• Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Yes, if they are even used. Many organic farms don’t use anything and/or use considerably less toxic versions to control pests.

      When i was able to afford organic produce on a regular basis , i was getting them from a place that sourced from local farms, and none used pesticides at the time. Sure, you find the occasional bug in your lettuce here and there, but nothing that a good wash couldn’t fix. 😂

      • Dearche@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Local farmers, sure. But from what I know, industrial farmers all use pesticides unless if it’s grown indoors. And a lot of the organic pesticides are more dangerous than artificial ones. Especially since the farmers need to use more.

        • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          I don’t believe they are more dangerous, unless the research found otherwise in the last 10 years.

          But i cant speak to the industrial side of things, since i was buying local.

          • Dearche@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            I don’t remember which one, but I have read about two different organic pesticides that were particularly dangerous. One had high mercury levels, and the other had something about it that made it illegal to use outright in the EU, but was legally used in the US.

            It’s been a while since I heard about this sort of stuff, as organic was only starting to become mainstream when I had originally heard about them.

            • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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              1 year ago

              It’s been a while since I heard about this sort of stuff, as organic was only starting to become mainstream when I had originally heard about them.

              So like 30 years? Organic stuff was getting popular in the late eighties. Maybe it’s time to brush up again lol

              • Dearche@lemmy.ca
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                1 year ago

                About ten I think. Organic was still pretty niche before then, and only really started to come to mainstream about then, not just foodies and environmentalists.

            • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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              1 year ago

              Yes, I’m sure when the organic biz started to get mainstream attention, there were either some bad actors trying to make a quick buck, or simply not enough data into what was being used, so it wouldn’t surprise me if that happened back then.

              But honestly, as long as there are billions to be made, someone will be trying to fly under the radar by using highly toxic stuff which may produce a higher yielding crop. This could be especially true when you have big corporations buying up smaller (and previously ethical ones) to become a monopoly in the space. God knows what deals they make behind closed doors.

          • Dearche@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            Possibly. But indoor produce is less likely to use any sort of pesticide or fungicide, as they are lightly sealed environments.

            I won’t say zero, as of course fungi are much harder to keep outside compared to insects, but indoor farms are quite controlled to maximize production. I imagine that fungal infections are much likely to occur for most produce, with only some specific ones being particularly vulnerable depending on the location.

            • girlfreddy@mastodon.social
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              1 year ago

              @Dearche

              I’ve worked in greenhouses, growing seedlings for tree planting, vegetables and flowers. We used fungicide almost all of the time.

              Insecticide was rarely used.

              But glysophates were never used as that’s a herbicide. The most common one is Bayer-Monsanto’s Round-Up and used on 98% of GMO crops in Canada.

              Bayer-Monsanto has been working hard to keep it on the market (even tho New Brunswick has been finding evidence that it may be the cause of an illness killing people there).