A complete ban on the use of organophosphates is way overdue. They are one of the most pernicious chemicals used in agriculture. They certainly have no place in the food chain.

A few years back I was talking to a group of allotment gardeners. They used OPs to kill carrot root fly. One man explained they got a hand full and sprinkled it in the row when plating seeds. He was unaware that OPs are toxic through skin contact and that they are a cumulative poison. Soon after they were banned from sale to domestic users.

This new report says: “The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine on Wednesday, said that even low-levels of organophosphate exposure can cause brain damage in children.” So why does anybody want to use them? The simple answer will be profits!

See this article from the Pesticide Action Network which cites three new studies.