of pesticides allowed in organic agriculture, you find warnings such as, "Use with caution. The toxicological effects of [organic pesticide X] are largely unknown," or "Its persistence in the soil is unknown." Again, researchers haven't bothered to study the effects of organic pesticides because it is assumed that "natural" chemicals are automatically safe.

Read more here: www.ocf.berkeley.edu...