Pesticides are Poisoning You! - How One Farmer Turned Trial Into Triumph With Organic Crops


We are constantly being told by companies such as Monsanto, that the pesticides used in more conventional farming are harmless, but this farmer disagrees.

Farmer Jim Cochran decide to stop using pesticides and go 100% natural after he found he was being poisoned by the chemicals he was using on his crops.  Jim Cochran now runs the first large-scale organic strawberry farm, after quitting using pesticides 35 years ago. In 1981 Jim noticed a change when he started growing conventional strawberries, and using pesticides like everyone else did.

He said  “My eyes started to water, and I started to get all jittery,” he went on. “I said ‘Oh boy, this is not good stuff…We have to get away from this stuff.”

Jim now owns Swanton Berry Farm, that attracts many visitors due to it's organic status. Organic strawberry farms are extremely rare in the US.

He now uses beneficial bugs, single row planting, crop rotations, and other classic techniques to help grow his strawberries, all methods which have been out-dated but Jim has found them to be very successful.

Jim has been active in trying to make people realize the importance of staying away from pesticides and exposing the conventional market for what it is. He has revealed that one acre of non-organic strawberries uses 300 pounds of pesticides, which is about 1,100 percent more than most crops. 
Many of the pesticides used on strawberries have been shown to be harmful, with methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and Telone (1,3-D) have all been linked to cancer, developmental problems, and hormone disruption.

Margaret Reeves, PhD the Senior Scientist with Pesticide Action Network has warned that current regulations are not enough; with “over 5.5 million pounds of chloropicrin” used in California alone. The strawberries were found to have over 54 different pesticides, all of which are harmful to humans and the environment.

Cochran is one a kind in his field. Many other farmers are sticking with conventional methods, knowingly selling strawberries they know are contaminated with harmful chemicals for the sake of a little more profit.

What do you think? Post your comments below.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Cost of Our Comfort and Convenience

Image
Our insatiable desire for ease and luxury is driving a global crisis in food, water, and climate. We can't simply throw money at the problem and hope it goes away. It's time for us to take responsibility for our actions and make real changes in our daily lives. We must reduce our carbon footprint, use resources more responsibly, and prioritize sustainability. The cost of our comfort and convenience is too high to ignore any longer. In the United States, depending on where you live, everything is dropped in your lap. Food can be quickly acquired by shouting your order into a microphone and driving around a building, all without you having to leave your car. And if you live in a larger town or city, with the advent of services like GrubHub and DoorDash, the food delivered to your home is no longer the domain of pizza chains. You can have your choice of practically any restaurant in town brought right to your door within 45 minutes. But it isn’t just about food. Instacart offers p...
Read more

Innovative Glass Roof Tiles Heat Your Home With Solar Energy

Image
High-efficiency is slowly becoming a prerequisite for homes, not a fab anymore. People choosing to resort to more eco-friendly alternatives have pushed innovation to a more accessible standard. Solar heating for example can be both efficient and stylish with these Glass Roof Tiles.  Made by SolTech System, this combination of technology with ecology brings all home owners a definite advantage and makes them choose environmental-friendly materials often. The important thing to know about this particular type of roof tile is that it doesn’t need bright sunshine in order to function at high parameters.  Check out how the entire system works from the following presentation and get a clearer picture of what a high-efficient home should look like. And be certain technological innovation has a beneficial effect on our lifestyles. MORE >>
Read more

Corporate greenwashing

We often hear corporate politicians making grand statements about their efforts to end climate change. However, it is disheartening to see that most of it is just greenwashing. But let's not forget, they are not the only problem. We, the people, keep electing incompetent, self-serving, privileged bureaucrats and fail to hold them accountable. It's time to take responsibility for our role in causing climate change and demand action from our elected officials. We can't keep pointing fingers, it's time to hold ourselves accountable. It is a common claim among marketing companies and corporations that they are concerned about the environment. However, if this were truly the case, they would make it their priority to do everything they can to fulfil all their claims starting by eliminating all needless packaging and work with  every supermarket and big box store to  provide state-of-the-art recycling centers and make them as convenient to use as finding cases of disposabl...
Read more