Pesticides

I congratulate Meryl Streep for raising consumer awareness about pesticide residues in foods. Like her, I am concerned about the health and well-being of our children. But we simply cannot produce the quantity and quality of food the world needs, at a reasonable cost, without using something to control the weeds, insects and diseases that destroy crops.

Therefore, rather than spending all our time and energies in a negative way, attacking pesticides, some time and energy should be devoted to finding a solution. And there are solutions.

We have within our grasp a practical, safe and natural alternative to chemical pesticides. Our new found ability to identify, isolate and utilize the many defenses that nature has developed against pests makes the goal of biological control a reality.

I grew up on a farm, and still own and manage a farm. I am also a scientist by education; my company is one of several working to develop “biopesticides.” Others are developing plants that are naturally immune to pests and diseases. We are working toward a future in a agriculture where the issues of ground-water contamination, chemical residues, and health risks will steadily become things of the past. I have seen some of these remedies and I know they will help the bio-conversion of agricultural crop protection--the shift from chemical to biological pest control.

But we won’t get from here to there anytime soon without some help--help in making the consumer aware of these new alternatives to chemicals, in inducing the government to clear away the regulatory bottlenecks, and in developing the political and public support this new technology deserves.

JERRY CAULDER

San Diego