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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

Paul, natural pesticides abound in nature, although Momma Nature  
probly doesn't think of them as such. Natural evolution selects  
characteristics in both plants and animals that favor propagation  
success. For instance, extreme body odor would tend to repel  
potential mates and so has been diminished although not eliminated in  
humans. So, too, in plants, those scents and colors that attract  
pollinators tend to be rewarded and so the plant propagates. To reach  
propagation maturity, however, the plant must ward off or withstand  
the many animals that would devour or hurt it before propagation.  
Think cacti and thorns. Natural pesticides produce smells that ward  
off the bad guys.

James noted plants of the nightshade family. That includes potatoes.  
From Wikipedia: "Potatoes naturally produce solanine and chaconine,  
a related glycoalkaloid, as a defense mechanism against insects,  
disease, and predators." Yet we eat lots of potatoes, apparently with  
impunity, so long as an excess is not ingested.


On Jun 12, 2007, at 10:28 AM, TradingPostPaul wrote:

> And just what toxic natural pesticides are they talking about?  
> Can't name
> them, can they. The idea that natural substances in ordinary food  
> plants
> are toxic in a typical person's diet is beyond silliness.