From Agent Orange to Round Up and Chemical Lawn Service

Remember Agent Orange----the scourge of the Viet Nam War?  It was used as a defoliant by the US Military to expose the enemy.  But, as true to the Law of Cause and Effect….Agent Orange had a vengeful component, wrecking havoc with the health of the American soldiers, causing their off spring to suffer horrific birth defects and delivered a blow to the reputation of the United States…portraying our country as the Monster of the Universe.  But where did Agent Orange come from?....and where did it go?....Agent Orange was born in a laboratory at Yale University in our wonderful State of Connecticut.  It’s birth was not the intended outcome.  Here is the story of a beneficial idea gone wrong.

Arthur Galston was a Plant Biologist at Yale University and experimented with a plant growth regulator, triiodobenzoic acid. He found that it could induce soybeans to flower and grow more rapidly but also noted that if applied in excess, the compound would cause the plant to shed its leaves and die.  He aborted his experiment as it posed too much of a threat to plant life but seeing as he was working under a government grant….his research was reported to the US Government and his findings landed on the desk of the Department of Defense….. Galston’s discovery was turned into a weapon of war….and one of the major health hazards to all living things, including YOU.

From 1962 to 1970, American troops released an estimated 20 million gallons of Agent Orange Defoliant to destroy crops and expose Viet Cong positions and routes of movement during the Vietnam War.  But the chemical was loaded with dioxins, which have proven to be associated with cancers, birth defects and learning disabilities. 

When Galston learned of how his research was being used….he became heavy of heart to think that his discovery was used to destroy “Life”….plant life, water life and human life for generations to come.  In 1970, Galston charged that Agent Orange, being carcinogenic, posed a serious health risk and was a permanent pollutant to the environment. He lobbied the Department of Defense to conduct toxicological studies, which found that compounds in Agent Orange could be linked to cancer and birth defects in laboratory rats. This revelation led President Nixon to order a halt to the spraying of Agent Orange…..and you would think THAT was the end of that.  No it was not….it was only the beginning of a story so horrifying and most people have no idea what they are doing to themselves, their children and pets….not to mention their neighbors.  So….now we know the story of where Agent Orange came from, so…..where did it go?....... Enter….Monsanto.  Remember how the US Government took Dr. Galston’s discovery and turned it into Agent Orange during the Vietnam War?....well, who do you think manufactured Agent Orange?…..yup, Monsanto.  Monsanto made MILLIONS during the war manufacturing Agent Orange.  Yes, they knew it was detrimental to the environment and human health….but didn’t care.  They were making money!!!....bushels of it. So in 1970 when President Nixon Banned the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam do you think Monsanto was sad?  NO!!!....because in 1969 Monsanto started producing herbicides with the same ingredients used in Agent Orange (2, 4, 5-T, and 2,4-D or otherwise known as Round Up) but instead of selling these herbicides to the US Military…..they started selling it to YOU in the form of Chemical Lawn Service.

The era of herbicides and pesticides took off…..making billions of dollars in profits for chemical companies…..thanks to the “American Consumer”.  But the chemical companies were not the only businesses making money off the public.  Advertisers and commercialism capitalized on brain washing people into thinking they needed chemical products to kill ants…kill insects…kill weeds….kill dandelions…kill, Kill, KILL.  But what they didn’t tell you was that these products were killing YOU….killing you, and your children and pets, and your neighbors. 

Another industry that made money off the sale of chemical pesticides and herbicides was the medical industry and the pharmaceutical companies.  Yes folks, the pesticides and herbicides that you have been brainwashed into thinking you need will make you sick and eventually kill you.  Let me put it this way….Pesticides and Herbicides are CARCINOGENIC!....Cancer….sound familiar?  Cancer has hit practically every family, so instead of fighting for the cure…..don’t you think it makes more sense to eliminate the cause?  If studies show and have proven that pesticides and herbicides are detrimental to your health and the health of your family…why in the world would you use them, let alone pay money for them?  Just doesn’t make sense.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that Americans apply 90 million pounds of pesticides and herbicides every year in order to get lush green yards, and surveys have found that because their use is so heavy, those chemicals can drift into our homes—even if they started out on a neighbor’s lawn and not your own.  Lawns that have been chemically treated on a regular basis eventually become “chemically dependent”….something like a drug addict.  You will know soon enough when your lawn becomes chemically dependent because it will literally start to die….and your soil becomes contaminated….and you have no one to blame but yourself.  Our chemically addicted lawns are as polluting to our health and to waterways as chemical agriculture has become. 

