Now they want to spray us with toxins
After 3 years of locking us down and masking us up, aerial spraying campaigns are planned across Vancouver Island for Spring 2023.
For 3 years it was “stay inside and mask up, the air your neighbour breathes is contaminated.” Now it’s “crop dusting with Foray 48B will only target pesky moths, it’s completely safe and effective.”
I don’t buy it. And neither do the good people at Concerned Communities for Clean Air.
To get a quick update on the situation, listen to an interview with co-ordinator Jennifer Tynan and if you can, consider taking some action:
Follow them on Insta
Sign up for the mailing list, write to communitiesunitedforcleanair@gmail.com
Help with canvassing door-to-door in spray zones, write to communitiesunitedforcleanair@gmail.com for more info.
Contribute via their Go fund me page to help with printing and appeal process costs.
Subscribe to a government email list where they announce specific spray dates for your area (generally fairly last minute): Spongy Moth News - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)
Write to the government with your concerns. For ideas, check out this letter a friend of mine wrote:
We have been expressing our opposition to the aerial spraying of Foray 48b since 1993. We believe we should not engage in chemical warfare (like glyphosate) or biological warfare (Btk:Foray 48b) against our natural environment. After the creation of the BC Environmental Appeal Board by the NDP government in 1992, one of the first cases heard by the board was about aerial spray of this biological agent here in Mt. Tolmie.
Using a biological agent such as Btk, which is toxic to all Lepidoptera Family of insects including many endangered butterflies such as Monarch Butterfly, is unconscionable. Many states in the United States and provinces in Canada have been engaged in this practice and, along with reducing natural habitat and food source, we are encountering extinction of many species of butterflies - especially the Monarch.
We need to change our ways of dealing with pest damage and not use a jack hammer approach to indiscriminately kill the whole family of Lepidoptera. We need to protect more areas of natural habitat from human modification and encourage planting of natural food for insects, such as milkweed, for butterflies. And we need to increase biodiversity of our natural areas and gardens.
Another important issue is the fact that we don't know the constituents of more than 90% of the spray which includes the chemical carrier and other volatile components. As far as the producers' assurance about the safety of this product for mammals and humans, I will not count on it too much. They have done only very limited observations and we should remember that the same captured agencies in the United States and Canada assured us about the safety of glyphosate (Round Up), which is now proven to cause cancer.
Please advocate a natural approach to our pest problems, and not a continuation of biological or chemical warfare.
Here are just few references for background information:
Possible health impacts of Bt toxins and residues from spraying with complementary herbicides in genetically engineered soybeans and risk assessment as performed by the European Food Safety Authority EFSA https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5236067/
Are all forms of Bt toxin safe? https://gmoscience.org/2015/08/10/is-bt-toxin-safe/
Persistence of the insecticidal toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki in soil https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003807179700148X?via%3Dihub
When I wrote, I got the following response. Note the admission that Foray 48B contains “proprietary ingredients” (aka unlisted, unknown) and we’re expected to just trust Health Canada that they won’t harm us or our animal and bird and insect friends, or the soil or the water supply. Seriously. After what they’ve been pushing the last couple of years.
Hi Janine,
Chelsea forwarded me your message as I didn’t receive it (the ‘s’ is missing at the end of my last name in the email you listed).
Although Foray 48B has proprietary ingredients the formulation have been carefully reviewed by PMRA / Health Canada and also OMRI you certifies insecticides and pesticides for use on organic farms. Foray 48B is the only Btk biological insecticide (this is not a synthetic chemical) that PMRA deems safe for use in populated areas and OMRI’s certification allows the application of Foray 48B right up to harvest as it is not considered a risk to farmers when they come in contact with it right after application. We apply 4 Liters over one hectare (very dilute) and although that may seem like a trace amount it is still effective in eradicating spongy moths as we run a biological model to track the caterpillars development and time our spray accordingly.
This product is not a “noxious gas’ and will not manifest in soil and water. The additives are essentially food grade additives that will break-down within a week of application and the bacteria (Btk) is already present in the environment (soils, water and even in humans).
At the time of application there is a risk to select individuals considering it is aerially applicated however the risk is limited and by staying indoors during the spray and for about 1 hour after, any high risk individuals with respiratory issues can avoid their exposure. The spray also takes place in the early morning hours.
I will also note that it is not the government’s decision to implement our eradication program and our Spongy Moth Technical Advisory Committee (which is a sub-committee of the BC Plant Protection Advisory Committee) makes this decision based on our understanding and expertise – we are a diverse group of scientists (biologists & entomologists) that not only have pursued an education in invertebrate biology/natural sciences, we have an deep interest in keeping our native ecosystems intact and healthy. Based on our knowledge of spongy moth (it’s a non-native, invasive species) and the impacts it causes when it establishes as an invasive, eradication is extremely important so we don’t experience adverse impacts to native forests, shrubs and native insects such as pollinators and other moths and butterflies due to the establishment of spongy moth (the effects of this can be seen in Quebec where spongy moth has established and causes significant damage to native ecosystems – in fact, Quebec regularly sprays Foray 48B/Btk over large areas to try and control the spongy moth populations and this year the province had to spray over 1 million hectares. The damage from an invasive species such as spongy moth can be quite detrimental).
Thank-you,
Babita
Babita Bains, MSc, RPF
Provincial Forest Entomologist
Forest Science, Planning and Practices Branch
Office of the Chief Forester
Ministry of Forests
Office: 236-468-2295
I wonder if they’ll be offering a big pharma for-profit vaccine, if we happen to notice an upsurge in respiratory ailments later this year or next?
We must STOP THE SPRAY! Please get involved. Thank you.