Organic Pesticides

Most people believe that "certified organic" is synonymous with "pesticide-free" or "chemical-free." It isn’t. Surprised? You’re not alone there – you’ve been very deliberately led to believe that "Certified Organic" means, "Clean," "Safe," and "Free of Poisons." It doesn’t necessarily mean any of these things.

As organically raised produce, dairy, and meats came into large demand about 20 years ago, corporate farms became concerned. They were losing market share to small, organic producers, and no amount of pooh-poohing organic practices – no amount of insistence that chemicals are perfectly safe in your food, nor even that organic produce was dangerous – seemed to be making any difference.

What to do? Well, the quickest way to allow these big corporate farms to become organic was to simply redefine the rules of what was permitted to carry the label, which is exactly what happened. (Kind of like lowering the poverty rate by changing the definition of "poor" to a lower income level…)

Organic producers are permitted to use pesticides, and many do. The permitted chemicals must be derived from natural sources, and guidelines state that most of them should only be used when other, non-chemical means of controlling pests are exhausted. Among the permitted pesticides are Copper compounds, Pyrethrums, and, believe it or not, Rotenone is making a comeback as well.

So you’re probably saying to yourself, well, if they’re "natural," they can’t be dangerous, right? Another common but woefully inaccurate assumption…

Take copper, for example. Copper is natural, but then, so is lead, so is mercury! And you don’t want a whole lot of any one of them in your food! Copper, as you know, is a metal. The human body needs very little of it to be healthy. In larger amounts, copper is highly toxic. * (see footnote)

Insects, being small to microscopic, need very low doses of copper to be poisoned, but here’s the rub – Copper dust washes away (or blows away) and needs to be reapplied over and over in order to remain at effective levels to kill or deter pests. And with each application, 3 things happen – the people applying the copper get it on their skin and in their eyes and lungs, the plants hold onto a little bit, and the surrounding soil absorbs the rest. Well, okay, 4 things happen– some little bugs are also poisoned.

Copper remains on the leaf of a treated plant for up to 2 weeks, and remains in the soil more or less forever. Each season when copper is applied, the levels in the soil increase. Future generations of crops will perhaps absorb some copper, but not enough to significantly reduce the measurable levels in the soil (and of course those plants then also have copper in their tissues). People applying the copper are exposed to the most dangerous levels of all – over and over again with each application.

So, but, now you’re probably thinking that the guidelines guarantee that organic farmers are following the recommendations – only using these chemicals when everything else has failed… maybe you even hope they are testing their soils for toxic levels of copper… you would certainly be right to hope so. But, these are only guidelines; they are not generally enforced. So once again, the frightening truth is that not all organic farms observe these guidelines. Some farmers, on large operations and small, pay not the slightest bit of attention to them.

Last year when the tomato blight affected Valley tomatoes again, many organic farms tilled the tomatoes under, rather than applying copper to the plants (and, inevitably, to farm workers and the soil). Some others were fortunate enough to avoid the blight, or harvest tomatoes in spite of some infected plants. Unfortunately, still others got out the copper and just started spraying. One popular organic farm attests that they sprayed copper every 3 days to keep the blight under control on their tomatoes.

The bottom line is that NOT ALL ORGANIC PRODUCE IS EQUAL, not even here in the Valley. Not all certified organic food is clean, or free from toxic substances. Organic is only a label, and it tells you a lot less about what you are eating than it should. There are some organic farmers (many of them in this Valley) who don’t use poisons at all – naturally derived or otherwise - to raise food. There are also fair numbers of them who follow the recommendations conscientiously and use very small (and for the most part, harmless) amounts of pesticides, and only when other means have truly been exhausted.

How are you supposed to know which farm uses which practices and pesticides?

As long as you are buying locally raised food, this one has a simple answer: ASK! Ask your farmers about their growing practices. Ask whether they use pesticides of any sort and what/how often/how much they apply. Make your decisions based on information, not on labeling. (You are still safe in the case of “Pesticide-Free” produce, which is required, as the label implies, to be entirely free of pesticides.) You have a right and a responsibility to get honest information about the food you eat – don’t hesitate to ask the necessary questions!

If you are buying food from distant farms, organic or otherwise, the truth is that you just don’t know – you simply can’t know – what you’re really eating. So buy local, know your farmer, and don’t be afraid to ask about growing practices!

---

* Footnote – This page contains the specific symptoms & pathologies of copper toxicity in humans from Cornell University’s Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management. If you have any interest in organic pesticides, their uses and risks, this site is well worth reading.


Cornell University’s Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management - Copper Compounds