Text 18004, 44 rader
Skriven 2008-06-18 21:24:32 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 17996 av Björn Forsström (2:203/614.61)
Ärende: Make work
=================
Björn Forsström wrote to Robert Bashe on Wednesday June 18 2008 at 18:36:

RB>> Come down to earth, leave the emotions at home and try to think with
RB>> your head. Then we'll have a basis for discussion.

BF> If I should believe what you say there wouldn't be any ecological
BF> farming where they say that they haven't used any chemicals at all,
BF> now would it? All I have to do is look out the window and see when the
BF> farmer here is out with his tractor, spraying the
BF> crop.....wait.....maybe he's watering the field? Why does he then need
BF> glowes and a face-mask when he makes an adjustment to his
BF> equiptment.....?  hhmmmm.....strange.....

BF> I'm not *that* naive you know....

I'm not so sure. Ever hear of something called digitalis? It comes from a
pretty and common plant called foxglove (I have several in my garden). In low
doses, it's used medically as a heart stimulant. In higher doses, it causes
heart failure.

So your farmer may need protective clothing to handle a concentrated solution
of whatever he's spraying, but that doesn't mean the stuff is harmful at lower
concentrations, or for that matter is even persistent, i.e. survives
environmental effects (rain, bacteria, wind) to be detectible in the final
product.

Crop protection agents (pesticides, herbicides) are thoroughly tested by the
manufacturers and must also be approved by the national health authorities
before even being sold, much less used. The tests are strict and very
extensive, even extending to things like pseudoestrogenic effects. And the
conditions of use (concentrations, application rates, times of application
before harvest) are all specified to make sure that no hazard to the consumer
occurs. In addition, there are analyses of the final product to be doubly sure.

I've already mentioned that things like methyl bromide and ethylene oxide are
used to rid grain of pests. I wouldn't recommend you breathe either in
concentrated form unless you're interested in experiencing a particularly
unpleasant kind of death, but the grain has no detectible residues and is used
in your daily bread. Don't believe me, ask your national health service.

Cheers, Bob

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