Pesticides

Feeding the world needs the protection of plants. Pesticides help. But they also destroy the balance of nature. And there are ways to get by with less.

Pesticides threaten biological diversity. A third of all insect species worldwide are threatened with extinction. But pesticides don't just kill insects. A single agent is responsible for 17 to 91 million dead birds annually in the United States alone. More than 10,000 people are fatally poisoned every year.

The chemical industry

Complaining doesn't help. But better substances that break down more quickly and without leaving residue could help. Substances that do not kill everything as a broad-spectrum agent, but specifically a specific insect, would also help a lot. Alternatives such as pheromone traps are at least the lesser evil.

Agriculture

A winemaker works in the vineyard all year round. The cherry vinegar fly can destroy his entire crop in two weeks. And this is happening more and more often. Of course he wants to defend his livelihood. We should refrain from sweeping statements.

But agriculture is of course has an obligation to deliver. More flower strips and fallow land are needed. A diversified crop rotation could help. Animals can also be used in the defensive fight: sheep or goats, which keep the weeds short even in the vineyard. Ducks in the banana plantation, which eat the eggs of harmful flies along with the weeds. Research and education helps.

And you can see it in the many nesting boxes in the apple orchards: songbirds can also make a significant contribution to controlling pests. A mosquito weighs just two milligrams. A pair of tits eats 35 to 75 kg of insects per year. This helps.

All of us

But it's not just the food producers. Golf courses or flower production often have higher quantities per area. A rose is also beautiful if there are no spray residues on the stem. And in the home garden it should be possible to do without it completely. Education helps.