I’m a teaching assistant (aka- student grader) for one of the Agriculture and the Environment classes offered at Illinois State University, and today we went over organic farming, touching on the topic of pesticides used in the organic farming industry. Wait, what? Pesticides? I thought organic farming meant that there were no pesticides used?
As it turns out, pesticides are used in organic farming. But they’re a different kind of pesticide than what is used in conventional farming. Organic farmers are allowed to use any naturally occurring pesticide. Natural in this context means that it is derived from ingredients found naturally on our planet and will eventually break down into its natural ingredients. Remember organic chemistry? Same terminology.
One example of a natural pesticide commonly used in the organic farming industry is copper sulfate. While copper sulfate is made from naturally-occurring ingredients, it doesn’t mean that it’s the “perfect” pesticide. It is toxic to humans, meaning that you could get sick by inhaling it, accidentally eating or drinking it, or getting it on your skin. That’s not saying that if you eat an organic product, you are going to be eating copper sulfate. All crops, whether conventional or organic, must go through a withdrawal period. A withdrawal period is the time between the last pesticide application and harvest. This protects consumers. That’s also why you should always wash fresh produce- besides, there could be some dirt on your lettuce and that would be gross.
Unfortunately, many natural pesticides are not as effective as synthetic pesticides. Synthetic pesticides are not okay to use if you want to market your product as organic. However, synthetic pesticides are generally more effective and require fewer applications to get the job done. Since farmers have to pay for the pesticides, it is less expensive and makes more sense for them to go this route unless they are receiving a premium for their organic products.
The point here is not to discuss how horrible or awesome pesticides are or that GMOs are bad. I’m trying to show you why you need to be an educated consumer. Be aware of the marketing practices and advertising tactics that are out there (check out another post on this topic here). Understand that an organic label does not imply that the product is pesticide-free. If you are interested in pesticide-free products, look for a label that specifically indicates that.
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