Pesticides Bad! Some Scientific Support

At the 2008 MELA Conference Dr. Claire Gervais, a family physician and President of Madison, WI's Healthy Lawn Team, gave a presentation on "Landscape Pesticide Use: Hidden Risks".

Her handout is available online, and it contains summaries of multiple studies on the effects of pesticides on health, and online resources.

There are many simple, inexpensive, natural options for pest control.
For More Info:
Safer Pest Control Project
SafeLawns
Greater Madison Healthy Lawn Team

Update 3/29/08-More Research- Study links Parkinson's disease to long-term pesticide exposure

Update 3/31/08- OP-Ed Piece from the NY Times- 'Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird'

"...Migratory birds, modern-day canaries in the coal mine, reveal an environmental problem hidden to consumers. Testing by the United States Food and Drug Administration shows that fruits and vegetables imported from Latin America are three times as likely to violate Environmental Protection Agency standards for pesticide residues as the same foods grown in the United States. Some but not all pesticide residues can be removed by washing or peeling produce, but tests by the Centers for Disease Control show that most Americans carry traces of pesticides in their blood. American consumers can discourage this poisoning by avoiding foods that are bad for the environment, bad for farmers in Latin America and, in the worst cases, bad for their own families..."