This article is hilarious. I laughed out loud throughout. Is it Coke that will dissolve a metal nail that soaks in it for a day? Anyway, thanks for posting it.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Tom Pall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/pop.cfm > > Things "Grow Better" With Coke (as pesticide) > > John Vidal > Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter # 189 > Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 > > Indian farmers have come up with what they think is the real thing to > keep crops free of bugs. > > Instead of paying hefty fees to international chemical companies for > patented pesticides, they are reportedly spraying their cotton and > chili fields with Coca-Cola. > > In the past month there have been reports of hundreds of farmers turning > to Coke in Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh states. > > But as word gets out that soft drinks may be bad for bugs and a lot > cheaper than anything that Messrs Monsanto, Shell and Dow can offer, > thousands of others are expected to switch. > > Gotu Laxmaiah, a farmer from Ramakrishnapuram in Andra Pradesh, said he > was delighted with his new cola spray, which he applied this year to > several hectares of cotton. "I observed that the pests began to die > after the soft drink was sprayed on my cotton," he told the Deccan > Herald newspaper. > > Coca-Cola has had a bad year in India. > > Other farmers in Andra Pradesh state accused the company of > over-extracting underground water for its bottling plants and a > government committee upheld findings that drinks made in India by itself > and PepsiCo contained unacceptable amounts of pesticide residue. > > But Mr. Laxmaiah and others say their cola sprays are invaluable because > they are safe to handle, do not need to be diluted and, mainly, are cheap. > > One litre of highly concentrated Avant, Tracer and Nuvocron, three > popular Indian pesticides, costs around 10,000 rupees (£120), but > one-and-a-half litres of locally made Coca-Cola is 30 rupees. To spray > an acre would be a mere 270 rupees. > > It is clearly not Coke's legendary "secret" ingredient that is upsetting > the bugs. The farmers also swear by Pepsi, Thums Up, and other local > soft drinks. > > The main ingredients of all colas are water and sugar but some > manufacturers add citric and phosphoric acids to give that extra bite to > human taste buds. > > Yesterday a leading Indian agriculture analyst, Devinder Sharma, said: > "I think Coke has found its right use. Farmers have traditionally used > sugary solutions to attract red ants to feed on insect larvae. > > "I think the colas are also performing the same role." > > The properties of Coke have been discussed for years. It has been > reported that it is a fine lavatory cleaner, a good windscreen wipe and > an efficient rust spot remover. > > Uncorroborated reports from China claimed that the ill-fated New Coke > was widely used in China as a spermicide. > > Yesterday a spokesman for Coca-Cola in Atlanta said: "We are aware of > one isolated case where a farmer may have used a soft drink as part of > his crop management routine. > > "Soft drinks do not act in a similar way to pesticides when applied to > the ground or crops. There is no scientific basis for this and the use > of soft drinks for this purpose would be totally ineffective". > > Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
