I think most of us have tried to grow vegetables in our backyard. I, for one, have tried to grow carrots, tomatoes, mint, and peppers. While I was very excited to watch these vegetables grow, I learnt that growing vegetables and plants is a lot more difficult that than I expected. My carrots never peeked through the soil and my tomatoes didn't do to well either. I think that experience and disappointment really put it into perspective just how difficult farming and agriculture is.
From our conversation today, it widened this perspective further as we discussed the just how complex farming is. Farmers have to make difficult choices when trying to maintain a steady harvest while still being competitive in grocery stores and local markets. They may encounter the questions 'should we go organic and is it really beneficial?' and 'what about pesticides?' Well, a farmer may not want use pesticides but if that means that their crops, which they have worked so hard to grow, will get destroyed by pests then sometimes farmers may have to make the hard decision to use pesticides, to keep their farm running for another season.
My vision for the future is develop effective non-toxic pesticides that are cost-efficient that will allow farmers and consumers to feel better about what they are consuming and using. We know how harmful pesticides can be for our environment (e.g water and soil pollution), and human health (e.g neurological disorders, birth defects, and cancer) but if we were to develop a non-toxic pesticide (which who knows? could even have a health benefit!), then we would not only reduce the stress that farmers face on a seasonal basis but also create a positive impact on the environment. While we develop this solution, an additional intervention that could be to implement the use of natural predators (such as ladybird and ground beetles) against the pests for a more natural solution.
I hope we can see these interventions come more to life in the near future!
What does non-toxic pesticides entail? Most pesticides used in the industry are applicable because they are toxic to the pests that they are targeting. Unfortunately there are both upstream and downstream problems, which is why pesticide use should be limited. I posted something similar, where there are these management strategies (integrated pest management), which could help limit pesticide use.
Hey Arshi! I think your vision is very inspiring. I wonder how we should be thinking about pesticides in general though? Can we use bugs to help us rather than needing to banish them away using experimental chemicals? Farmers are very used to applying treatments to soil like ointment, but the soil biome is so much complex than people care to give it credit for! We should always push for holistic understandings in land management rather than topical treatments
I think developing more non-toxic pesticides in the future would be a very good change to make. I wonder how possible truly non toxic pesticides for all pests can be since there don't seem to be that many options today. But I think with all of the technology available today there should definitely be ways to avoid toxic pesticides.
I like your vision of the future of non-toxic pesticides and I think this is an area that cannot be ignored in the development of sustainable agriculture. Another similar sustainable model I wanted to share with you that I learned about is integrated pest management, which identifies pests in the initial stages and targets only specific pests for spraying limited to specific areas.
Hey Arshi,
I definitely relate to your difficulties of trying to get vegetables to grow, and feeling like there's a lot more knowledge or skills I need to make it happen successfully, when in theory - it seems like it should be so simple!
I'm wondering what the benefit of or difference between these non-toxic pesticides would be compared to biotic control? Biotic control (such as the release of ladybugs to control aphid pests) seems to check the boxes you were describing! Are you imagining something even more cost effective or easy to apply to large crop areas?
Hi Arshi Malhotra, I really like that you touched on the farmers perspective. These are living human beings with families and local communities to support, and pesticides often can be an easy short term fix. It can be difficult to see and believe in long-term solutions when there are government subsidies blocking the potential we have for sustainable agriculture. We need to work with our farmers!
Hi Arshi! Thank you for shedding light on the topic of how difficult it is for farmer's to maintain successful steady harvests. It's definitely a topic we take for granted; we see food wherever we go and a lot of times we don't realize the work and effort put into their placement on market shelves. The idea of a non-toxic pesticide is really cool, I'd love to see it happen and maybe a campaign could get it started.
Hi Arshi,
I love your vision of seeing non-toxic pesticides being developed! If they are cost-efficient, there will be one less barrier that prevents farmers from using them. I was curious to learn if there currently are safe and non-toxic pesticide options. I found something called insecticidal soap. The active ingredients are potassium salts of fatty acids "which are created when the chemical compound alkali mixes with the fatty acids found in natural oils, including castor oil, coconut oil, and olive oil." I wonder if this product is used by large farming operations?
