Silent Earth: Dave Goulson | Ep. 58

Insects are the often-times invisible workforce that take on planetary care. According to Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse, “they pollinate, break down waste and provide food for us and countless other species. If they vanished tomorrow, the apocalypse would begin the next day.” Today, insect populations are in rapid decline, with estimates of population loss ranging from 40-75% across regions. The main drivers? Habitat loss and widespread use of dangerous chemicals—both of which are linked with industrial agriculture. In this special Real Food Reads episode commemorating the 60th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Anna Lappé speaks with Dave Goulson about agrichemicals, biodiversity, and how we, together, can avert the insect apocalypse. SHOW NOTES 3:52 The importance of insects and the ecosystem services they provide 6:00 An example of insects at work in Australia 9:20 Unknown number of insect species, but we do know that insect populations are on the decline 11:10 Industrialized agriculture is one of the main drivers of the astounding insect decline we have today 13:05 How synthetic fertilizers impact the insect population 17:42 Neonicotinoids (or neonics), the parallel to DDT, and their dangerous lethal and sublethal impacts on insecticides. 24:01 If these chemicals are so dangerous, why hasn’t more action been taken? Where is the world still noisy? 29:15 Where in the world is it still “noisy” and busy with insect biodiversity? 32:30 What we can each do in our own ways to “avert the insect apocalypse”