Does Mickey Work For The Chemical Companies?

I consider myself to be a very fair minded person; to be against something, you need to understand it. So if you will indulge me, I will try to explain an "evil" I stand against: synthetic chemical pesticides. I hated discussing this topic in the Food Ecology class I took my senior year at the Culinary Institute of America. I thought it was redundant and depressing. I prefer to focus on positive, ingenious problem solvers who are developing new techniques in agriculture to bring fresh, healthy food to the masses without the need for large monoculture farms supported with a myriad of chemicals that have adverse effects of humans, animals and the Earth.

This 1935 Disney cartoon reflects the mood of the time while being ahead its time: chemical poisons are the answer, however, there may be side effects.

OK, maybe I'm reading too much into this cartoon. It is not likely that Walt Disney or his animators were concerned about chemical use; DDT, the miracle pesticide, now banned, would not be discovered for three more years and the "golden age of pesticides" was not until the 40's and 50's. However, I find it to be prophetic and very poignant. Let me explain:

There has always been a serious battle between Man and pests. There is evidence that in ancient Mesopotamia, sulphur was dusted on crops to discourage pests. Over the centuries, farmers discovered other natural compounds like lead, mercury, and arsenic kept bugs at bay. In the 19th century, scientists began experimenting with synthetic compounds that did not break down quickly meaning that they did not need to be applied as often, were cheap, and did not appear to affect human health.

After the drought and depression of the early 1930's, I can see how DDT appeared to be a gift from God. Can you blame any poor Midwestern farmer for using it? On LivingHistoryFarm.org there is detailed history of farming in the Midwest during the "golden age of pesticides," including testimony by Diena Thieszen Schmidt about what battling the bugs was like without insecticides. "We did everything we could think of," she says. "We made noises at the end of the field. We smoked [set up smoke pots]. We tried everything to try to get rid of those army bugs."
To its credit, DDT effectively minimized malaria, typhus and countless insects and parasites against humans and crops. But at what costs?

In the 60's, the environmental movement began with the publishing of "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. She examined the widespread and unchecked use of pesticides. The title was meant to evoke a silent Spring season because all the birds had died. Later, it was proved that DDT effected not only insects, but some shellfish and many species of fish, as well as causing mostly birds of prey to lay eggs with very thin shells. The eggs would be too fragile to survive, thus the bird's populations dwindled. Not to mention the possible effects on humans: contaminated breast milk, cancer, male infertility, and diabetes.

How did Disney know? Not only does DDT effect more creatures than it was intended to, but now many  insects are immune to it. So it is not hard to understand why it was banned. The same is true about

modern pesticides, over use casues immunity and many unintended side effects. At least now, despite any flaws, pesticide use is monitored by the EPA.

Worst case scenario, in the future we could be facing the mutant insects that Hollywood has long foretold.
How would Walt Disney react today if he knew the true effects of using so many chemicals?

Would he have made a cartoon with an organic garden? Maybe. There are DDT supporters today who say the benefits outwiegh any controversial side effects. Keep in mind that organics prohibits the use of these synthetic chemicals, making crops vulnerable to anything. This reduces the yeild and means there would be less food available to feed an already hunger filled world. That is the major complaint against orgaincs, however it is not true. Have hope because there are natural deterants and techniques to protect crops. We are not lost without chemical poisons; don't rely on them.