The Editor,
Re. "PoMo should reconsider its position on pesticides" (Letters, The Tri-City News, Feb. 4).
Ted Menzies, president of CropLife Canada, points out the same arguments we have heard for the past 60 years on the issue of pesticide use: Any position on pesticides that does not favour pesticide use is, as Menzies said, "quite frankly misinformed."
That's quite an opinion and condescending to people who care about healthy food and gardens. We are not misinformed, Mr. Menzies, we simply value the health of our children and Mother Earth more than we value your companies' profits.
For those who do not know, CropLife Canada is the public relations body representing manufacturers of poisonous pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
You'll never hear Mr. Menzies or any other pesticide manufacturer talk about "insect or plant resistance to pesticides" brought on by increased spraying of pesticides into the environment, allowing organisms to mutate and develop genetic resistance to pesticides.
Mr. Menzies also avoided the issues around current research suggesting links between pesticides and diseases like autism, cancer, digestion, allergies, birth defects and bee death. Those realities do not even touch on the research that has found pesticide-related population declines in animals, birds, bees and soil life around the world.
The long-term poisonous affects of pesticides are only truly discovered by real world use in our yards, on our fruits and vegetables and in the exposure our children receive.
It's important to remember that Health Canada knowingly sets "pesticides residue limits" on our fruits, and vegetables - meaning pesticide manufacturers and Health Canada have decided how much poisonous pesticide residue humans should consume and be exposed to in the environment.
CropLife would probably like to have a cosmetic pesticide ban struck down so it could use it as the thin edge of the wedge to change other similar bylaws, thereby increasing pesticide sales. But insecticides have already been shown to be ineffective at controlling chafer grubs due to life cycle issues and depth of the grub in the soil.
Port Moody Mayor Mike Clay has shown how out of touch he is with the worldwide grassroots movement towards healthy food and environments when suggesting chafer grubs be dealt with by allowing pesticide spraying.
Chafer grub infestation is a result of too much grass being planted, allowing a large food supply for chafers. The use of excessive fertilizer and poor growing techniques also contributes to infestation.
If you do not want chafer damage, don't grow grass, or at least not so much of it. Plant something helpful to the world like a veggie garden, shrubs, beds or perennials.
Turf research has shown that longer grass, organically grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, is less susceptible to chafer attack. Closely clipped, highly manicured and chemically fertilized lawns are more susceptible to chafer grub infestation.
We must use intelligence, not chemical products, to solve the chafer grub problem. And we must change our antiquated perception of the usefulness of a lawn.
Todd Major, Port Coquitlam
