Introduction To Organic Pesticides

6 key questions, understanding is really organic.

What is organic farming?

With the invention of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides, today's conventional farming methods already use a large amount of these chemicals. Although these things can produce quick results, they are harmful to the human body, pollute the environment, disrupt the ecology, and aggravate soil erosion, causing the soil fertility to continue to decline. In addition, the current research on genetically modified organisms has not yet reached a mature stage, and there are still many controversial aspects. It has been found that some genetically modified organisms may harm human health and the ecological environment. As consumers pay more attention to the environment and health, the demand for organic products continues to increase.

On the homepage of the Produce Green Foundation website, the slogan displayed is "Only with healthy soil can we have healthy food and people can live a healthy life."

Plants are infected with insects, what should I do?

If the soil becomes more fertile each time, there will be fewer pests and diseases in it, and the plants will become healthier. Conventional farming methods use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Pesticide is like a war, and the result is often lose-lose. Therefore, organic farming does not advocate killing insects. We believe that insects are our best friends and those of plants, because they allow us to understand the health of plants. If plants grow insects, it means that the 4 major elements for plant growth (organic fertilizers, minerals, sunlight, and microorganisms) are imbalanced and need to be improved. If you use pesticides, you won't know the true health of the plant, and you won't be able to prescribe the right medicine.

Organic Pest and Weed Management

Many people have long been accustomed to believe that the only way to deal with pests is to use something to kill them. So they speculated that organic farms would use safer natural pesticides to replace those dangerous and toxic chemicals. But in fact, prevention is the focus of managing diseases, pests and weeds in organic farming. When the problem becomes serious, some physical, biological methods, or natural pesticides will be used to control it. The preventive measures adopted by organic farms are not the kind of insect-free pesticides or pesticides applied every few days (even those allowed in organic farming), but rather the creation of a healthy growing environment for crops.

Commonly used preventive measures include: providing crops with balanced nutrients, sufficient water, appropriate planting density, etc. These methods can ensure the healthy growth of crops, thereby inhibiting the reproduction of pests and directly or indirectly reducing pest damage. In addition, planting and harvesting at the right time to avoid the time when pests are most common can also reduce pest infestations. You can also choose varieties that are resistant to insects and diseases. This information will be found in seed packets or seed catalogs. Also, maintain environmental hygiene and remove field weeds, harvest residues, fallen fruits, etc. as soon as possible to reduce pest parasitism.

chemical pesticides

In Hong Kong, except for those produced on organic farms, almost 100% of the crops have been sprayed with chemical pesticides, and almost 100% of the livestock have been vaccinated against diseases. According to a local vegetable farmer, when he produces cabbage in summer, he usually applies chemical pesticides 4-5 times during the planting period of about 20-30 days. If there is an insect outbreak, it will be applied every 3 days until harvest. This calculation does not include fungicides on the seeds and herbicides applied to control weeds before planting. In fact, are these pesticides safe for humans and effective in controlling pests?

Are chemical pesticides safe?

According to a 2001 report by the World Health Organization, in seven developing countries in Southeast Asia, from 1996 to 2000, approximately 120,000 people were hospitalized due to pesticide poisoning each year on a proportional basis, and about 5% of the deaths were related to pesticide poisoning. Related to pesticide poisoning2. Since around 1987-88, "poisonous vegetable incidents" have occurred in Hong Kong. In the incident, some farmers abused or misused chemical pesticides, causing excessive pesticide residues to remain on the vegetables, poisoning those who ate them. But even if farmers follow safety standards and use them carefully, chemical pesticides may still cause danger to the environment and humans.

When pesticides are applied, a small amount will stick to the surface of plants and insects, while the rest will float in the wind, some will enter rivers or groundwater, and the largest part will enter the soil. No matter which route it takes, it will pollute the environment. These pesticides will pass through different channels and finally have the opportunity to enter the human body. The trace residues that humans have ingested from the environment and food for a long time may also be harmful to the human body when they accumulate to a certain amount in the human body. Now, more and more scientific reports point out that chemical pesticides are linked to many diseases, including cancer, infertility, Parkinson's disease and polyneuropathies.

"Organic = zero detection of pesticides?" Answers to your 6 major myths about organic

Organic = zero detection of pesticides?

Taiwan's organic agriculture is regulated by "zero detection" of pesticide residues, which is the strictest in the world. However, many experts question whether zero detection is really the core value of organic?

