Chesterton High School debaters argued both sides of a hypothetical local ban on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers for lawns and gardens Monday night, citing potential public health issues that could result with or without the ban.
The event, sponsored by the Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed Group, was held at the Porter County Administration Building followed by a “Chew & A” discussion over pizzas at Greek’s Pizzeria nearby.
Walt Breitinger, a well-known environmentalist, said it was the group’s 13th annual environmental debate, each of which has plucked a topic of current interest and brought it to a public forum.
Senior Sophia Warden argued that the use of synthetics, rather than organics, leads to environmental destruction and contaminates water sources, affecting water quality for drinking and recreational purposes. Soil contamination affects crops, too.
Used by residents on lawns and gardens, the chemicals could be spread to farmland by small animals. “When this happens, the entire food web is put in jeopardy,” she said.
Effects on individuals can include skin irritation, cancer, liver disease, birth defects and more, Warden said.
Senior Payton Whalen said insect species pose specific risks to agriculture, plants and animals, and synthetic chemicals have proven effective in controlling those insect populations.
“Pesticides allow people to grow and sell their food at affordable rates,” he said.
Chesterton High School senior Emily Fleischhacker and junior Patrick Hansen field questions from each other during a debate on Monday, April 15, 2024, on a hypothetical local ban on synthetic pesticides for lawns and gardens. (Doug Ross/for Post-Tribune)
Pesticides help grow crops faster and with higher yields.
Whalen cited statistics on food insecurity: 42 million Americans are food insecure, sometimes not knowing where their next meal will come from, and more than 20,000 Americans die of hunger annually.
“Food insecurity is a very major problem,” debate partner Patrick Hansen, a junior, said. “A lack of affordable local produce contributes to obesity.”
Faulty water and sewer infrastructure is a bigger problem for local government to address, he said.
One alternative to the use of synthetic pesticides is genetically modified organisms, but those can have numerous harms, too. “We aren’t yet sure GMOs are safe for human consumption,” Whalen said. The European Union has banned GMOs, but they’re used in the United States.
GMOs are worse than pesticides, he argued, and can put agricultural power in a few corporations, harming small farmers, by controlling the cost and use of seeds for the modified crops.
“Agriculture is irrelevant,” said Emily Fleischhacker, a senior. This hypothetical proposed ban would apply to lawns and gardens, meaning individual families with small plots.
Organic pesticides would remain available. “Local government needs to step in and take care of their people,” she said.
“Scientists do know that GMOs are safe for human consumption,” Fleischhacker said. “We’re not talking about large-scale agriculture.”
Besides, GMOs have proven beneficial, she said, noting scientists developed a strain of rice with Vitamin A to address a deficiency in some developing nations.
Chesterton High School senior Emily Fleischhacker speaks about an environmental debate on Monday, April 15, 2024, at a “Chew & A” discussion afterward at Greek’s Pizzeria in Valparaiso. (Doug Ross/for Post-Tribune)
After the debate, the students discussed how committed they were to the points they made for the sake of argument.
“If I went home and did five hours of research on this opinion, I would have a very different opinion than I do now,” Hansen said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