Chemical Lawn Service seems like a quick, easy fix for lawn problems that can be corrected without nerve-damaging and ecohazardous chemicals like glyphosate (used in Roundup) and 2,4-D (used in products made by Scotts and Weed B Gone).  A safer way to eliminate weeds from your lawn would be to do what your grandparents did….bend over and pull them up.  Not only would your lawn be weed free….but your waistline would look better and the sunshine would be good for you.  Or, if you do not have time for that, there are Organic alternatives that are chemical free and it is a proven fact that you will have a healthier and better looking lawn for less money in the long run…..and you will not be killing yourself, your children and pets and your neighbors.

Which brings me back to the question….when and why did Americans declare war on weeds, anyway?  Are we that gullible and lazy to give our independent thinking over to multi national corporations and the government?  Some weeds you can eat, some weeds are medicinal, some weeds are pretty, and other weeds are signs of a problem. If you want your lawn to be healthy, clover is a good weed to have in the landscape. It usually appears when your soil is low in nitrogen levels, but it helps fix the problem by bringing nitrogen to the soil. Solution: Leave it alone! When you mow, the clover clippings will add nitrogen to your lawn, helping to fix the problem without fertilizer.  And remember folks….fertilizers are chemicals, that can harm your health.

Dandelions indicate that your grass isn’t developing healthy roots, or that there are nutrient problems in your soil. The turf may be either low in calcium, too high in potassium, or too acidic. Get a soil test to find out what’s out of whack, and use the results to strategize ways to balance out the nutrients. You can use a spray of undiluted white vinegar to kill the existing weeds (being carefully not to zap nearby grass)  or next Spring spread corn gluten on the lawn. Corn gluten prevents dandelions from germinating, and it also feeds the grass, making it stronger and more resistant to weeds. Corn glutin feeds the soil, kills the weeds without killing you and your children and pets and your neighbors.  And remember….do not over mow your lawn or cut it too short….This weakens the roots and promotes the growth of weeds.

Crabgrass appears when you’ve mowed the lawn too short. Dig out the crabgrass, roots and all, and then set your mower’s blade higher. Corn gluten will help prevent crabgrass, too. But, again, the corn meal has to be applied in early spring, before the crabgrass has taken root.

Brown grass is also a sign of overmowing, which prevents the grass from getting enough water. Set your mower a little higher and mow less frequently. The higher you allow your grass to grow, the deeper the roots will grow and the better it will retain moisture, especially during hot, dry spells. Sometimes brown grass is a sign of nutrient depletion, in which case you may want to plant some clover to add nitrogen to the soil. A soil test will tell you if your soil needs added nutrients. Brown grass may also be caused by white grubs, a pest that can be eliminated with the same beneficial nematodes used to fix bare patches.

An overly watered or overly fertilized lawn is prone to mildew, which is not healthy for your lawn nor your air quality as mold is also a carcinogen….and chemical lawn service promotes mold growth for your lawn and soil.  If you have to water your lawn, do it in the morning rather than early evening.  Leaving grass wet overnight makes it prone to mildew and other fungal diseases. Also, water infrequently and deeply, which not only cuts down on mildew problems, but it also allows your grass to grow a deeper root system that makes it less prone to weeds.

If you decide to grow a chemical free lawn, but your neighbors still use chemical lawn services….your yard and lawn will be contaminated with pesticides by what is commonly called “drift”.  If there is a slight breeze, the spray from your neighbor’s chemical application will drift into your yard and contaminate your lawn and anything and everything it comes in contact with.  Also, after the pesticides and herbicides are applied….they out gas, they emit toxic fumes into the air that will migrate or “drift” into your yard.  This drift of chemicals can also get into your home in the summer when you leave your windows open.  This reminds me of the woman who saw her cat, sitting on the window sill fall over onto the floor dead.  She picked up her beloved pet and drove to the vet where she was asked first off….was the window open and was your neighbor treating his lawn with chemicals to which the answer was yes.  Talk to your neighbors and let them know the hazards of chemical lawn service and suggest an organic regiment instead. And finally….if you are too busy to organically tend to your lawn yourself….there are a lot of authentic Organic Lawn Services in the area.

So here you have it folks.  Agent Orange from the jungles of Viet Nam, brought right to your door step by Large Companies like Monsanto, disguised in catchy names like….Round Up and Tru Green.  Proven to be carcinogenic…..and you order it, pay for it and probably get sick on it….all in the name of “the Perfect lawn”.  Don’t you think you owe it to your family…your pets….and your neighbors to stop the use of pesticides and herbicides and….GO Organic…..