"It is impossible to have zero detection in organic products," Zheng Zhengyong, an emeritus professor at the Department of Horticulture at National Taiwan University who has been promoting organic farming for many years, said firmly. He pointed out that as the earth rotates, it is impossible to prevent air pollution from spreading everywhere. With the increasing advancement of science and technology, the detection limit is getting smaller and smaller. Requiring zero detection is equivalent to looking at all products with a magnifying glass. No matter how hard farmers try, they may Because of the background value of environmental pollution, all previous efforts have been wasted, which has deterred interested farmers and is not conducive to the promotion of organic agriculture.

Going back to the original intention of organic, the definition of organic agriculture is: "Organic agriculture is a management system that adheres to the principle of recycling and sustainable utilization of natural resources, does not allow the use of synthetic chemicals, emphasizes the conservation of water and soil resources and ecological balance, and achieves the production of natural and safe agricultural products. Agriculture with a goal.” In other words, organic is a management method that takes into account environmental protection, ecological sustainability, and food safety, and does not just pursue the purity of agricultural products themselves.

Even the United States, which has vast land and is relatively easy to set up isolation zones, still dares not set a zero-detection policy. Instead, it sets a standard of "pesticide residues in organic agriculture being 5% of the safe value." Zheng Zhengyong believes that this is in line with It is a realistic and feasible approach. Chen Baoji, chairman of the Committee of Agriculture, also promised to review within six months whether the practice of zero detection of pesticide residues in organic agricultural products is reasonable.

Are chemical pesticides effective? How exactly does resistance develop?

Explain with an example. Suppose there are 100 "certain beetles" in the field. They are eyeing the 100 vegetables in the field, so someone tries to kill them with their hands. However, three of these insects are born a little different from the others. They are particularly flat and can There is an empty space in the palm of the hand to escape, and it has a protective color, so it is not easy to be discovered. The characteristics of these three insects have always existed in this beetle group, but they have always been only a minority. But when a strong screening pressure exists, their proportions change. If the person who was trying to kill the beetles was very diligent and killed 97 beetles in one night, leaving only three particularly flat and protective ones, the entire insect population would become 100% resistant in an instant. Sex. These three beetles are no longer afraid of foreign enemies (the ones who want to shoot them to death), and they have a large supply of food, so they can reproduce in large numbers without restraint, and the offspring they give birth to are all resistant to them. If that person is not so diligent, the speed at which the beetle develops resistance will slow down accordingly.

In China, it usually takes eight years to invent a pesticide from the beginning of research to successful testing. But insects can develop resistance in a very short period of time. The fastest recorded is 8 months, generally 1.5-2 years. This is a chemical war that will never be won, so why continue?

Can we distinguish  "organic vegetables" by surface?

Can we tell the difference between "organic food" and "inorganic food" based on appearance alone? But I'm very sorry, appearance alone, even with chemical pesticide testing, is not enough to determine whether a vegetable is "organic" or "inorganic"! Perhaps occasionally, some varieties of "organic vegetables" have wormholes; perhaps occasionally, some "organic vegetables" have uneven shapes. But many times, there is not much difference in appearance between "organic vegetables" and "inorganic vegetables". Moreover, "organic vegetables" are also likely to have insect holes or uneven appearance. In addition, each pesticide test also has its limits, and it is impossible to detect all pesticides used. A test can generally only detect one type of pesticide or category of pesticides, and if the residue level is low enough, it cannot be detected. What "organic farming" requires is not low pesticide residues, but no chemical pesticides at all. Therefore, even if no pesticide residue is detected, it does not mean that it is "organic". If consumers want to buy organic products, they should find farmers they know well or products with organic certification.

Are organic fruits and vegetables really uglier?

Since chemical pesticides cannot be sprayed, organic fruits and vegetables used to give people the impression that they were full of insect holes and looked poor in appearance. However, with the advancement of biotechnology, in addition to the most labor-intensive and time-consuming manual pest control, organic farmers can also use biological techniques to prevent and control insects. Insect damage, therefore, today’s organic vegetables cannot be based on the number of insect holes as a criterion.

However, because no chemical fertilizers are used and no chemicals are used during transportation to keep their appearance bright, organic fruits and vegetables are usually smaller in size than agricultural products produced using conventional farming methods. Although they look inconspicuous, their taste is fuller and more solid.

Are organic foods more nutritious?

