This story was originally published in High Country News. It appears here as a part of the Climate Desk Collaboration. The Christmas tree is perhaps the most common Christmas tradition. It was first practiced in Eastern Europe over 500 years ago when people decorated evergreens with apples or roses as symbols of Eve’s Garden.
This article, which is a part of the Climate Desk collaboration, was first published by High Country News.
The Christmas tree is arguably the most common Christmas custom. More than 500 years ago, when people adorned pine trees with roses or apples as representations of Eve and the Garden of Eden, it first appeared in Eastern Europe. Today, that long-standing custom is a thriving industry that employs close to 100,000 people, brings in nearly$ 2 billion annually, and harvests 25 to 30 million natural Christmas trees, with roughly 30 % of them coming from the Pacific Northwest. Since 2020, the number of real Christmas trees sold has increased by almost 20 %, despite the fact that fake trees are also in great demand.
The chemicals used in their production and their carbon footprint have drawn criticism for arbitrary trees. However, there are disadvantages to living trees as well. One in particular has received remarkably little attention, in part because there has n’t been much research done on the danger it poses to consumers or farmworkers. This is because agricultural chemicals, insecticides, fungicide, and herbs are used in tree farming.
Even those who are concerned about environmental effects do n’t often consider how those trees are grown because they adore their traditional green Christmas trees. Denise Castro, from Eugene, Oregon, said,” I’ve used a fake tree for approximately 10 years.” ” I purchased true trees due to that.” I always gave the possibility that there might be pesticides on trees any thought. She started asking her longtime friends if they had given it any thought after High Country News got in touch with her. However, pesticides were either something they had forgotten about or were n’t overly concerned about. Michele Zemba said,” You can count me in on this consensus.” ” When I was purchasing a real tree, pesticides never crossed my mind.
You can rely on me to support this position. When I was purchasing a real tree, pesticides not entered my mind.
Chlorothalonil, atrazine, glyphosate ( better known as Roundup ), and dimethoate are some of the most widely used chemicals in the industry. All of these chemicals have been linked to known health effects. Depending on the chemical involved and other factors, the half-life of some of these chemicals can range from days to years. These pesticides build up over time in the environment, lingering in soil and groundwater and accumulating in plant and animal tissues, particularly in humans who perch at the top of the food chain.
Low levels of pesticides are frequently found in surface and drinking water in Oregon. Data from Oregon’s southern waters were found to contain forestry-related pesticides in 2021 by researchers at Portland State University, indicating that they were flowing inland from the state rivers. However, it is challenging to determine the risks to consumers or to quantify the contribution of any one industry to such common, low-level pollution over extended periods of time. It’s another scientific gap, according to natural farmer Laura Masterson, a former board member of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. ” We do n’t really understand how these chemicals’ micro-dose effects on health work.”
According to tree farmers, the pesticides keep the industry afloat by ensuring that they have an adequate crop to sell. Chal Landgren, a lifelong Christmas tree farmer and past specialist in the Oregon State University Extension Service, stated that” the main reason growers are using herbicides is for seedling survival.” Christmas trees can take up to ten years to reach a desirable height, in contrast to other agricultural products that are grown and harvested on an monthly cycle. They are exposed to competing species, insects, and fungi during that time, all of which have the potential to stunt or completely ruin a crop. A single moth or beetle may prevent a grower from selling their harvest because tree farmers must adhere to stringent pest control regulations related to exported agricultural products because trees are also shipped abroad.
Does this imply that by letting them decorate the tree while munching on Grandma’s holiday fudge, we’re endangering the safety of the entire family? Never in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration. At least not over the course of a single holiday, Christmas trees are unlikely to have an impact on the typical home. In fact, the risk is thought to be so low that no testing is even conducted before trees are sold, assuming the tree is not consumed ( aside from those needles in Grandma’s fudge ). However, there is really no way to know for sure without testing.
” There is no pesticide tracking in the state either,” according to records kept by corporate applicators.
Additionally, there has n’t been much attention paid to the risks to those who work at or live close to Christmas tree farms, who could be exposed to much higher chemical doses. Aerial spraying, which has a higher risk of overspray and drift—exactly the kind of chronic exposure that can and does cause illness—is used in the majority of traditional Christmas tree farms. On the potential health effects on farmworkers, however, there has n’t been much systemic tracking and very little research.
Instead, formal complaints from neighbors or employees are used by health officials and regulatory bodies like the US Department of Agriculture. Reviewing the complaints made to the Oregon Department of Agriculture over the most current five years regarding Christmas trees reveals a great deal of annoyance and frustration. According to a 2017 report, the complainant was “disgusted with the organizational farming practices around her.” She recalled being told to “go back and complain, we have lobbyists” when she complained to a nearby Christmas tree farm about the pesticides and smoke coming from its burn piles. Another complainant claimed that his soil was sterile due to” clumsy use of nicotine killer” and pesticides applied by Christmas tree farm tenants. Like many others, his complaint was dismissed without farther action being taken. According to a lack of evidence or an inability to identify the source of the impacts, complaints are frequently dismissed.
Top policy advisor Sunny Summers at the Oregon agency emphasized the complexity of the problem of pesticide use and its effects on human health while also pointing out that the vast majority of Christmas tree farms complied with state and local laws. According to Summers, the issue is not whether these chemicals are being outrageously misused, but rather a lack of knowledge about their overall effects. There is absolutely no pesticide tracking in the state, according to Summers, outside of the records kept by corporate applicators. Therefore, we are unable to estimate how many pounds of active ingredients are used in the state.
This implies that it is impossible to determine the location or concentration of use of those chemicals. And those records of complaints? They are simply kept for five years at a time. Tracking the chemicals —and the complaints—is necessary in order to assess the effects of the industry’s pesticide use on the environment and, consequently, on people. ” If we cared, we’d be gathering a lot more data and spending resources to analyze that data,” as Masterson put it.
Christmas trees have historically represented particular virtues, and in the present era, they have become ingrained in culture. But perhaps it’s time to reevaluate how common they are. After all, there are ways to have fun on the holiday without leaving a negative legacy. Additionally, there are greener options: If you want to avoid using pesticides, you can purchase a tree from one of the few but expanding tree growers that do n’t use them. Alternately, you can add other decorations, like planted trees and elegant displays made of metal or wood, and still have a joyous holiday. This article, which is a part of the Climate Desk collaboration, was first published by High Country News. There may not be a second Christmas tradition that is more common than decorating the Christmas tree. More than 500 years before, when pine trees were decorated with roses or apples to represent Eve and the Garden, it first appeared in Eastern Europe.
This story was originally published in High Country News. It appears here as a part of the Climate Desk Collaboration. The Christmas tree is perhaps the most common Christmas tradition. It was first practiced in Eastern Europe over 500 years ago when people decorated evergreens with apples or roses as symbols of Eve’s Garden.
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/12/bad-news-about-christmas-trees-more-trees-more-toxic-chemicals/
