Fatal Harvest

Kimbrell, A. Ed. 2002. Fatal Harvest The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture. Washington,... 

Contraindications Before harvesting these or any mushrooms for ingestion one should establish positive identification. Several closely related amanita species are extremely toxic. These include A. pantherina, A. virosa, A. verna, and A. phalloides (destroying angel). Large amounts of A. muscaria can also be fatal. Three mushrooms is the absolute maximum recommended. 

In 1977, J. Ott estimated that several tens of thousands applied dosages of psychotropic mushroom material are harvested and used each year, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Despite these quantities, there have never been reports of fatalities or serious physical damage as a consequence of using the Psilocybe or Panaeolus species. Local papers merely mentioned occasional panic reactions that subsided as soon as the acute effects of the mushrooms had worn off... 

These compounds, while effective against a wide range of pests, could easily be absorbed through the skin and were very dangerous to use. Several fatalities occurred when they were first employed on crops. Like most nerve gases, however, the toxicity of organophosphorus insecticides is usually ranoved on hydrolysis. In fact the removal of insecticide residuals by rainwater is often relied upon before crop harvesting. 

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