"Pesticides.. Ain't Killed No One"...

Yep, Believe it or not... that's what the guy said!
So the whole story... my family and I went to the WNC Farmer's Market.. the BIG one in town.. the one run by the state... not one of the many small farmer ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) sponsored ones at the Health Food Store parking lots or the City Market where organic growing methods are common and a general understanding that natural and organic methods are important for so many reasons!
This Farmers Market is sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. We went in search of a bulk quantity of apples, peaches and gourds...
Well it was amazing! First we explored the retail barns.. NO organics... some heirloom tomatoes but nothing touting it's organically grown and natural methods..
Then we moved on to the Watermelon and Peach area which for some reason also has pumpkins... It was clear to me that the lack of signs about ORGANIC, meant that everything was conventionally grown..
I spoke with one fellow who was selling gourds and pumpkins... When I asked him about pesticides... he told me that it was me NOT possible to grow pumpkins without spraying them...
Well, I have some lovelies that we harvested that very day from my garden... beautiful pumpkins WITHOUT spraying of any kind! Nothing!
Then we moved onto the barns. Lots of vendors....not a single mention of ORGANIC!
By this time I had sworn off the peaches I wanted.. I have been dreaming of peach butter.. but if I am going to put in the time and effort to make and preserve peach butter... well... I am going to do it with organically grown produce...
David just wanted apples that he did not have to pay $2/pound for... which is what the conventional ones are in our local grocery store.. So there he is buying a box for $12. a deal!
But I say to the guy selling them, "So are there pesticides used on these apples?"
"Of course" he says.
I say, "Well, that's too bad."
He continues, "Pesticides are safe, Ain't killed no one... look at all of the people walking around!"...
Do you believe it?? By this time, I am almost speechless...
But I manage to say, "Depends on how you measure the dead."
This interaction has given me alot to think about! So just how DO we measure the cost of pesticide use...it is SO about the poisoning of our planet... Our water, our air, our soil...
these are all things that are necessary for life... all life!
Your life, my life, the lives of our pets and food animals, and yes... even those who are unwilling to believe that there is a problem!
The more we degrade our soils with chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer, the less we actually can produce from that land. And unhealthy land yields unhealthy life!
How do we measure the dead.... if we don't want to look at those who are in their actual graves .. how about the walking dead... those with cancer and other unexplained deteriorative illnesses.. what is it that causes these and many other diseases? Who knows... but my money is on the untold multitude of chemical inputs to our bodies that we ingest through the foods we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink and the drugs we take in, both on purpose and those in our food supply and water supply...
Think about it... "Ain't killed no one..." I say again.... it depends on how you measure dead!