What’s in a Weed? Pesticides and Rethinking Methods of Gardening

It’s nearly spring, and quite soon I will have many little weeds flourishing in my garden.

Some of my weeds will have cheery, fuzzy yellow faces. They will grow vigorously on my lawn if I let them. Their flowers are sweet and good for wine and fritters, their leaves are edible in salads, and their roots have healing properties. I’m talking about the dandelion, the beloved and despised weed that grows in our gardens.

What is a weed, and why do we dislike them so much? In essence, a weed is an unwanted plant. A rose can be a weed if you are attempting to grow corn. We tend to be rather brutal towards weeds. They assault our sensibilities, challenge our dominion over our gardens, and call for intense scrutiny followed up with a chemical assault. They aren’t necessarily dangerous, and they are often useful. Weeds are simply not useful in the way that we want them to be. They’re not the right plant, meaning the one that we planted.

Some weeds are plants that we plant, but they love it so much that they will eagerly invite themselves to stay everywhere in the garden. Mint, borage, and comfrey are a few of these. They’re ultimately useful, but boy, do they spread. Luckily, they can also ingratiate me into their good graces with their usefulness in teas, in salads, and in healing. I do watch where I place plants like these, because sometimes they outgrow their welcome. However, I like the permaculture concept of how to deal with overly useful plants: eat them, use them, use more of them until they are under control.

I’m not saying that there is no such thing as a weed. I am especially concerned about weeds when they move into areas that are not under intensive human control. Species like purple loosestrife bother me because they dominate wetlands. Many invasive species are notoriously hard to remove because they reproduce through vegetative reproduction. Often, the only option seems to be the use of pesticides. But the use of pesticides in our wetlands and on our crops scares me more than weeds do, because I know that pesticides wreak damage that is far beyond what I can see.

Plants are easy to see. They remind us easily about what we do and do not want in our gardens. On the other hand, pesticides are not so easy to see. At least their effects are not all that visible. They come in handy packages, are applied and then move into the soil, air, and water. They kill off soil life, embed themselves in the groundwater, and move into the food chains of animals, both wildlife and farm animals.

What’s in a weed? Our desire to control, particularly through chemical means.

Next week I’ll explore gardening and farming methods that see weeds a little differently.

What is a weed to you?

Connecting Consumers with Local Producers

The sustainable food movement places emphasis on establishing a direct connection between local food producers and the consumers. Recently, a new initiative ‘Know Your Farmer Know Your Food’ was launched by the USDA in order to bring consumers and farmers on a common platform and spur economic opportunities. This has been done to support the rights of local farmers and encourage the consumption of locally grown sustainable food items. Similar initiatives are being adopted by developed as well as developing countries across the world. In India, a social enterprise named Rudi Multi Trading follows the same concept and establishes a connection between the farmers and end customers.

The main aim of Rudi Multi Trading Company is to support the village economy by rotating profits within the village. The produce of small farmers is distributed through an established network at the village level. It was in November 2007 that Rudi turned into an official entity. Four processing centers have been set up by Rudi from where the produce of farmers is processed, packed and sold through the SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) network. Compared to the rock bottom prices offered by middlemen, farmers are now getting a fair price that is close to current markets rates through sales done by Rudi.

Experts believe that social enterprises need to have a sufficient turnover so that there is enough capital for future development projects. Turnover of Rudi has increased from 14.5 lacs Indian rupees in the first year to 1.5 crore in 2008-09. With the aim to cater almost 1,500 villages in Gujarat, India, Rudi is set to expand its processing activities so that the producers get a fair price and consumers get to enjoy good quality food items free from adulteration.

Hospitals in UK to Go Veg

Yes you read that right! Very soon patients in hospitals across the UK will be tucking into locally grown vegetarian food. With this pronouncement, the government plans to help the climate by cutting back the use of meat from the hospital menu. With the promotion of meat free menu in British hospitals, the government can cut down carbon emission to a great extent and also help the local farmers get a fair price for their produce. Money saved from these cuts will be further used on providing better health services to the patients.

Several climate experts are of view that the impact of climate change can be reduced if people across the world avoid having meat for one day per week. Methane is emitted by sheep and cows and the emission of carbon is also relatively high when rearing poultry and animals. Under the Pilot Hospital Food Project, four of London’s NHS hospitals are being encouraged to increase the use of organic/local food in their menu. Approximately 500 million pounds are spent annually by the NHS to serve over 300 million meals in 1200 hospitals. This project works in co-ordination with the Soil association to ensure that nutritious sustainably grown food is made available to hospitals across London.

Coastal flooding will increase as the climate changes. If the policy makers and consumers don’t take immediate steps to combat this global issue, millions of people around the world will suffer from shortage of energy, food and water in the coming years.

Seasonal Food Sustainable Food

Many industrialized countries have abundant land for agriculture with highly fertile soil but majority of available vegetables and fruits in the markets are imported. Does this mean the consumption of seasonal produce has disappeared from the developed world? If experts are to be believed, approximately two and a half planet’s worth of resources will be required if all countries start leading a European lifestyle. Consumers across the world maybe enjoying exotic produce all year around but the global food transportation has increased greenhouse gas emission and carbon footprint to a great extent.

Not everyone can grow their own vegetables or rear livestock but making a sustainable purchase can make a lot of difference. Consumption of seasonal produce can be one of the most healthy and effective ways to support the sustainable food movement. However, not all food items exported from other countries add to the exploitation of farmers across the world. There are many fair-trade products that are exported from developing countries and the developed markets help the farmers from poor countries make a living. So, in case you want to buy out-of season vegetables or fruits, try looking for products that are fair-trade certified.

By choosing these products consumers will ensure that the disadvantaged farm owners get a fair deal for their produce and families get to enjoy unprocessed sustainably grown fruits and vegetables. One can’t deny the benefits of opting seasonal produce but it will be interesting to see whether or not the consumers change their eating habits and add a dash of ‘sustainability’ to their daily diet.