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“A lot of people are going for organic produce.... I think the lack of pesticides on these crops are just an invitation for insects.
That's sheer ignorance. There are multiple organic methods for eliminating slugs, and rats for that matter. Individual farmers use different methods. Unfortunately if the affected produce has been traced to organic farms, it has more to do with the growers slug treatment program and schedule, than whether organic or non-organic methods are used.
You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
“We do this thing not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.”
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But doesn't corporate agriculture, for example, Safeway lettuce (perhaps from California's central valley), employ heavy pesticide and herbicide use that results in less chance of slugs/bugs, etc? That is the story I always heard regarding the difference between conventional produce and organic.
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But doesn't corporate agriculture, for example... employ heavy pesticide and herbicide use
Most organic farms use some method of pest control. The type of pesticides used, when and how they are applied varies from farm to farm. I'm going to make a generalization here, so keep in mind it's not a hard and fast truth about organic vs conventional farming.
Conventional farming tends to be more proactive, that is, they may have a standardized, regular program in place to treat potential pests.
Organic farms are more reactive, they more often employ the use of pesticides when an insect or disease has been identified. There are effective means to fight slugs organically, but the growers need to be vigilant, especially during and after period of rainfall.
In general, conventional farming would use more pesticides than organic growers. Conventionally grown apples for instance, are sprayed 27 times a season whether insects are seen in the orchard or not. They do not want to risk an outbreak. Organic farmers could spray on a preventive basis as well, but generally don't as the minimal use of pesticides is seen as a positive aspect to the food they produce.
You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
“We do this thing not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.”
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A California couple contracted rat lung worm disease while honeymooning on Maui recently. In the paper today:
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/article144184894.html
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The SF couple who contracted RLW in Maui made it to GMA (ABC) National News this morning. Apparently, the "cat's out of the bag." This is definitely going to effect tourism. It's no longer "just" a Puna problem.
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It's no longer "just" a Puna problem.
Correct. However, the solutions will be "only on Maui".
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I find it strange how people in Hawaii have died from this, but there's very little media interest. Is it just a PR problem? Did these tourists just run around demanding to be heard?
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It appears so E600. Those people are being heard and I doubt the media sought them out. Apparently, they did not enjoy spending their Honeymoon "wishing to crawl out of their skin" due to extremely painful symptoms...
I can't say I blame them..
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I know this subject has been talked about before but I can't find it so I wanted to ask if anyone knows if we eat only fruit and vegetables that are shipped in from the mainland can we still get rat lungworm?
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Theoretically, produce could be sitting where a semi slug gets to it, but in practice, safer, way safer.
