RSPB resigns from government’s pesticides forum after chemical use soars

I saw this earlier today.

RSPB resigns from government’s pesticides forum after chemical use soars 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/04/18/rspb-resigns-governments-pesticides-forum-chemical-use-soars/

  • Thanks for this interesting news article Mike, you've only to look at the dramatic decline in bees to see what harm wide use of chemicals cause; the public are also to blame wanting 100% perfect looking vegetables without any blemishes. Years ago the natural method of leaving birds to remove insects from field crops was far more sensible; we would just remove any grub/insect bitten bits and eat the rest of the vegetable ! Chemicals also end up in waterways and spraying seems to have become the norm. Allergies, respiratory problems are also on the increase so about time less pesticides were used and we relied more on nature.

  • Y

    You're welcome Hazel.

    It isn't just the public, the EU had a big part to blame in their regulations dictating the perfect vegetable, fruit and other foods shape and size.

    I'm all for fair play when it comes to standards, but dictating how nature should provide our food is very OTT.
    Personally, I.m not worried if my bananas are curved, straight, wonky or whatever, so long as they're edible, tomatoes don't have to be perfectly round, so long as they're edible.

    I'm also against GM, nature has it's own controls and we need to learn to utilise them to the best for all living species.

    Perhaps I'm just an old fuddy duddy....

    One scary factor in today's society, underground horticulture, which is proving very successful, growing plants under artificial conditions, no insects, no need for pesticides, no need for countryside!

    https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/opinion-londons-underground-farm-like

    http://growing-underground.com/

    https://www.citylab.com/life/2015/07/inside-londons-new-subterranean-urban-farm/397454/

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/agriculture/farming/11706406/Londons-first-underground-farm-opens-in-WW2-air-raid-shelter.html

  • Perhaps I'm stuck in the "old school" of methods as my dad was a gardener by trade and grew a lot of our own food but all I can say is the fruit/vegetables used to taste a lot better those days when there was no major "interference" with crops, especially GM. We had a lot more birds eating the insects and pollinating insects such as bees were abundant. Seems we have to sacrifice a lot including taste for perfectly shaped crops :( Perhaps I'm just getting old and behind the times and I guess with population explosion we need faster methods of growing without waste but dinners tasted a lot nicer back in the good ole days.

  • Hazel, then you and I both share the same thoughts, because I'm very old skool.....

    Sorry I've been so long in replying, I've been very busy between work, family and hospital, all positive stuff I'm happy to report.

    I might be a bit too cynical, but I feel the govt wants to just build housing and have service businesses, at the expense of everything else. Underground horticulture would solve the land problem, and I guess if nature suffers Armageddon, then as a species, we could continue to exist.

    By that time, I'll not be around to see such devastation.

    Yes we need to rethink our environmental policies, but more importantly, the govt need to walk the walk, as well as talk the talk, which they're not, unless it's money spinning...