Friday, August 23, 2013

Comprehension: Fighting Bugs with Bugs in French Farming

The French solution to pesticides is more pests: useful, factory-produced insects in the South of France gain favor with organic farmers. 

Watch the video and answer the questions below.  Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. Biotop sells chemical insecticides.
a. True
b. False

2. Some are concerned about the effects of Biotop’s methods on biodiversity.
a. True
b. False

3. Cyril Vignon has been using insects to control unwanted pests for five years.
a. True
b. False

For transcript and answers see below.



Transcript and Answers:

Using insects instead of chemical insecticides to kill undesirable bugs is the business of this company in southern France. It sells 100 billion insects every year to environmentally-conscious customers who want to ban chemicals from farming and gardening. Despite some concerns about its impact on biodiversity, the insect-versus-insect business is booming.             

"We basically target three groups: professional farmers, city councils who manage urban green spaces and, more recently, the retail market where there is growing demand for alternative solutions."

 Cyril Vignon swears by such alternative solutions. He's a farmer, growing organic fruit and ancient vegetable types. For five years now, insects have been his weapon of choice to fight unwanted bugs.

 "We use bumblebees for pollination in strawberry and tomato fields, and then we let loose the auxiliary insects which eat the harmful insects, mostly lice, mites and thunder flies."

At a cost of about 100 euros to treat an average greenhouse, this protection does not come cheap compared to synthetic solutions.

"It's a bit more expensive than chemicals, but you get results and we care for our health, and that's priceless."

Humming along nicely on annual sales of five million euros, Biotop now wants to diversify into insect-killing mushrooms.

Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. a

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