Now let’s talk DDT for a moment…
DDT
Is DDT as bad as you’ve heard? I mean Joni Mitchell even pleaded for farmers not to use it in Big Yellow Taxi for crying out loud, right? And truth is, there were crossover years when Monsanto was literally producing ALL THREE of the substances we’ve discussed – PCBs, Agent Orange, and DDT.
Now this may surprise everyone, but for what we’re looking at with The Walk a Mile Project here, I’m not dropping the hammer on Monsanto when it comes to DDT. And believe me, after having my head run in circles down a dark rabbit hole for nearly 3 straight weeks (courtesy of Monsanto’s many questionable actions), it’s not easy for me to say that. But the truth is this:
First, Monsanto was only one of well over a dozen companies that made DDT. DDT was nowhere near as Monsanto-centric as say, PCBs, and they weren’t known for making some extra-terrible version of it like they were with Agent Orange.
Second, despite its near complete ban as a toxic substance and probable human carcinogen, DDT has also saved millions of lives by helping to eliminate insect-borne human diseases.
In fact even though the 2001 Stockholm Convention banned its use for almost everything, it still included an exemption for the use of DDT to control mosquitoes for the purpose of preventing malaria.
If you weren’t aware of that and think it sounds crazy, here’s a direct quote from Greenpeace:
“We support the continued use of DDT in malaria control programmes where there are no effective alternatives.”
So for what we’re looking at here regarding Monsanto, diving any further into DDT just is not worth the time, and you’ll understand why tomorrow when I publish our first TRUTH conclusion. All I really will say is that, yes, once again, regardless of whatever their reasons were, whatever tests they did or didn’t do regarding DDT… the fact remains Monsanto produced yet another substance that became prevalent in our environment and then was subsequently banned for its toxic effects. That’s a cold hard fact – it cannot be ignored – and I’ll leave it at that.
Right now we have more important things to move onto regarding the GMO controversy, and we’ve seen enough between Agent Orange and particularly PCBs, to really have a clear look into Monsanto’s past, even if DDT was never in the mix at all.
Tomorrow I’ll be back with that first GMO Truth post!
