DDT Ban Takes Effect
”December 31, 1972:- A persistent, broad-spectrum
compound often termed the "miracle" pesticide; DDT came
into wide agricultural and commercial usage in this
country in the late 1940’s. During the past 30 years,
approximately 675,000 tons have been applied
domestically. The peak year for use in the United States
was 1959 when nearly 80 million pounds were applied.
From that high point, usage declined steadily to about
13 million pounds in 1971, most of it applied to cotton.
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The general use of the pesticide DDT will no longer be
legal in the United States after today, ending nearly
three decades of application during which time the
once-popular chemical was used to control insect pests
on crop and forest lands, around homes and gardens, and
for industrial and commercial purposes. An end to the
continued domestic usage of the pesticide was decreed on
June 14, 1972”.
EPA press release - December 31, 1972
Hazardous to Your Health!
Without doubt, consuming products contaminated by
harmful pesticides is hazardous to human health. There
are increased risks of cancer, reproductive problems and
neurological damage. The pesticides and herbicides in
commercially grown foods can cause serious toxicity
which may contribute to the development of degenerative
diseases, especially in children.
When scientists, in one study, combined 3 different
pesticides they found that in combination these
pesticides caused much more damage than they would have
if tested individually.
Hazardous to the Earth!
Then there are the hazards to the Earth itself! As Bill
Mollison says in his book, Introduction to
Permaculture, “Conventionally, farming does not
recognize and pay its true costs: the land is mined of
its fertility to produce annual grain and vegetable
crops; the land is eroded due to overstocking of animals
and extensive ploughing; land and water are polluted
with chemicals”.
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