CONVENTIONAL
COTTON -
A
danger to human life ….
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Cotton
uses about 25% of the world's insecticide and more
than 10% of the pesticides (including
insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, defoliants,
and growth regulators.)
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In
the United States, 25% of all pesticides used are
applied to cotton.
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It
takes about a third of a pound of synthetic
fertilizers and pesticides to grow enough cotton
for a T-shirt.
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Five
of the top nine pesticides used on cotton are
cancer-causing chemicals (cyanazine, dicofol,
naled, propargite, and trifluralin).
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All
of the top nine cotton pesticides in California
are labeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency as Category I or Category II materials, the
most toxic classifications.
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In
India, 91% of male cotton farm workers regularly
exposed to pesticides eight hours or more per day
experience some type of health disorder, including
chromosomal aberrations, cell death and cell
decay.
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Uses 25% of World’s insecticide. -
Uses 10% of world’s Insecticide -
It takes 1/3 of a pound of fertilizer for a T-Shirt. -
Pesticides are carcinogenic
(cancer causing).
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Conventional
cotton production damages the Earth. According to the
Organic Trade Association (OTA), the leading business
association representing the organic industry,
conventional cotton uses approximately 25% of the
world's insecticides and more than 10% of the world's
pesticides. In fact, in 2000 eighty-four million
pounds of pesticides were sprayed on the 14.4 million
acres of conventional cotton grown in the U.S. Simply
stated, it takes roughly one-third of a pound of
chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) to grow enough
cotton for just one t-shirt! These pesticides and
insecticides render the soil sterile, completely
devoid of beneficial microbes and insects.
Furthermore,
the damage from these chemicals extends far beyond the
farm, contaminating the soil, ground water, and
neighboring communities. According to the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seven of the
top fifteen pesticides used on cotton are considered
"possible," "likely,"
"probable," or "known" human
carcinogens.
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