Pesticides: a vicious circle.

The indiscriminate use of pesticides sets off a vicious circle: 

• natural predators are destroyed 
• emergence of pests resistant to chemicals 
• without predators, pests increase 
• new, more powerful pesticides are created 
• more predators are destroyed 
• emergence of new, more resistant strains 
• without predators, crop pests increase dramatically 
• a new pesticide is put on the market
• ...and the spiral goes on... 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

The dangers of soluble fertilizers.

Chemical soluble fertilizers are manufactured in liquid, powdery or granular forms. 

In the last 50 years they have been widely used to meet the farmers' requirements for productivity. As a matter of fact, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers don't only improve plant growth but dramatically increase crop yields. If fertilizers, adequately used, are good for plant development, they're not so for soil life. Some potassium fertilizers are lethal to earthworms so, as time goes by, the soil loses its fertility. Moreover, too much potassium makes the plants walls thin and too much nitrogen causes a watery growth. Therefore, the plants become more susceptible to pests and diseases. 

Soluble fertilizers move in three different directions: downwards, sidewards and out of the farm boundaries. 

The downward movement is harmful, as fertilizers go down to the deepest layers and pollute the water tables. 

The sideward movement is also dangerous, as fertilizers reach rivers and waterways, causing the growth of water weeds and algae: the consequence is that insects and fish die. 

Fertilizers which go out of the farms can be found inside the vegetables in our diet, particularly in leafy vegetables. 

However, they shouldn't be confused with chemical pesticides and fungicides, which are highly polluting and have devastating effects on human health and the environment. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

About sustainability... ORGANIC FARMING.

The common definition of organic farming is "farming without chemicals". 
As a matter of fact, all living or dead things are made up of chemical compounds. Therefore, organic farming does use chemicals, though naturally derived, in plant protection, fertilizing and livestock husbandry. 
It is a system which tries to avoid the routine use of chemicals and to exploit natural renewable resources. 

The principles of organic farming are: 
- work with natural systems rather than trying to dominate them;
- to encourage and enhance biological cycles within the farming system involving microorganisms, soil flora and fauna, plants and animals;
- to maintain and increase the long term fertility of soils: 
- to use, as far as possible, renewable resources;
- to give all livestock conditions of life that allow them to perform all aspects of their innate behaviour; 
- to avoid all forms of pollutions;
- to maintain the generic diversity of the agricultural system. 

It is the duty of humanity to fix the mess we've made and everyone have to do it in its own sector, beginning with agriculture. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Bees do so much for us...let's do something for them.

Bees play a vital role in our world: they are pollinators and this means that the survival of many plant species depends on them (and, in the lower part, on bumblebees). 
In Einstein's opinion, if bees were to become extinct, man would only have four years left to live. 

Here are plant species that depend on the work of the bees: apricot tree, chestnut tree, cherry tree, almond tree, apple tree, pear tree, peach tree, plum tree, persimmon tree, kiwi tree, raspberry, cabbage, blueberry, garlic, asparagus, chard, carrot, broccoli, cucumber, melon, leek, onion, celery, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, pepper, radish. 

We are endangering bees by using chemicals contained in pesticides, the neonicotinoids, which kill them. Each year in the world 3.8 billion kilos of pesticides are used. 
It is imperative for us to safeguard them and to do it we have to ban neonicotinoids from agriculture. 
Please, sign the petition of Greenpeace to save the bees : http://sos-bees.org/#petition/?GPI_action. 

Help the environment: eat 0 km!

From the very first moment a vegetable is picked, its natural sugars start converting into starch. 

Each day that those store-bought vegetables spend in transit from the fields to warehouses to store shelves, they lose their natural goodness that the earth and the sun gave them. 

It is very important, when you do the shopphing, to pay attention to the place where the food you buy comes from: you should always choose 0 km food and thus, consequently, seasonal food. 

It's preferable to buy fruit and vegetables in local market instead supermarkets: generally, they are fresher and they come from nearer places. 

0 km food is very good for the environment: it's glaringly obvious that the food that comes from the immediate vicinity requires a lower consumption of fuel that, as a consequence, provokes less pollution. 

It would be a great thing if everyone cultivated something (biologically, of course!) on their own: it would be a totally 0 km way of eating! It's not a difficult thing to do: sure, it would be better having a piece of land, but also who doesn't can cultivate some fruit or vegetables in pots (now my father has a vegetable garden, but when he didn't he grew tomatoes and Chinese mandarins on the balcony!). 

So, go and create your own vegetable garden! And then send me a photo to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com , maybe. 

Help things change...BEE the solution!

One-third of the food we eat depends on bees, bumblebees and other pollinators. Today, they are in serious danger. 
Yes, as always it is our fault. The agrochemical multinationals are flowing into the system of industrial agriculture increasing amounts of chemicals which threaten bees and our safety. 

Greenpeace is at the forefront in this battle for the safeguarding of bees. 
Pollen collected by bees was tested and the result is unambiguous : over two-thirds were contaminated by pesticides (up to 17 different substances for each sample). 
Lots of flowers and plants sold in garden centers, supermarkets and DIY stores contain pestcides that are lethal for bees (also neonicotinoids, which are partially forbidden in Europe). 

We can change all this. 
The solution has a name, and it is ecological agriculture, able to produce healthy food for everyone without damaging the planet and the bees. Lots of farmers in Europe are already doing it. 

People from all around the world are organizing activities to inform and mobilize others on the importance of bees,
Join the movement by signing the petition of Greenpeace to save the bees : http://sos-bees.org/#petition/?GPI_action . 

7 billion workers missing in Europe...

...who are we talking about? BEES!

According to a study of English researchers published in the scientific journal Plos One, in the 41 European countries examined the number of bees that are necessary for pollination of several crops is 5 times higher than the real number present today. 

Furthermore, during the last ten years the crops that need a bee pollination have increased by 38% while the number of bees had dramatically decreased. 

The European country with a lower impollinators rate per cultivated area is Great Britain, where the bees are less than the 25% of the necessary! 

From these dramatic data it's easy to understand how it is urgent that the EU forbids the use of medicines and agricultural pesticides which are deadly for bees. 

In accordance with a French study the value of bees as impollinators in the world is approximately 153 billion Euros. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

PHYTOCHEMICALS: can sprays be safe?

Since the discovery of chemical compounds which can be employed in agriculture, spraying, fumigating and dusting have been the most widely used methods in pest and disease control. The development of more and more effective phytochemicals and their increasingly widespread use are causing concern among biologists and environmentalists because they state that man is altering nature's balance and endangering health and the food supply. 

Organic agriculture does not use artificial fertilizers or pesticides as they are compounds with high biological activity, which tend to have harmful consequences on physiological processes. Moreover, they may stimulate the growth of new pathogens and pests as they kill antagonistic organisms. However, sometimes chemicals must be used in organic production when there is a persistent and recurrent problem, which cannot be solved with completely organic products; so they can be used along with biological control techniques, when proved that they do not harm the rest of the system. 

Whatever their nature is, all sprays must be applied to crops correctly. This is essential both to ensure that they are effective and to minimize the harm to the environment. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)