Junk science
Back in January of this year our University of Guelph, Agricultural Communications class talked at great length about the pending implementation of the Ontario government’s retail pesticide legislation this fall. Almost all of us expressed concern at the time that this initial pesticide ban aimed primarily at the consumer market, could eventually lead to possible prohibitive restrictions for Ontario farmers. Most people don’t know that unlike the consumer pesticide market, Ontario farmers are among the most knowledgeable and highly trained users of crop protection products. Regular testing and licensing by farmers is standard practice for use of these products. So comparing the retail consumer market to the agriculture industry in my mind is like trying to compare apples to oranges.
Putting aside that argument for the moment, I came across an excellent column, “The pesticide report that nobody read,” written in the National Post by Terence Corcoran, from the Financial Post. In his column Mr. Corcoran writes about this misrepresentation that has occurred on the whole pesticide issue. In it he refers to the “junk science” activists use to get their point across to the public. I have enclosed the link below to Mr. Corcoran’s column.
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=592236&p=1
It is easy to see how the truth about safe and sensible use of pesticides can distorted by activists using “junk science.”
