I liked your article, “Catching the Drift” about pesticides. It described a great deal of our situation accurately. However, I hope you can make a few corrections.
1. Pound for pound, most pesticides applied in the Salinas Valley are not sprayed; they are injected into the soil.
2. Fumigants do not “protect” plants’ roots. They kill every living thing in the soil. They are applied before planting.
3. The CHAMACO study did not reflect the acute poisonings Mark Weller referred to. The acute poisonings are the bellwethers which indicate how far pesticides can travel under normal conditions. The CHAMACO study, instead, investigated the chronic poisonings we all suffer here, over time, which don’t cause immediate symptoms, at least strong enough to link cause and effect, or send us to the hospital.
Joshua Ezekiel