You raise a great point. Innovation is of critical importance, but the use of non-toxic pesticides would be a great intermediate point toward a more sustainable future of agriculture, especially for those on the fence about taking more radical approaches.
Thanks for this post, Arshi! I love your idea of using non-toxic pesticides in conjunction with natural predators. If said innovation were possible, there would need to be proper legislation surrounding its implementation to prevent the abuse of non-toxic pesticides. Non-toxic pesticides are still chemical pesticides. Therefore, using only non-toxic pesticides would have a greater chance, by multiple orders of magnitude, of developing resistance.
Non-toxic pesticides would be a great innovation! There are a ton of plants that have unique structures or secrete their own type of pest repellent / pesticide, it could be a good starting point for biotechnology researchers.
Hey Arshi, I love your innovative idea. Your post reminded me about the scene in Biggest Little Farm, when John and Molly discovered that the ducks love to eat the snails that were destroying their trees. I think sometimes the most effective solutions are just lying in front of us. Perhaps working with nature is a source of "cheap and non-toxic" pesticide. Like you said, I believe natural remedies coupled with technology innovations that are in consideration of nature can work great in solving this problem.
This is a great idea; hopefully, our scientists will realize your vision one day. Non-toxic pesticides will allow farmers to use pesticides with more confidence and buyers to buy products that use non-toxic pesticides with more assurance. This will also protect some of the beneficial insects living in the farmland from the persecution of pesticides and thus better protect the ecological environment of the farmland.
Hi Arshi, great post! Non-toxic pesticides would really solve a ton of problems and barriers faced in the farming community, it's a great way to encourage sustainable farming without farmers having to compromise their yield and source of income. I've seen all kinds of natural insecticides that are derived from trees that have sap that are harmful to various bugs so it would be really cool to see that used on a larger farm scale!
Hi Arshi,
Great post! I agree that it is definitely a difficult decision for farmers to make regarding the use of pesticides. I really like your idea of meeting in the middle by working towards pesticides that are non-toxic, I do hope this will be a possibility in the near future as it would also help reduce food waste that arises from growing organically!
Hi Arshi!
You brought up some great points about having alternatives to conventional chemical fertilizers. This reminds be of bio-fertilizers, which are essentially beneficial microbes that can help the plant acquire nutrients. For example, instead of a chemical nitrogen fertilizer, nitrogen-fixing bacteria can help the plant get its nitrogen source. This eliminates the possibility of chemicals polluting the environment.
To make this more widely used, I think more resources should be directed towards research groups that are studying these bio-fertilizers. That way, they can make them more accessible and practical for use in fields.
I think your idea is not that far from reality! In high school (2018) I learned that neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides that don't do harm to humans because they target acetocholine in the insect's neural pathway and basically kills it in a way that resembles a drug overdose LOL. We don't get affected because our nervous system doesn't behave like that of insects. I think this is a super realistic vision, great job!
Hi Arshi! I like your hopeful viewpoint and your really innovative idea to invest in new technology to make new pesticides that efficiently deter pests but don't cause all the harms we know them to today. Definitely thinking outside the box here and zoning in on the problems to see what we could do better. Really interesting! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hey Arshi!
Thank you for your thoughtful and personal post! Our family has also had many difficulties growing vegetables in our backyard. Like you said, it's hard to imagine what that disappointment must be like for farmers, who experience failures at a much larger scale.
Love your creative solution! Developing non-toxic pesticides and fertilizers is a solution I've never heard before. My question is, how would you avoid the "rebound effect" that might occur with such as product? The development of a more efficient and non-toxic product is, without a doubt, better than the alternative. However, as demand for such a product increases, more people may purchase it than they would the original product. Once these additional purchases are accounted for, the benefits provided by this new technology may be much more limited.
Great post! Definitely having a non-toxic pesticide would be a healthier option for both the environment and people.