Looking at the bananas in the grocery store, I have wondered if organic bananas are worth the extra few cents they cost. After all, you peel the skin off the banana, right? What difference does it make? The answer is it makes a lot of difference. It matters to the birds that use the banana grove and to the workers who have to spend time applying and living with the pesticides. In Costa Rica, banana plantations typically apply forty-five kilograms of active ingredients of pesticides per hectare.
It is now approaching half a century since Rachel Carson’s landmark book, Silent Spring, was published in September of 1962. At one time, DDT was a household chemical. It was advertised in national magazines as just the thing for the happy wife. Carson’s book spearheaded a movement that eventually led to the banning of DDT in North America, yet DDT, a fat-soluable pesticide lives on in the food chain. Testing has found that its breakdown product, DDE, is found in the blood-stream of nearly everyone across North America, years after DDT was banned.
The types of pesticides used have changed since DDT, but we are using more pesticides than ever. Birds are in as much danger today as in the 1950s because modern pesticides are more lethal. Many pesticides that are acutely toxic to birds, such as chlorpyrifos and diazinon, are used widely on vegetable and fruit crops in the United States and Canada.
Pesticide use is even heavier in Central and South American countries. Pesticides that are regulated or banned in the U.S. may still be used and farmers often don’t have sufficient training to apply pesticides safely. Pesticide use is heavy because farmers spray pesticides according to a regular schedule, rather than as needed to treat a specific problem.
The top five crops in the United States that pose the greatest risk for pesticide poisoning of songbirds at the local level are Brussel sprouts, celery, cranberries, cabbage and potatoes. You can help to reduce the use of pesticides that threaten birds by purchasing organic produce at your grocery store. It’s better for you and your family, and its much better for birds and other wildlife.
If you feel that shade-grown coffee, which does come with a premium price tag, it too much for your budget, consider buying organic, fair trade coffee as the next best choice. Nabob brand coffee is working with the Rainforest Alliance to produce sustainable coffee and is a good choice for consumers looking to make a difference with their coffee dollars. Look for Nabob Rainforest Alliance certified cans.
Oh, well done! My mother rolls her eyes at me when I get on the organic food hobby horse, but y’know, I grew up with Dad reading Organic Gardening Magazine and eating all our own veg. I was raised to recycle, compost, etc. So now in their old age, why does Mom find my expanding on this organic theme objectionable? Who knows! I’m always glad to see someone else stand up for it!
No one likes to be told that their comfortable, easy habits are destructive. Easier to think that doing nothing is the neutral option, or that your actions won’t make a difference anyway.
I opt out of bananas around here anyway as they come from so far away, but my housemate is a fan so we sometimes have them around. The rest of our produce comes from our CSA (except a couple of things like mushrooms) which was recently certified organic!
http://lakefieldorganics.com/about-our-farming/
(they have a good FAQ on organic/CSA food too!)
I’ll be looking for occasional organic things in the winter though, I guess… these piles of squash will only last so long.
Ellen, it’s nice you had a good example to look to, anyway. My family were non-gardeners/ non-nature people, except my grandfather. I don’t remember him ever spraying plants.
You’re right, Fiddlegirl, they don’t like to be reminded and tend not to believe you. The facts are very easy to ignore, too.
Well said. I also look for the organic certification but also look at where it came from and how it is produced/manufactured. Unfortunately there is a lot to consider and think about when purchasing food products but in the end, once you consider everything, you just have to make it a habit.
It’s true that there are a number of variables to consider. One can only try to be as aware as possible. Thanks for your comment, Rex.
I love your theme, is it custom?
Andy, no, it’s just one of the choices available through WordPress.
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