Nick Mole of PAN UK on Pesticides in the food that we eat
How can we believe what we cannot see?
Pesticides are poisons they are designed to kill living organisms and are all around us in our daily lives where we live work and play. They are in our food, our air and our water and often there is no way to tell that they are present as they are often colourless, odourless and tasteless. 30-40% of all the non-organic food that is bought and eaten in the UK is contaminated with the residues of one or more pesticides – pesticides that are often linked to the development of cancer, developmental problems, neurological problems and other negative health impacts. We (the public) have no way of telling which piece of food has pesticide residues on it and no effective way of avoiding them in our daily diets unless eating a completely organic diet. Pesticides are not just in and on our food, they are all around us. The streets are sprayed, our parks and playgrounds are sprayed, public transport is sprayed and people use them in their homes and gardens. All of this amounts to each and every one of us ingesting a cocktail of potentially hazardous chemical pesticides on a daily basis. |
Pesticides are also killing the world’s bees in huge numbers. A new and particularly deadly class of pesticides, neonicotinoids, have been implicated in the death of bees across the globe. Bees play a vital role in producing the food that we eat as well as being beautiful creatures in their own right. Their loss would have catastrophic impacts for people and planet. We need to reassess the use of pesticides in every setting where they are used and we need to move away from their use in order to protect the health of people and our environment. The health of people and planet must come before the profits of the companies that manufacture these poisons. by Nick Mole of PAN UK “It is ironic to think that man might determine his own future by something so seemingly trivial as the choice of an insect spray.” Rachel Carson, Silent Spring. Reference: DEFRA Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues in Food |
Our Questions to Nick Mole of PAN UK
Q. How do we know whether the particular non-organic meal we are about to eat has chemicals on it? A. You don't. The probability is that 30-40% of your meals are contaminated according to Scientific Research. Q. You state that we can't tell if they are there. Then how do you know they are there? A. The presence of residues is tested for by the DEFRA Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues in Food. They publish their reports and they are available to view online on their website. Q. Who is DEFRA ? A. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It is a government department in the UK. For more, click on DEFRA |
Q. We the public say that it can't be true because doctors never cite this as the cause of one's ailments. A. It is very difficult to link specific illnesses to particular pesticide exposures. However, we do know that pesticides have these properties as they are tested for them in development and the risk assessment reflects this. That said there are clear links to ill health caused by pesticides e.g higher instances of childhood leukaemia amongst farmers and their families as evidenced in a report by the European Parliament. If you have a question, please send it to us by going to the contact box - drop down on the Home Page. Look forward to hearing. |