7 ms·
What are some examples of organic pesticides that are less safe than glyphosate?
by dqv 7y ago
What are some examples of organic pesticides that are less safe than glyphosate?
- chicob 7y agoRotenone, a naturally ocurring herbicide. Known cause of Parkinson's disease.
- tptacek 7y agoIsn't "less safe than glyphosate" is a weird metric, since glyphosate is relatively safe compared to other chemical herbicides? Wouldn't atrazine be a better comparison?
- jcranmer 7y agoCopper sulfate is one.
- pkaye 7y agoCopper Sulfate is toxic to birds, mammals, insects, etc. It has a lower LD50 than glyphosate. https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2018/03/20/far-more-toxic-than-glyphosate-copper-sulfate-used-by-organic-and-conventional-farmers-cruises-to-european-reauthorization/ https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2018/03/20/far-more-toxic...
- petre 7y agoThe funny thing is that copper sulphate is actually an inorganic substance while glyphosate is an organic substance.
- lumberjack 7y agoNo it isn't. It does not have any long term exposure effects due to ingestion of residue on produce.
- jcranmer 7y agoNor does glyphosate. No one has been able to demonstrate health effects due to pesticide residue. Even studies purporting to show health effects for glyphosate do so at concentrations associated with handling the chemical in bulk, not at concentrations associated with consumption of residue.
- mehrdadn 7y ago> Even studies purporting to show health effects for glyphosate do so at concentrations associated with handling the chemical in bulk Do more well-accepted organic pesticides have these kinds of problems with bulk handling? Because otherwise I feel like this should be reason enough to avoid it.
- JamesBarney 7y agoYes see the toxicology section. It's way worse than glyphosate. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper(II)_sulfate https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper(II)_sulfate
- mehrdadn 7y agoThis isn't really what I was going for with "well-accepted" but I guess it's better than nothing, thanks. Copper sulfate's presence on that list is just about as questionable as glyphosate so I was hoping for something that people would actually think of as an organic pesticide (natural, etc. like already discussed earlier) not something that merely meets the federal requirements to be called 'organic'.
- mehrdadn 7y agoSorry, layman here, but in what sense is a substance with a name like that "organic"? It neither sounds natural nor does it contain carbon to be called organic in the chemistry sense...
- chicob 7y agoOrganic is something that is not synthetic (the intricate philosophical details being left as an exercise). Obviously, and sarcasm apart, the difference is nuanced. Organic Farming revolves around what is apparently natural, and in practice there is just a list farmers must respect. I've been paraphrasing myself a lot these days, only to avoid saying the same thing many times. But in my humble opinion as a farmer, Organic Farming is a secular kosher for urban people. It has nothing to do with better farming practices, and everything to do with a sense of control over purity - purity in terms of what is closer to the urban conception of what constitutes True Nature. Better farming practices involves the rational use of pesticides, synthetic or otherwise, used only as a last resort and having always in mind the effects to Nature (soil, water and wildlife) and human beings (farmers and consumers). In Europe all of these considerations are contemplated under an official standard called Integrated Farming - Organic Farming's big sister, as I call it.
- Armisael16 7y agoEverything has a name like that. Does it sound more organic if I call it ‘Bordeaux Mixture’ (before pointing at the all the people that died of copper poisoning)?
- jcranmer 7y agoThis is "organic" in the sense of "approved for use in organic agriculture." Which generally means "no icky multinational chemical firms that [average lay person] is aware of had a hand in the manufacture of it."
- mehrdadn 7y agoOh I see, so like "organic" in quotes, not organic in the sense most people would expect it to be organic (natural etc.).