The Christian Science Monitor recently ran a short article on a new breakthrough in using the natural pesticide jasmonic acid. Jasmonic acid is a natural pesticide that plants release when attacked, but spraying plants with the substance never caught on with farmers because doing so slowed plant growth. Research in England suggests that dipping the seeds in jasmonic acid produces plants that repel insects without the side effect of slow growth.

While it would seem that gardeners and farmers would be universally delighted at the possibility of an effective natural pesticide, reading the comments that readers left illustrates how contentious the issue of pesticides really is. So far, only one writer, who hopes that this means farmworkers will not face problems with pesticide poisoning, is unreservedly thrilled with the news.

Another notes that just because a substance is “natural” doesn’t mean it’s benign. That person also notes that chemical companies may begin looking for variations on jasmonic acid’s chemical structure to intensify its effects. Many cite research that shows workers who spray pesticides on lawns and crops suffer problems.

Perhaps the most intriguing comments raise the issue of whether the entire food system has gone off the rails. A number of posters question whether research on “natural” pesticides risks imposing an industrial agriculture model on alternative systems. One writes, “The real problem is the box we have trapped ourselves in. The answer doesn’t lie in natural pesticides, the answer lies in changing the way we produce food. Centralized agriculture will never, ever be sustainable. Producing food in accordance with, not against nature’s tendencies on a smaller, much broader scale is the only way we will ever be able to maintain any kind of productivity over the long term.”

I personally find it heartening that people across this country are becoming enlightened about food issues in a way that they never have before. People are beginning to question whether a corporate and industrial model makes the best sense in finding ways to feed ourselves.