5 ms·

Farmers in India use Pepsi/Coke instead of pesticides

39 points by neeharc 14y ago

tarequeh 14y ago
Idiocracy anyone?
- wereHamster 14y ago
  But Brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes.
- Nux 14y ago
  Hehe, first thing that came into mind when I read this title. It's a bit disturbing.
OGinparadise 14y ago
Unsurprisingly, Pepsi and Coca-Cola strongly disagree, saying there is nothing in the drinks that can be used in pest control. Coming soon: You drink Coke? Are you nuts? It's so toxic, they use it as a pesticide.
- illuminate 14y ago
  Not referring to you/HN, but I tend to filter out anyone who uses the word "toxins" without understanding what they are.
  - OGinparadise 14y ago
    In my defense: I didn't try to write a scientific paper, it was about what could be a commercial against drinking coke /pepsi. In reality, perception matters so no matter what toxins and toxic mean scientifically, once you link something to pesticides it's close enough for the average Joe and Jane. But I understand your point, people use them very loosely.
vilgax 14y ago
Well if that really works, then Indian farmers have done a good hack at pest control. But how that excess sugar affect soil, plantation and local ecology than those other pesticides, should be further studied.
danmaz74 14y ago
It would be very interesting to try sugared water vs cola vs pesticides - scientifically. It should be some public-funded research though, as no private company could benefit from this study (unless it is to disprove that sugar works).
27182818284 14y ago
This seems very reasonable to me, because this is how the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C4%81pple http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C4%81pple was accidentally discovered. Birds don't like the taste of artificial grape flavoring. If you're looking for an interesting, but light read, I'd highly recommend http://www.amazon.com/Fruit-Hunters-Adventure-Commerce-Obsession/dp/B002ECEG8O http://www.amazon.com/Fruit-Hunters-Adventure-Commerce-Obses...
antninja 14y ago
Tip to those farmers: you can now sell your products as organic food, at a higher price. The article is quite misleading, though. Sugar isn't used as a pesticide. It's a way to control the ecosystem, like introducing a new species to prey on another. Coke doesn't directly kill the insects (as far as we know).
- venomsnake 14y ago
  It just gives them type 2 diabetes :)
- greenyoda 14y ago
  The article does say that Coke doesn't actually kill insects: [Agricultural specialist Devendra Sharma says] the drinks are effectively sugar syrups and when they are poured on crops they attract ants which in turn feed on the larva of insects.
npguy 14y ago
This is really very old news. This bbc news article is from Wednesday, 3 November, 2004.
brass9 14y ago
Did this news precede the allegation that both Pepsi and Coca-cola (at least in India) contained pesticide in their drink? I remember there was a huge uproar when that news broke and both companies had to invest heavily into PR campaign (involving several movie mega-stars) to play it down. Update: Looks like it is. The Pepsi/Coke pesticide brouhaha took place in 2006. http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-08-09/india-pesticide-claims-shake-up-coke-and-pepsi http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-08-09/india-pestici... http://www.occupymonsanto360.org/2013/03/06/india-press-report-coke-pepsi-are-loaded-with-pesticide-residues/ http://www.occupymonsanto360.org/2013/03/06/india-press-repo... Update #2: News of Pepsi/Coke being used in lieu of pesticides is also making the rounds... http://consciouslifenews.com/coke-pepsi-being-pesticides-india/1145862/ http://consciouslifenews.com/coke-pepsi-being-pesticides-ind...
jpkeisala 14y ago
My mom uses Coca-Cola to remove mineral stains from toilet. She says works better than chemicals.
- venomsnake 14y ago
  Put a litmus paper in it, and you will be delighted by the red color that you will see. When you clean something you need either base or an acid. Vinegar will do just fine too.
- crazydiamond 14y ago
  This is precisely what I came in to post. I've heard people in India talking of cleaning their toilets with Coke better than pesticides -- don't know about cost since I don't drink.
fus 14y ago
Three IMHO relevant things: a) High phosphoric acid content in the Coke b) Importance of phosphorus in a organic life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus#Biological_role http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus#Biological_role c) "Phosphorus is a scarce finite resource on earth" && "recycling" -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_phosphorus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_phosphorus
jamespitts 14y ago
Coka-Cola needs to quickly bring to market a sugar-based pesticide under a different name that costs less than Coke.

