Pesticides kill…
Pesticides continue to be linked to serious illness.
The Pesticide Action Network points out:
‘They are the only manufactured chemicals specifically designed to be toxic.’
‘They are also the only group of toxic chemicals routinely intentionally dispersed in the environment.’
So why are we encouraging our children to eat more?
Pesticides such as dieldrin, DDT, toxaphene and chlordane are called ‘persistent organic pollutants’ (POPs). Pesticides have been associated with everything from cancer and infertility to Gulf War syndrome and eye abnormalities and, in many cases, there is solid evidence to back this up.
They may be related to diabetes - which 171 million or more people worldwide suffer,according to the World Health Organization. POPs are stored in fatty tissues - the study suggested this may be why obese people are more vulnerable to diabetes.
They may lead to an increased risk of contracting Parkinson’s disease, a study has found. Researchers discovered that high levels of exposure increased the risk by 39%, while even low levels raised it by 9%.
Researchers at the University of North Dakota say preliminary research shows a link between pesticide exposure and neurological diseases like Parkinsons and Alzheimers.
Studies of farm workers who work with pesticides suggest a link between pesticide use and brain cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple myloma, leukemia, lymphoma, and cancers of the stomach, prostate, and testes.
They are also likely to cause disturbance to natural hormones in our bodies, and can affect behaviour, brain development and development of reproductive organs. These “hormone disruptors” have also been linked to such as falling sperm counts and girls entering puberty earlier.
rural risks
31,000 tonnes of pesticides are sprayed onto UK farmland every year - half a kilo for everyone.
Georgina Downs, from the UK Pesticides Campaign, which represents people in rural communities, said: “Considering many pesticides are neurotoxic, then it isn’t surprising that study after study has found associations with various chronic neurological and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s. This is highly significant in relation to the long-term exposure of rural residents and communities living near sprayed fields.”
It’s not just sprays. Organophosphates are used in sheep dip, and have been linked to excessive tiredness, headaches, limb pains, disturbed sleep, poor concentration, mood changes, and suicidal thoughts.
eco-scandal
In 2006, a broad coalition of 14 organisations, including the Soil Association, have signed an open letter published in The Independent newspaper condemning the Government’s policy on pesticides.
“It is a scandal that the Government has ignored the clear advice of the RCEP,” said Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director. “If the Government won’t look after people’s health by acting on the best scientific advice they have, the answer has to be a large-scale move to organic farming, and the end of all pesticide sprays in the British countryside.”
Last year, he reported no change: “There is something very rotten with the state of pesticide safety regulation. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution recently criticised the regulators for overstating the certainty of safety and ignoring the wide variety of scientific views.”
semi-controlled
The Stockholm Convention, an international treaty banning a dozen of the world’s most dangerous POPs has helped reduce exposures. However, many such chemicals remain in use and those that have been banned may linger in the environment for years.
Not all pesticides may be POPs, but they are still chemicals designed to kill.
child risks
The five a day campaign to improve children’s fruit and vegetable diet will effectively encourage them to eat more pesticides.
New research by the Soil Association reveals that Government testing found 84% of samples of school fruit and vegetables contained pesticides - 25% more than samples of the same fruit and vegetables on sale in shops.
Chensheng Lu, professor at Emory University, Atlanta, has shown that when you switch your child to only organically-grown food, the presence of pesticides is eliminated from their bodily fluids within 8-36 hours. “Once you switch from conventional food to organic, the pesticides (malathion and chlorpyrifos) that we can measure in the urine disappears. The level returns immediately when you go back to the conventional diets.”
action:
- If you or someone you know has been affected by pesticide spraying then contact Georgina Downs of the UK Pesticides Campaign who is compiling a database of people who have affected by crop spraying, email georgedowns29@yahoo.co.uk telephone 01243 773846.
- Pesticide Action Network UK have a pesticide exposure advice service, or call 020 7065 0914
- Remember, if you want a pesticide-free countryside, then the best thing you can do is to buy organic food
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