Bulletin

NEWS
vice versa, said Professor London. Professor London said there is an assumption that pesticides are essential for food production. However, food production is more sustainable where no pesticides are used, such as in organic farming, or where integrated pest management is used. The cost-effectiveness of using pesticides would depend on how their adverse consequences are calculated. Such as the impacts on human health and on the environment. The consumer in a supermarket does not see or have to pay for the costs of pesticides getting into water systems, said Professor London. Added to this are the hidden costs for farmers. By using pesticides where they are not really necessary or by repeatedly using the same chemical will increases pest resistance. This affects the insect ecology of neighbouring farms so that in future production cycles the same pesticide is less effective in controlling the pest. This results in farmers switching to a new pesticide, sometimes called pesticide treadmill once on it, its very hard to get off because stopping will result in catastrophic crop loss. The system is geared to high input agriculture, and the marketing of pesticides as essential to food production contributes to this, said Professor London. Some pesticides used in South Africa are banned in other countries or are not registered for use. Also, some of the agents added to the pesticide, to get it to stick to leaves

Thursday January 19 2012

A lack of awareness about toxic spray, says prof

KAREN WATKINS

here seems to be a widespread lack of awareness about the harmful effects of the exposure of potentially toxic spray drifts from farms and vineyards into nearby residential areas, according to Professor Leslie London, the director of the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. He was reacting to Nigel and Zdenka Sutcliffe of Constantia who were worried that the spray from the vineyards near their house was detrimental to their health (Spray drift headache, Bulletin, December 15). The World Health Organisation estimates that 25-million people are poisoned worldwide by pesticides each year. Professor London said it is difficult to estimate the exact figure, but it is large. He said that people are mostly unaware or are accepting of pesticide drift. The exact harm from a particular pesticide is complex. It can take a long time for the effects to show by which time it is difficult to establish a scientific link. Also linking an illness to pesticide exposure can be attributed to other factors, such as smoking or other toxic chemicals. Added to this, the chemicals themselves involve multiple cocktail mixtures. Finally, much data on the toxicity of pesticides comes from experiments with animals and translating this to humans is always difficult. Because what happens in some species of animals may not apply in humans, and
om/20/08358921

or to promote dispersion, may be as toxic or more toxic than the actual pesticide. A problem is that the manufacturers often do not supply details on so-called inerts which are not inert at all, said Professor London. As an example he recently had to give advice to someone who feared poisoning from a pest control agent applied in his home to prevent wood borer damage (Fumigation troubles, Bulletin November 10 2011). But the toxicity was probably entirely due to the highly toxic benzene added as a solvent, which was not listed on the label, said Professor London. Professor London said that often fungicide use is purely for cosmetic reasons, particularly in fruit farming. Consumers like to buy perfect apples and will turn up their noses at one with a slight brown blemish. But the slightly discoloured apple is just as nutritious and safe to eat. If consumers were aware of the tons of If consumers were aware of the tons of fungi- fungicides used to satisfy their preferences, farmers cides used to satisfy their personal, and poorly would not spray to ensure a saleable apple. informed preferences, then farmers would not feel they have to spray to ensure a saleable apple FREE Come and visit us at ALPHA BLINDS Wi and still achieve a profit, hot spot FREE QUOTES AND GLEN ALPINE CENTRE said Professor London. LADIES MILE INSTALLATION I think residents BERGVLIET Licensed (Next to the Spar) Open 7 Days a week should use their consumer 076 294 3848 power to make it prof- Tel/Fax: 021 715 8925 Pub Lunch Meal and a Beer or alphahm@gmail.com itable for farmers to farm a Glass of Wine R40 organically or to reduce www.alphablinds.co.za Daily Meal and Cake Specials incl coffee or tea or cappuccino pesticide usage.

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