Daily #victorygarden content:

Speaking of things that are dangerous chemicals that will NOT cure corona virus and are NOT safe for human digestion, here are some images related to World War II pesticides!
#envhist #foodhist #aghist #garden

Lessons from the #victorygarden =
Many of the new agricultural chemicals developed during World War II are now known to be carcinogens.
Even at the time some gardeners were skeptical of their safety!
#histSTM

Still, there was a lot of excitement about the explosion of new chemical aids for gardeners -- especially this exciting new chemical called DDT!*

*Now banned for use in agriculture worldwide

But protection of your #victorygarden crops came first and foremost!

"Shoot To Kill" was a common sentiment, especially when it came to Japanese Beetles.

As noted by historian Edmund Russell, not only were these chemicals wildly effective and potentially dangerous, but they also fed xenophobic, racist rhetoric about eliminating foreign "pests".

I won't post a racist cartoon of Emperor Hirohito as an insect, but there were many.

To summarize this thread:

-Rascism helps us treat human lives as disposable. This is wrong; every human life has dignity. Humans are not insects.

-Just because someone tells you a chemical is good for you or safe to eat, doesn't mean it actually is:

PS - More #ww2 #victorygarden #histSTM content coming in future threads where I'll be posting materials from my stay at the fantastic @SciHistoryOrg! Stay tuned!