Your french fries were probably soaked in chemicals,
warns the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, since
potatoes are some of the most treated crops in the Northwest. But
there are ways to reduce chemical use, such as rotating crops, and
that’s just one of the messages the coalition hopes to convey Oct.
11 in Portland, Ore. NCAP’s anniversary conference, Pesticides,
Community and Change: Celebrating 20 Years of Activism, features
workshops that will cover right-to-know campaigns about how and
where pesticides are used; keynote speaker Theo Colborn, author of
Our Stolen Future, will talk about research that shows the effects
of chemicals on the reproductive and hormonal systems of animals.
“We’re interested in making some dramatic reductions in pesticide
use,” says Norma Grier, a staffer with NCAP, which was started by
rural activists in 1977 in reaction to herbicide spraying in local
forests. However, Grier adds, NCAP doesn’t urge Northwest farmers
to instantly go organic and risk losing their
businesses.
Call NCAP at 541/344-5044 for
conference details or e-mail:
info@pesticide.org.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Chemicals aren’t the only answer.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
