FYI Maxwell,
Jean Cottam made our top 10 Anti Pesticide – Whack Job list years ago. All talk and no proof or common sense.
Banning pesticides leads to unintended consequences
By Maxwell Anderson, Vancouver Sun June 27, 2011 Re: Industry influence on feds prompts local pesticide bans, Letters, June 11
Jean Cottam accuses me of expressing pesticide industry views and of considering toxic products to be nontoxic, charges that, if true, would harm my reputation as a scientist.
What I did do was recommend that products less toxic than table salt be exempted from the expected B.C. ban on a wide range of pest control products.
Okay, I concede. Ban them all! But, to be fair, ban salt too. Just remember, scientists discovered earlier this year that excessively low salt intake increases the risk of heart attack. Likewise, there will be unintended consequences from an unscientific provincewide ban on many pesticides.
Unintended consequences, such as decreased planting and consumption of homegrown fruits and vegetables due to the higher risks and lower yields of totally pesticide-free gardening, could lead to increased cancer.
Maxwell Anderson
via Banning pesticides leads to unintended consequences.