THERE has been a great deal of media attention lately regarding the supposed looming threat to Victoria from locusts.
Certainly there is a looming threat, but the locusts are the least of our worries.
In a drastic overreaction, the Victorian Government is preparing to drench vast areas of our state with toxic pesticides in an attempt to exterminate as many of the insects as possible.
Even if the locusts posed as great a threat to our crops as claimed, the use of these pesticides on this scale may have a far greater cost, both to the environment, and to human health.
Some of the chemicals approved for use against locusts in Victoria have already been banned in a number of countries due to their extreme toxicity.
Studies have linked these chemicals to leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, brain tumours, birth defects and more.
Those at greatest risk are babies and very young children. Our future generations are the ones that will most likely pay the terrible price for this campaign.
When these issues are considered it seems very hard to understand how this poisoning campaign can be justified.
What exactly is the government trying to protect us from when even our health is not considered too high a price to pay?
On the other hand, locusts pose no danger to humans at all. They don’t bite, sting or spread disease.
In fact, if junior wants to grab a few and munch on them for breakfast, you can relax – they are non-toxic and highly nutritious. That is, of course, unless they’ve been sprayed with any number of toxic synthetic pesticides.
The Australian Plague Locust (as the name suggests) is a native species.
It has existed throughout Victoria and the rest of Australia for thousands, possibly millions, of years.
If for no other reason, this should earn the insect some measure of respect.
Although at times inconvenient for us, ecologically speaking they are a very important and highly beneficial species. They provide an abundant source of food for birds, reptiles and marsupials, and their grazing improves the health of grasslands, and helps to control weeds.
It is also somewhat ironic, in a year predicted to have such an extremely high bushfire risk, that the government is working so diligently to exterminate an insect that is so effective at controlling excess grass.
This excess grass would otherwise dry off and pose a significant fire risk in late summer.
For those concerned about the environmental and health implications of this unprecedented pesticide campaign, there is still a small window of opportunity to help stop this disaster.
The DPI will most likely begin spraying within a few short weeks, so it’s vital that people voice their concerns as soon as possible. The government needs to be made aware that our health, the health of our children and the health of the environment are simply too important. It is not worth the risk.
EUGENE O’BRIEN,
Kennington
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