Hi, my name's Pod. Short for Gastropod. I'm a snail. Now you humans don't often listen to snails, in fact you do some pretty awful stuff to us. No, drowning in beer is not a nice way to go, although it is preferable to those poisonous little blue pellets you put down around your hostas.
I've taken it upon myself to speak up for all the small things on this planet in the hope of saving them and ultimately you.
Today I'd like to get some stuff off my chest (or big foot) about cotton production. You see it involves an awful lot of pesticides. Cotton production accounts for a quarter of the world's usage of pesticides. Being a pest this does not make me too happy, but they tend to harm more than just pests.
They are harmful to beneficial insects, this often means that even more pesticides have to be used to ward secondary infestations as the predator insects are no longer available to do the job for free. Pesticide use is expensive and does not always save crops from ruin.
Pesticides used in cotton production are also harmful to birds, fish and the humans who work with them, or who live near cotton crops. Some of these humans are as vulnerable as all the small things that don't have a voice. They are some of the world's poorest people, and often they are children. They do not get treated fairly or paid fairly for what they have to do.
I've taken it upon myself to speak up for all the small things on this planet in the hope of saving them and ultimately you.
Today I'd like to get some stuff off my chest (or big foot) about cotton production. You see it involves an awful lot of pesticides. Cotton production accounts for a quarter of the world's usage of pesticides. Being a pest this does not make me too happy, but they tend to harm more than just pests.
They are harmful to beneficial insects, this often means that even more pesticides have to be used to ward secondary infestations as the predator insects are no longer available to do the job for free. Pesticide use is expensive and does not always save crops from ruin.
Pesticides used in cotton production are also harmful to birds, fish and the humans who work with them, or who live near cotton crops. Some of these humans are as vulnerable as all the small things that don't have a voice. They are some of the world's poorest people, and often they are children. They do not get treated fairly or paid fairly for what they have to do.
If you take your time to think and stop rushing around, you'll realise there's a better way to do all of this. Believe me, you see life very differently when you're in the slow lane. Cotton can be a fantastic and renewable resource, much better than synthetic fabrics with their reliance on petro-chemicals, but it has to be grown responsibly and organically. There is no reason why production can't treat people fairly either, other than the current human desire to have everything cheaply without regard to true human and environmental cost.
You may have to pay a little more for organic, fairly traded cotton products. But they will be of higher quality and durability. A great site to visit for more on 100% Organic Cotton, and other ideas on sustainability is the Sustainable Living Project. This is also where I live, under the terracotta pot by the generator room door, full of Hosta Seboldiana, my favourite flavour!
