Re: Food for thought

**"Dan Clost" d*@sympatico.ca**

KTCopsey introduces a few new lines of thoughts into this discussion.

Here in Ontario, as in many places, municipalities are legislating bans on 
the cosmetic use of pesticides. Only two that I know of, who have discussed 
this in public forum- Ottawa and Gananoque- have not enacted such 
legislation.
This has removed various pesticides from the management options of lawn care 
companies. These companies are rigorously tested and checked by provincial 
licensing agencies to ensure that chemicals are applied according to 
directions. All applicators must demonstrate competency.

Like Ms Copsey, I am not making a comment on whether or not this is good or 
bad.

However, what these municipalities are not doing- since it is not within 
their legal purview- is banning the production, sale and purchase of those 
chemicals. This means that the pesticide is available on store shelves for 
the retail consumer- not the licensed professional.
The product is being sold to homeowners. Since it is illegal to apply it, I 
can only assume they are purchasing it for display purposes only.

One other note: in public forum, especially those held in municipal council 
chambers, the opponents are readily identifiable- the rabid, money-hungry 
lawncare companies and the tree-hugging, grass-eating hippie weirdo organic 
nut. Do you know who is not there? Monsanto, DuPont, Ciba-Geigy, Nu-Gro, 
Wilson etc.etc. Could it be that these bans are not relevant to them?

Dan Clost
The Good Earth Columnist
dan.clost@sympatico.ca

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <KTCopsey@aol.com>
To: <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 9:34 PM
Subject: Re: [GWL] Food for thought

>
> In a message dated 1/31/2006 4:12:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> tom@growingedge.com writes:
>
> In  Mendocino county, CA. voters passed overwhelmingly ballot measures
> that not only ban growing GMOs in their county but a strict labeling
> law on products grown elsewhere but sold in the county. Now the GMO
> companies are lobbying in the state legislature to prohibit counties
> from doing just that
>
>
> I am not going to comment on this issue seeing as many people have already
> from both sides.  What does strike me though is the idea that the people
> cannot be heard.  For many years the link of mercury in children's 
> vaccines  has
> been an issue that started at ground level knowledge and disputed by big
> government bodies claiming that it did or did not 'cause' autism (another 
> subject
> that I am not going to comment on).  It has taken years to get  someone's
> attention but it does happen.  Eventually the public  opinion/minority 
> involved
> does get noticed and the science does get  scrutinized.  GMOs will get 
> their time
> to truly justify their worth-  perhaps not as quickly as some of us would
> like, and hopefully before too  many incidents have fallen prey.  In the 
> case of
> autism it was a senator  whose grandchild was diagnosed with autism. 
> Maybe we
> will need to have a  full scale disaster before anti- GMO legislation is
> sponsored by prominent  politicians.
>
> What really strikes as strange though is that  clearly many/most  of us 
> are
> organically inclined and do not promote chemicals, so how did the 
> commercial
> companies brainwash the subdivision owner to  contaminate  the waterways?? 
> That
> predates any of this GMO stuff.  How do we educate  them without coming
> across as left wing preachers or weirdos?????
>
> Kate  Copsey
> Freelance Garden Writer
> Herbs, Historic Gardens
> Pittsburgh,  PA
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