toxicity - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides - Blackherbals.com

What do Pesticides,Herbicides and Antibioticshave in Common?By Case AdamsJuly 22, 2013There are three natural catastrophes occurring withinnature in slow motion at the moment and they are ourfault. All three catastrophes stem from the same kind ofmistake made by human science and corporate greed.What are they and what are we doing wrong?The slow-motion catastrophes are:• antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria – oftentermed 'superbugs'• pesticide-resistant pests – also called 'superbugs'• herbicide-resistant weeds – now termed 'superweeds'What do these three have in common?All three are the result of the application of synthetictoxicity within nature in an attempt to work outsidenature's normal processes. The application of toxinsmeant to inhibit certain organisms produces resistance,because living organisms by nature seek to survive,and will adapt to toxicity in order to continue theirsurvival.This ability to adapt has been studied for many yearsby scientists and is well known among biology andevolution science. It is one of the foundations ofbiology taught at the most fundamental levels ofinstruction for any beginning scientist.Yet the scientific community has failed to understandhow this most fundamental part of nature will interactwith the toxicity that we have introduced over the pastcentury. Did the scientists who developed thesesynthetic toxins really believe those toxins wouldprovide a permanent solution?We obviously ignored this most fundamentalunderstanding that living organisms will adapt totoxins. We forgot that organisms will develop defensemechanisms that will override deterrent toxins -producing a stronger organism in the process.Let's examine this aspect in all three cases:Antibiotics Produce Plasmid changesAntibiotics – or antibacterials – exist in nature, butmodern synthetic (static) antibiotics began theirdevelopment in the nineteenth century among earlymicrobiologists who discovered ways to combatdisease by inhibiting bacteria with either antisepticchemicals or infused antibiotics derived from othermicroorganisms. Their discoveries led to majoradvancements in knowledge regarding how to killbacteria. For example, the Italian Vincenzo Tiberiodiscovered that the Penicillium mold would removebacteria from well water.These of course were noble causes and their discoverieshave resulted in millions of lives saved from variousinfections. But is there a long-term cost of waging waragainst bacteria outside of nature's means - using statictoxins?Later scientists found that bacteria will produce what iscalled a plasmid – a term suggested by Joshua Lederbergin the early 1950s. A plasmid is a collection of geneticmaterial passed on during procreation and even peerexchangethat teaches a bacteria how to resist thatparticular antibacterial. Even a single bacterium maydevelop a plasmid change and then pass that plasmidchange on to others – both within and outside theirspecies. This passing on of plasmid changes allowsbacteria to teach others how to resist that particular toxicagent.We might compare this to warfare among humans. Oncewe began fighting with swords, the opponents developedshields. After humanity created missiles, the oppositiondeveloped anti-missile weapons. After we created nuclearbombs we created nuclear defense mechanisms and bombshelters.Bacteria are no different. They are also living organismswho want to survive, so they can learn how to evade anantibacterial agent.The only problem is that as this escalation continues,those who position themselves as enemies will now bedealing with a stronger organism. This is the case ofantibiotic-resistant species of bacteria such as MRSA(Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) andnumerous species that cause HAIs – hospital acquiredinfections.The same exact premise is taking place among weeds.Since 2000 the increasing application of glyphosate hasproduced a growing legion of superweed horseweeds andother types of herbicide-resistant weeds.The Growth of Superweeds from Herbicides andGMOsIn a recent paper by Food & Water Watch, the dramaticrise in the application of herbicides in the U.S. over thelast 10 years has led to a growing legion of superweeds.In the 2013 report, called Superweeds: How BiotechContinued on page 4746-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013