permaculture

[Craig Lanoye <lanoye@together.net>]

Craig Lanoye wrote:
> 
> Subject: Natural Plant Products and Health Hazards
> Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 20:31:57 -0600
> From: David Kendra <dkendra@mr.net>
> Organization: Novartis Seeds, Inc.
> Newsgroups: 
> alt.agriculture.misc,alt.sci.agriculture,alt.sustainable.agriculture
> 
> Several folks who publish to this newsgroup have implied that natural
> plant products are not as environmentally damaging as man-made
> chemicals.  There is a large volume of research and field observations
> that suggest otherwise.  Below is just a small snippet of whats
> available.
> 
> II. Outbreak_of_Phototoxic_Dermatitis_from_Limes_-_Maryland
> 
>      On August 8, 1984, the Office of Disease Control and
> Epidemiology, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,
> was notified by a nurse at a day camp in Owings Mills, Maryland,
> of a rash illness reported among 12 children during the previous
> week.  The rash, confined to the dorsa of the hands and extensor
> and flexor surfaces of the forearms and in the form of blotches,
> speckles, and streaks, was macular, hyperpigmented, and
> nonpruritic.  No other signs or symptoms were noted.
> Dermatologists diagnosed the rash as a phototoxic contact
> dermatitis.  Investigation disclosed that limes used in an art
> class to make pomander balls were incriminated as the cause of
> the rash.
> 
> Reference source:
> http://ace.orst.edu/cgi-bin/mfs/01/newsletters/n53_85.nws?126#mfs
> 
> Best regards,
> Dave Kendra


Is this guy for real?  I think he is a salesman for Novartis Seeds.  If
anyone can shed some light on this, I would greatly appreciate it.  

Thanks, 
Craig