There are different opinions on whether organic agricultural products contain more nutrients. However, Taiwan has done research. From 2008 to 2014, there were at least 9 similar integrated analysis reports, all of which mentioned that food produced by conventional (non-organic) farming methods contains more bad ingredients. A few of them analyzed that poultry meat There are more antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In the analysis of health-beneficial ingredients, six of the articles concluded that organic food has more beneficial ingredients. Although the conclusions of the other three articles did not directly exalt the benefits of organic, they pointed out in the article that the total phenolic compounds and phosphorus content of organic food were both Significantly higher, the unsaturated fatty acid Omega 3 of meat is also significantly higher, and vitamins A and C are slightly higher. Therefore, in summary, organic food contains less harmful substances such as pesticides, antibiotics, and nitrates, and more health-promoting substances, which shows that eating organic food is indeed beneficial to maintaining good health.

What is the difference between organic, non-toxic, and natural farming methods?

Modern people pay attention to health care, but when purchasing agricultural products, they are often confused by terms such as organic, non-toxic, and natural, and they do not know how to distinguish the differences.

"Organic" is a legal term. In addition to the production process of not spraying pesticides, applying chemical fertilizers, using antibiotics, and not damaging the ecology, it must also be certified by a verification unit and labeled in accordance with the law in order to be considered a qualified organic product.

"Non-toxic" has a wider scope. In principle, organic cultivation methods should still be used to produce agriculture, fishery and livestock industries without chemical residues. However, since it has not been certified by a verification unit, there is no label.

There are many schools of "natural farming", such as: regenerative farming, Xiu Ming farming, KKF farming, BD farming, etc. The common principle is to cultivate according to the laws of nature, including following the seasons, not applying chemical fertilizers, and relying on nature to support each other. By reducing pests and diseases and eliminating the need for herbicides, the land can be restored to its original activity. The biggest difference from organic farming is that organic fertilizers can be applied in organic farming, but practitioners of natural farming don’t even use organic fertilizers.

How to buy real organic products? What is the difference between organic and certified organic?

Organic: Organic agricultural products have been verified by an organic certification authority. The products should have an organic agricultural product label or certification label. Imported products must be reviewed and qualified and have an organic labeling document.

Bulk organic agricultural products are marked with a sign indicating the product name and origin, and a copy of the verification certificate of the organic agricultural product is displayed in a conspicuous place.

Organic vegetables have no pesticide residues, so they are best eaten raw?

Although organic vegetables are less likely to cause concerns about pesticide residues, there is still a risk of parasite contamination when eaten raw.

How to buy groceries more safely?

To buy completely pesticide-free vegetables, you can only buy organic vegetables. However, the supply of organic vegetables is still limited. Therefore, there are several principles for buying vegetables for your reference to reduce the amount of contact with pesticides:

(1) Specially buy vegetables with insects:

Fruits and vegetables that have been bitten by insects probably have less pesticides.

(2) Not eating if they are not in season:

For all fruits and vegetables that are in season, because the season is suitable and the crops are growing vigorously, there are the fewest pests and the amount of pesticides is also the lightest. On the contrary, when growing vegetables out of season, such as cabbage cabbage in summer, there are many pests and the dosage of insecticides will naturally be high. No matter how you grow cabbage and cabbage in summer, they are not as strong and delicious as those in winter. The characteristics of current crops are flatness, abundance and beauty. According to these three principles, selling vegetables will be much safer.

(3) Don’t buy expensive vegetables:

Whenever the price of vegetables suddenly rises (for example, when a typhoon arrives), vegetable farmers often cannot resist the temptation to cut and sell fruits that should not be harvested within a few days after being sprayed with pesticides. Those pesticides could have automatically disintegrated or washed away. It is sold after the toxicity is reduced, but if it is harvested early, consumers will suffer.

(4) Know what to avoid:

Some fruits and vegetables are particularly pest-prone, so buy them as little as possible (especially avoid ordering them in restaurants), such as cabbage, cabbage, kale, broccoli, yellow-toothed cabbage, cauliflower, etc. In addition, some vegetables have fewer pests and you can eat more of them with confidence, such as celery, celery, leeks, onions, garlic, lettuce, spinach, amaranth, spinach, Junda vegetables, etc. Fruits with thick and hard skins are safer to eat only after peeling them, such as bananas and coconuts.

(5) Beware of odor:

Put the fruits and vegetables in front of your nose and smell them carefully. If there is any peculiar smell, thank them.