Natural pesticides

In the media there's been recent news;
In America since GM was introduced
Pesticide use has gone through the roof.

It was projected that their use would fall
But it's folly we use them on bugs at all,
Insects are food not pests that gall.

In Japan, in paddies by searching you can
In two days find ample food for a family.
Sixty eight kilos of 'hoppers per man.

In fact in the days when grain was surplus
Some said the excess may serve a purpose -
Abundant forage for nutritious grasshoppers.

Alas in these times of fast food culture
Traditional foods are neglected, asunder.
Insects seem repugnant, causing confused wonder.

Yet to this, worldwide, many take exception -
Viewing insects as pests is a misconception.
We should change our attitude to crop protection.

We could take a lesson from the Mexicans
Who harvest Sphenarium purpurascens.
Near Puebla they gather these bugs in their thousands.

This reaps rewards for local families,
Paid to protect the alfalfa fields annually,
Who make an extra three grand in salary.

This symbiotic practise, too, helps farmers,
As research by Cerritos and Cano-Santana
Shows spraying is hardly any better than capture.

Insecticides are ecologically bad,
Ignoring this would be both sad and quite mad.
Imagine the grub that with capture could be had.

During this worldwide economic downturn
With jobless masses who employment yearn,
In the fields we could deploy some to earn.

This strategy seems entirely sensible,
To save the planet we need change that's radical.
The way things are going is completely maniacal.