This is a rant about a recent lawsuit against Scotts Miracle-Gro.
You were warned.
Since working with Grow Food, Grow Hope in Wilmington, OH I have come to appreciate and love the organic movement for what I thought it was: a fad with a great idea. Its all well and good to think that organic is the way to be and that you should only eat/shop/garden organic because its healthier and you're not subjecting yourself and the environment to all those nasty chemicals. And I have totally agreed with that, but there was always that voice in my head saying 'that's what the EPA is for, they take care of these things and make sure they are safe even if they are slightly harsh chemicals'.
Boy was I wrong.
This morning a representative of Scotts Miracle-Gro company plead guilty to violating environmental protection laws as well as marketing items that had not been approved by the EPA. Those items were sold for TWO YEARS before being pulled off the market and now YEARS after the incident the company is being punished for it. (the original product was released in 2005). For more information check out the news story I found from the Columbus Dispatch.
If you thought I was a member of the organic movement before, buddy look out.
Can I promise to give up eating non-organic foods or not using real deodorant: NO WAY!
But you can bet my newly acquired community garden plot is NEVER going to have any Scotts products on it. NEVER. I knew that they used some slightly harsh chemicals, but I thought 'they're an Ohio company, I've driven by their plant, they employ Ohio workers. We're Ohioans we're proud of our agricultural heritage-they wouldn't possibly do anything to harm the environment'.
And I was WRONG.
The alleged lawsuit is about birdseed that was not safe for insects or birds to ingest. If they're going to sell bird killing food then who's to say they're not going to sell weed repellent or miracle gro that is going to hurt people?
It's just not a risk I'm willing to take.
You were warned.
Since working with Grow Food, Grow Hope in Wilmington, OH I have come to appreciate and love the organic movement for what I thought it was: a fad with a great idea. Its all well and good to think that organic is the way to be and that you should only eat/shop/garden organic because its healthier and you're not subjecting yourself and the environment to all those nasty chemicals. And I have totally agreed with that, but there was always that voice in my head saying 'that's what the EPA is for, they take care of these things and make sure they are safe even if they are slightly harsh chemicals'.
Boy was I wrong.
This morning a representative of Scotts Miracle-Gro company plead guilty to violating environmental protection laws as well as marketing items that had not been approved by the EPA. Those items were sold for TWO YEARS before being pulled off the market and now YEARS after the incident the company is being punished for it. (the original product was released in 2005). For more information check out the news story I found from the Columbus Dispatch.
If you thought I was a member of the organic movement before, buddy look out.
Can I promise to give up eating non-organic foods or not using real deodorant: NO WAY!
But you can bet my newly acquired community garden plot is NEVER going to have any Scotts products on it. NEVER. I knew that they used some slightly harsh chemicals, but I thought 'they're an Ohio company, I've driven by their plant, they employ Ohio workers. We're Ohioans we're proud of our agricultural heritage-they wouldn't possibly do anything to harm the environment'.
And I was WRONG.
The alleged lawsuit is about birdseed that was not safe for insects or birds to ingest. If they're going to sell bird killing food then who's to say they're not going to sell weed repellent or miracle gro that is going to hurt people?
It's just not a risk I'm willing to take.
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