GOING ORGANIC REALLY CAN BE BETTER FOR YOU

PESTICIDES and other chemicals make it into our food chain without us realising it — and some can be very damaging.

They are used to control insects, weeds, fungi and bacteria and help to ensure we can produce enough food to meet demand.

But inevitably they also make it into the food chain — and some (organochlorines and organosulfates) can cause cells to mutate, while DDT, chlordane and lindane are tumour promoters.

The pesticide MXC was developed after the ban of DDT but tests have also shown that this stimulates the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Its use is falling, but others with potential risks are replacing it.

Some insecticides also contain arsenic compounds still in common use which have been classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Meanwhile, chlorothalonil, a fungicide used on trees, vegetables and agricultural crops, has been classified as ‘likely’ to be a human carcinogen.

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, has previously been associated with exposure to glysophate, a herbicide commonly used as weedkiller.

Although the evidence of risk is small outside farm workers, it’s certainly worth trying to reduce your intake of pesticides over time by buying organic, growing your own fruit and veg and making sure you wash any shop-bought produce thoroughly before you eat it.

Organic food cannot be completely free of synthetic chemical residues, due to product and environmental pollution, but organic agriculture avoids synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, and instead uses holistic methods of weed and pest control such as long crop rotations, natural predator insects and insect traps.

Organic meat also has lower levels of other potentially harmful contaminants, as livestock is not given growth hormones or antibiotics, so it is worth buying organic whenever you can.