39 points by neeharc 14y ago

tarequeh 14y ago

Idiocracy anyone?

wereHamster 14y ago
But Brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes.
Nux 14y ago
Hehe, first thing that came into mind when I read this title. It's a bit disturbing.

OGinparadise 14y ago

Unsurprisingly, Pepsi and Coca-Cola strongly disagree, saying there is nothing in the drinks that can be used in pest control. Coming soon: You drink Coke? Are you nuts? It's so toxic, they use it as a pesticide.

illuminate 14y ago
Not referring to you/HN, but I tend to filter out anyone who uses the word "toxins" without understanding what they are.
- OGinparadise 14y ago
  In my defense: I didn't try to write a scientific paper, it was about what could be a commercial against drinking coke /pepsi. In reality, perception matters so no matter what toxins and toxic mean scientifically, once you link something to pesticides it's close enough for the average Joe and Jane. But I understand your point, people use them very loosely.

vilgax 14y ago

Well if that really works, then Indian farmers have done a good hack at pest control. But how that excess sugar affect soil, plantation and local ecology than those other pesticides, should be further studied.

danmaz74 14y ago

It would be very interesting to try sugared water vs cola vs pesticides - scientifically. It should be some public-funded research though, as no private company could benefit from this study (unless it is to disprove that sugar works).

27182818284 14y ago

This seems very reasonable to me, because this is how the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C4%81pple http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C4%81pple was accidentally discovered. Birds don't like the taste of artificial grape flavoring. If you're looking for an interesting, but light read, I'd highly recommend http://www.amazon.com/Fruit-Hunters-Adventure-Commerce-Obsession/dp/B002ECEG8O http://www.amazon.com/Fruit-Hunters-Adventure-Commerce-Obses...

antninja 14y ago

Tip to those farmers: you can now sell your products as organic food, at a higher price. The article is quite misleading, though. Sugar isn't used as a pesticide. It's a way to control the ecosystem, like introducing a new species to prey on another. Coke doesn't directly kill the insects (as far as we know).

venomsnake 14y ago
It just gives them type 2 diabetes :)
greenyoda 14y ago
The article does say that Coke doesn't actually kill insects: [Agricultural specialist Devendra Sharma says] the drinks are effectively sugar syrups and when they are poured on crops they attract ants which in turn feed on the larva of insects.

npguy 14y ago

This is really very old news. This bbc news article is from Wednesday, 3 November, 2004.

brass9 14y ago

Did this news precede the allegation that both Pepsi and Coca-cola (at least in India) contained pesticide in their drink? I remember there was a huge uproar when that news broke and both companies had to invest heavily into PR campaign (involving several movie mega-stars) to play it down. Update: Looks like it is. The Pepsi/Coke pesticide brouhaha took place in 2006. http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-08-09/india-pesticide-claims-shake-up-coke-and-pepsi http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-08-09/india-pestici... http://www.occupymonsanto360.org/2013/03/06/india-press-report-coke-pepsi-are-loaded-with-pesticide-residues/ http://www.occupymonsanto360.org/2013/03/06/india-press-repo... Update #2: News of Pepsi/Coke being used in lieu of pesticides is also making the rounds... http://consciouslifenews.com/coke-pepsi-being-pesticides-india/1145862/ http://consciouslifenews.com/coke-pepsi-being-pesticides-ind...

jpkeisala 14y ago

My mom uses Coca-Cola to remove mineral stains from toilet. She says works better than chemicals.

venomsnake 14y ago
Put a litmus paper in it, and you will be delighted by the red color that you will see. When you clean something you need either base or an acid. Vinegar will do just fine too.
crazydiamond 14y ago
This is precisely what I came in to post. I've heard people in India talking of cleaning their toilets with Coke better than pesticides -- don't know about cost since I don't drink.

fus 14y ago

Three IMHO relevant things: a) High phosphoric acid content in the Coke b) Importance of phosphorus in a organic life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus#Biological_role http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus#Biological_role c) "Phosphorus is a scarce finite resource on earth" && "recycling" -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_phosphorus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_phosphorus

jamespitts 14y ago

Coka-Cola needs to quickly bring to market a sugar-based pesticide under a different name that costs less than Coke.