Agriculture of petrochemicals and pesticides

[Christophe]

Tuning

Since my journalism debut, I have never stopped reporting cases of inefficiency or unappreciated pesticide toxicity, and highlighting those who seek qualitative rather than quantitative pesticide spraying.

Subjects that have also caused me a lot of trouble ...

I know that these subjects are a real thorn in the feet of our detractors. They have led to dismiss the DGAL of the ecotoxicological evaluation of pesticides to entrust to Afssa, which one can think, according to the first elements concerning the Gaucho and the Regent, that it will remain vigilant as for its neutrality ... Is this the legacy of Martin Hirsch?

My editorial line is: the efficacy of the products has been validated for a long time and their ecotoxicology evaluated under certain standard conditions, which are not those of reality, in particular with regard to the mixtures, the quality of the water used for the treatments, and the physicochemical conditions of use of these pesticides: temperature, pH ...
The bottom line is the following: many molecules are unstable, so-called: prone to phenomena of alkaline hydrolysis, or hot or acidic or salification phenomena. This is the case, for example, with glufosate, which forms a calcium glyfosate salt with calcium. For 800ppm calcium waters, for treatments with 300 l of water ha, more than half of the substance is inactivated by calcium, hence the success of low volume treatments in champagne or with water rain. The efficiency drops, but what about the toxicity of the metabolites of degradation and hydrolysis? What is valid for glyfosate, why would it not be for other pesticides with other salts, whether ferruginous, magnesian and even chlorinated waters. Example of folpel, particularly unstable in alkaline medium (shelf life: 20 minutes at pH mixed with sulfur at pH 9.

So I went back to my basic chemistry to understand that indeed There is, again, in France a doctrinal line on pesticides "quantitative" instead of being "qualitative", catastrophic for the environment.

And when we are told that only less than 3% of the pesticides applied reach their target, that leaves room for improvement for "quality" spreading rather than sticking to the quantity (the famous homologation doses) and rather than to hunt in our country those who seek less toxic solutions. No ?

I am told that the industrialists of the UIPP will mimic nature with synthetic molecules, that is to say petrochemical base.
And we know that chlorine, chromium and fluorine are very practical in organic synthesis ... especially for a less expensive synthesis. It's always the same question: Are we ready to pay the price? Note that in nature, halogens belong more to the mineral world and exist infinitesimally in the organic world. And we are flooding the organic world with halogens like chlorine. And it is not the leg loops of the union of halogenated with our institutions that will help reverse the trend. And I do not see the petrochemical industry either preferring biological bases to petrochemical bases to synthesize new molecules.

And then a molecule of synthesis, very pure and very white, it is always more in conformity with the "scientific" spirit, than an extract of plant or algae ...

Only a change in the shareholding of chemical firms would reverse this trend.

David Lefebvre

[Cuicui]

Seen on the website of JP PETIT: a link to a remarkable article by Claude Bourguignon on the effects of intensive agriculture on soils, and on the positive effects of biodynamic agriculture. See :
http://www.passerelleco.info/article.ph ... rticle=113

[A2E]

Excellent this Mr Bourguignon!
Since the time it is said that intensive farming will kill everyone but well ... nobody really listens!
Today the earth is simply a vulgar support for crops, it is as if you spread sand on a concrete area and you sow your seeds there and the rest is to spread nitrogen in the form of ammonia and voila! it's as simple as that, of course we would need fungicides for leaf diseases as well as insecticides for harmful insects and why not some synthetic trace elements to improve yields! (this cultivation practice is common in Morocco for the production of tomatoes in greenhouses) while the REAL agriculture consists in first RESPECTING the soil which will "raise" the plants and this quite naturally, it will just be necessary to amend it with natural organic waste so that it retains a layer humus maintained by micro-fauna, plowing is also very harmful to the soil because it deeply buries this FRAGILE layer of humus and brings out the clay of the subsoil which is not fertile! what cultural practices absolutely contrary to common sense! And all this for what ? always the same thing .... THE FRIC!

[A2E]

Excellent this Mr Bourguignon!
Since the time it is said that intensive farming will kill everyone but well ... nobody really listens!
Today the earth is simply a vulgar support for crops, it is as if you spread sand on a concrete area and you sow your seeds there and the rest is to spread nitrogen in the form of ammonia and voila! it's as simple as that, of course we would need fungicides for leaf diseases as well as insecticides for harmful insects and why not some synthetic trace elements to improve yields! (this cultivation practice is common in Morocco for the production of tomatoes in greenhouses) while the REAL agriculture consists in first RESPECTING the soil which will "raise" the plants and this quite naturally, it will just be necessary to amend it with natural organic waste so that it retains a layer humus maintained by micro-fauna, plowing is also very harmful to the soil because it deeply buries this FRAGILE layer of humus and brings out the clay of the subsoil which is not fertile! what cultural practices absolutely contrary to common sense! And all this for what ? always the same thing .... THE FRIC!

Not being able to do "edit" because connection problems I rectify:

nitrogen in the form of ammonia

it should read: "nitrogen in the form of ammonitrate"!

[moinsdewatt]

Evidence of chlordecone found in infants

The Figaro - the 17 / 09 / 2012

7 month children infected with in utero insecticide and breast milk have mild cognitive deficits.


Chlordecone is a dangerous insecticide for health. It is classified today as an endocrine disruptor, neurotoxic and possible carcinogen for humans. The United States banned it from 1976. However, it has been used extensively until 1993 in Guadeloupe and Martinique to protect banana against weevil larvae. The case sparked a huge controversy in the early 2000 when analyzes showed that parts of both islands are and will be polluted for decades - old banana plantations, rivers, coastal fringes - and that The population can still ingest chlordecone by consuming certain polluted foods, mainly root vegetables, seafood or fish.

........................

the following : http://sante.lefigaro.fr/actualite/2012 ... ourrissons

[moinsdewatt]

The history of pesticides since 1945: a slow agony of life