Pesticide use in Ojai
Prior to my arrival in Ojai, I had zero knowledge regarding the detrimental impact that pesticides have on our environment. After living at Full Circle Farm, I became aware of the enormous hidden costs of pesticide use and became a staunch economic supporter (voting with my dollar) of organic food. Farmer and the Cook -located in Meiners Oaks - took me to the next level; combining 100% percent organic food along with supporting and encouraging locally grown produce. After fully embracing these life sustaining practices, I'd heard thru word of mouth that Ojai used more pesticides than anywhere else in Ventura County. But, after some researching, I found that this heresay was unfounded...
According to the organization: Californians for Pesticide Reform, Ojai ranks at the bottom. Meanwhile, Ojai Unified School District lists all the pesticides that are used on school grounds here. The one that I am familiar with is RoundUp.
| Permalink | author bio | 
Comments (6)
Roundup is an herbicide, not a pesticide. It is used as a weed killer and to eradicate invasive plants. It is not used to control insects. However allowing excess Roundup to run into waterways can have very harmful effects on amphibians such as frogs.
Finding other ways to control insects and invasive plants without the use chemiclas is of course the optimal choice!
Comment #1 Posted by: Adele S. | December 27, 2006 11:15 AM
Thank you for the correction, Adele. I'd love for Ojai to become completely free of herbicides and pesticides. Is this goal too lofty? Are there any organic towns out there?
Comment #2 Posted by: Michael Didj | December 27, 2006 01:31 PM
You may be interested in reading what they are doing in Santa Barbara. They have a Integrated Pest Management program, which includes pesticide free parks.
Comment #3 Posted by: Kenley Neufeld | December 27, 2006 03:36 PM
RoundUp carries the additional distinction of being produced by Monsanto of agricultural nightmare fame. check out The Future Of Food for a really intriguing look at the whole issue of herbicides, pesticides, biotech industries, genetically modified and trademarked organisms, the incestuous role of the Agricultural Department, and the move toward organics.
Comment #4 Posted by: evan | December 27, 2006 03:50 PM
Be careful about so-called Integrated Pest Management or IPM. This term [acronym] does not at all mean no pesticide use. It is just what it says it is; pesticides integrated with other less obtrusive management approaches. Some companies that market what they call IPM still reley almost entirely on chemical pesticide use and almost no biological control of pests and diseases.
Comment #5 Posted by: Mark E. Schneider | December 28, 2006 06:36 AM
from the Organic Consumers Association:
MONSANTO'S PESTICIDE BREEDING GIANT SUPERWEEDS
The discovery of a pesticide-resistant weed that can grow up to 10 feet tall has cotton farmers in the Southern U.S. worried. "It is potentially the worst threat since the boll weevil," said Alan York, a weed scientist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The boll weevil destroyed cotton crops in the early 1900s and caused farmers to switch to alternatives such as peanuts, until the beetle was eradicated in some states 70 years later. Now a new adversary has arrived: a pesticide- Resistant pigweed, known as Palmer amaranth, which has been confirmed in 10 North Carolina counties, four Georgia counties and is suspected in Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas. In Georgia, amaranth literally took over some fields and the cotton had to be cut down, rather than harvested. Scientist blame the pesticide resistance on the overuse of Monsanto's Roundup (glyphosate). "This is something we do look at very seriously," said Monsanto representative Michelle Starke.
Learn more here.
Comment #6 Posted by: evan | December 31, 2006 09:06 AM