Agriculture
"[The] alternatives to the chemical control of insects...are biological solutions, based on the understanding of the living organisms they seek to control and of the whole fabric of life to which these organisms belong. Specialists...are...pouring their knowledge and their creative inspirations into the formation of a new science of biotic controls.”
- "Silent Spring", Rachel Carson pg 278
- "Silent Spring", Rachel Carson pg 278
Rachel Carson's efforts have resulted in the emergence of innovative methods that foster environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Americans actively seek new avenues to combat the influence of chemical pesticides on their dinner plates through organic and genetically modified foods.
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Integrated Pest Management
+Integrated Pest Management
close"IPM serves as an umbrella to provide an effective, all encompassing, low risk approach to protect resources and people from pests " -IPM Roadmap, USDA, 2004
"Schools, golf courses, dairies, and poultry operations are just a few examples of areas which use IPM today." -"What Integrated Pest Management means for Today's Beekeeper", Michael Hood, Clemson University
"Schools, golf courses, dairies, and poultry operations are just a few examples of areas which use IPM today." -"What Integrated Pest Management means for Today's Beekeeper", Michael Hood, Clemson University
Organic Food Movement
+Organic Food Movement
close"The organic movement had sprung directly from the customers’ demand as they became sick of the health hazards associated with the use of chemicals in food and household products."
-"History of the Organics Movement", The Organics Institute
-"History of the Organics Movement", The Organics Institute
Genetically Modified Organisms
+Genetically Modified Organisms
close Benefits:
"Bt cotton in China drastically reduced the spraying of synthetic chemicals, increased the abundance of beneficial organisms and decreased populations of insects that damage the crop ." -Kathage J., Qaim M., PNAS, May 2012
Limitations:
"One limitation of using any insecticide, whether it is organic, synthetic, or genetically engineered, is that insects can evolve resistance to it." -Tabashnik, B. E.,1994 Entomol. 39: 47–79
"Bt cotton in China drastically reduced the spraying of synthetic chemicals, increased the abundance of beneficial organisms and decreased populations of insects that damage the crop ." -Kathage J., Qaim M., PNAS, May 2012
Limitations:
"One limitation of using any insecticide, whether it is organic, synthetic, or genetically engineered, is that insects can evolve resistance to it." -Tabashnik, B. E.,1994 Entomol. 39: 47–79
"The most important legacy of Silent Spring, though, was a new public awareness that nature was vulnerable to human intervention."
- "The Story of Silent Springs", Natural Resources Defense Council
- "The Story of Silent Springs", Natural Resources Defense Council