Pesticides, exposed

Plus alternative methods

By Culinate staff

December 15, 2010

And now, the latest in agricultural chemical news:

• In an effort to phase out the ozone-destroying pesticide methyl bromide, the state of California has approved the use of the cancer-causing pesticide methyl iodide.
• In a Wikileaks-style exposé, Tom Philpott reported on Grist that the Environmental Protection Agency has allowed the use of clothianidin, a pesticide commonly used in corn, despite knowing that the chemical was deadly to the all-important honey bee.

But then there are the hopeful rebuttals, both from the New York Times:

• A report on how organic farmers are working to combat bugs via integrated pest management instead of chemicals, and
• An article on the growing trend of urban beekeeping, a practice literally removed from the vast swathes of pesticided farmland.