4 ms·

Does anyone have sources for suggestions about what we should do? I read these articles, and worry, and wonder what can I do. It's not clear to me that buying

Does anyone have sources for suggestions about what we should do? I read these articles, and worry, and wonder what can I do. It's not clear to me that buying organic mono-cropped bananas at the mega mart is in anyway better or worse than buying non-organic mono-cropped bananas. I'd really like to just build up some more understanding on what I can do in my daily life to make things not worse.

ed25519FUUU 5y ago
Support local farmers who follow better practices, such as low/no till or organic. Buy meat that was grazed on local grass, which is the single best thing we can do to build better soil. Buy things in season that grow well locally.
- refurb 5y ago
  Organic still uses pesticides, just “organic” ones. https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/national-list https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/national-... For crops it includes copper sulfate, peracetic acid, ferric phosphate.
  - 34679 5y ago
    Some very effective organic pesticides/fungicides are bacteria. Two examples are Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis for larvae that feed on roots[1] and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which out-competes soil pathogens[2] and prevents powdery mildew on foliage.[3] Research in this area is an important step toward learning how to build healthy soil instead of killing it. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis_israelensis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis_israele... [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_amyloliquefaciens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_amyloliquefaciens [3]https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00883/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.0088...
holri 5y ago
You can join a CSA (Community supported agriculture) or join a local Foodcoop. Eat local things that grows naturally like weed in your area. For example, in my case I do not buy bananas at all, but organic apples from sources and land I know.
- riffraff 5y ago
  > Eat local things that grows naturally like weed in your area Eating wild plants is a forgotten art. In my neighbourhood there's an insane amount of Prunus Cerasifera but they're basically left to rot on trees, seems I'm the only one who bothers to pick them up. But it must be pointed out that one should be careful with weed foraging, I'm part of a forum on "edible wild plants" and the amount of mis-identified ones is staggering.
  - monetus 5y ago
    Mind sharing the forum? - And for those reading this; in the vein of avoiding pollution, maybe don't forage next to a major highway.
    - riffraff 5y ago
      It's a Facebook group and it's in Italian, so I'm not sure it'll be interesting to you, but look for "erbe spontanee mangerecce".
      - monetus 5y ago
        Molte grazie
  - holri 5y ago
    There tons of abandoned apple farms / trees here. It is incredible people still buy apples in the supermarket. They taste like shit in comparison to the old forgotten trees, cost money and are full of pesticides. Strange and stupid times.
hosh 5y ago
There's a ton individuals can do. The societal solutions to this has been around from decades, if not centuries. Look up the documentary called Kiss the Earth for a good intro that covers this and more. As far as individuals goes, you can look for food sourced locally using regenerative agriculture -- agroforestry, permaculture, etc. The farm is usually operated as a diverse ecosystem that is designed to grow the soil as part of an integrated effort. They usually have livestock raised with the crops. None of this stuff is really new and doesn't require bleeding edge technology. We've had people practicing these things for a very long time. There are also other things you can do to take more direct action as an individual: grow your own food, participate in communities that are planting and growing a food forest in parks, participate in composting, or better yet, compost on-site for your garden.
- nitrogen 5y ago
  They usually have livestock raised with the crops. People stopped doing this because of parasites, prions, and other pathogens like salmonella.
  - hosh 5y ago
    They stopped doing that because feed grain was subsidized and it was easier to put the livestock all together. It was a race to maximize yield by specializing on one cash crop or one livestock. Can’t do much about prions. That wasn’t even discovered until after broad use of synthetic fertilizers. Parasites can be an issue. Salmonella can also be an issue. But I think they are still an issue on ranches where livestock have to live with each other’s waste. As far as salmonella getting into the crops ... it can’t survive more than a few hours outside of a host.
    - nitrogen 5y ago
      As far as salmonella getting into the crops ... it can’t survive more than a few hours outside of a host. If that's the case, then why have there been multiple recalls of produce and peanut butter for salmonella contamination?
anigbrowl 5y ago
Buy 1 share in a pesticide manufacturer Go to shareholder meetings Introduce aggressive candidates (possibly yourself) for board positions Make a fuss Get thrown out Have planned for this so you had an accomplice to film it and organized your press conference with local news in advance
hinkley 5y ago
Eat more diverse foods. Large monocrops are a huge part of this problem, both in the field and in the farmer’s pocket book. Commodity crops are are the mercy of many more forces working against the farmer, and the narrow margins help push people into expediencies. Four commodity grain crops are most of our volume, and if one develops a pernicious enough pest or pathogen we are truly fucked. So eat weird fruits, vegetables, legumes. Get used to multigrain bread.
mikehotel 5y ago
Find and support local farmers that participate in the international 4 per 1000 initiative. https://www.4p1000.org/ https://www.4p1000.org/ Individually, try to compost and grow food plants if possible. Choose to buy natural food rather than processed food that relies on federal subsidies. Explore less common foods instead of bananas. :) Visit a local ethnic grocery and ask for suggestions.
jtdev 5y ago
Support your local CSA and sustainable agriculture.

ed25519FUUU 5y ago

Support local farmers who follow better practices, such as low/no till or organic. Buy meat that was grazed on local grass, which is the single best thing we can do to build better soil. Buy things in season that grow well locally.

refurb 5y ago
Organic still uses pesticides, just “organic” ones. https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/national-list https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/national-... For crops it includes copper sulfate, peracetic acid, ferric phosphate.
- 34679 5y ago
  Some very effective organic pesticides/fungicides are bacteria. Two examples are Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis for larvae that feed on roots[1] and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which out-competes soil pathogens[2] and prevents powdery mildew on foliage.[3] Research in this area is an important step toward learning how to build healthy soil instead of killing it. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis_israelensis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis_israele... [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_amyloliquefaciens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_amyloliquefaciens [3]https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00883/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.0088...

holri 5y ago

You can join a CSA (Community supported agriculture) or join a local Foodcoop. Eat local things that grows naturally like weed in your area. For example, in my case I do not buy bananas at all, but organic apples from sources and land I know.

riffraff 5y ago
> Eat local things that grows naturally like weed in your area Eating wild plants is a forgotten art. In my neighbourhood there's an insane amount of Prunus Cerasifera but they're basically left to rot on trees, seems I'm the only one who bothers to pick them up. But it must be pointed out that one should be careful with weed foraging, I'm part of a forum on "edible wild plants" and the amount of mis-identified ones is staggering.
- monetus 5y ago
  Mind sharing the forum? - And for those reading this; in the vein of avoiding pollution, maybe don't forage next to a major highway.
  - riffraff 5y ago
    It's a Facebook group and it's in Italian, so I'm not sure it'll be interesting to you, but look for "erbe spontanee mangerecce".
    - monetus 5y ago
      Molte grazie
- holri 5y ago
  There tons of abandoned apple farms / trees here. It is incredible people still buy apples in the supermarket. They taste like shit in comparison to the old forgotten trees, cost money and are full of pesticides. Strange and stupid times.

hosh 5y ago

There's a ton individuals can do. The societal solutions to this has been around from decades, if not centuries. Look up the documentary called Kiss the Earth for a good intro that covers this and more. As far as individuals goes, you can look for food sourced locally using regenerative agriculture -- agroforestry, permaculture, etc. The farm is usually operated as a diverse ecosystem that is designed to grow the soil as part of an integrated effort. They usually have livestock raised with the crops. None of this stuff is really new and doesn't require bleeding edge technology. We've had people practicing these things for a very long time. There are also other things you can do to take more direct action as an individual: grow your own food, participate in communities that are planting and growing a food forest in parks, participate in composting, or better yet, compost on-site for your garden.

nitrogen 5y ago
They usually have livestock raised with the crops. People stopped doing this because of parasites, prions, and other pathogens like salmonella.
- hosh 5y ago
  They stopped doing that because feed grain was subsidized and it was easier to put the livestock all together. It was a race to maximize yield by specializing on one cash crop or one livestock. Can’t do much about prions. That wasn’t even discovered until after broad use of synthetic fertilizers. Parasites can be an issue. Salmonella can also be an issue. But I think they are still an issue on ranches where livestock have to live with each other’s waste. As far as salmonella getting into the crops ... it can’t survive more than a few hours outside of a host.
  - nitrogen 5y ago
    As far as salmonella getting into the crops ... it can’t survive more than a few hours outside of a host. If that's the case, then why have there been multiple recalls of produce and peanut butter for salmonella contamination?

anigbrowl 5y ago

Buy 1 share in a pesticide manufacturer Go to shareholder meetings Introduce aggressive candidates (possibly yourself) for board positions Make a fuss Get thrown out Have planned for this so you had an accomplice to film it and organized your press conference with local news in advance

hinkley 5y ago

Eat more diverse foods. Large monocrops are a huge part of this problem, both in the field and in the farmer’s pocket book. Commodity crops are are the mercy of many more forces working against the farmer, and the narrow margins help push people into expediencies. Four commodity grain crops are most of our volume, and if one develops a pernicious enough pest or pathogen we are truly fucked. So eat weird fruits, vegetables, legumes. Get used to multigrain bread.

mikehotel 5y ago

Find and support local farmers that participate in the international 4 per 1000 initiative. https://www.4p1000.org/ https://www.4p1000.org/ Individually, try to compost and grow food plants if possible. Choose to buy natural food rather than processed food that relies on federal subsidies. Explore less common foods instead of bananas. :) Visit a local ethnic grocery and ask for suggestions.

jtdev 5y ago

Support your local CSA and sustainable agriculture.