One of the very best reasons for buying organic food is that no toxic chemicals have been used anywhere in its production. Before 1948, when DDT was introduced, people generally used very few chemicals in farming, but since then the number and toxicity of these had skyrocketed, and most of them are not properly tested, nor their effects on humans and animals tracked. In 1962, Rachel Carson shocked the world with ‘The Silent Spring’, charting the galloping environmental damage of pesticide use, and sadly, since then usage has continued unabated.

The most alarming of these is Glyphosate, marketed as Roundup by Monsanto. This company, one of the heirs of IGFarben – if you don’t know about them, Google it! – made Agent Orange, dioxins and poly chlorinated biphenols (PSBs) and in producing Glyphosate has inflicted upon the world a deeply destructive and damaging chemical whose use is increasing annually.

Monsanto is one of the world’s largest companies, owning 23% of the world’s global seed market (1). Just stop a moment and think what that means. It accounts for 91% of GM foods planted worldwide (2), so that from a planetary health point of view it’s one of the world’s most destructive companies It appears that among Roundup’s nastier effects is the encouragement of fungal disease (sudden oak death, Phytophthora, Fusarium, whilst also ramping up virulent microbes in the soil which upsets the healthy balance of microorganisms on which all life depends (3). Just projecting forward a decade or two, we may have lost most of our tree species and rendered the soil unfit for growing food altogether.

And that’s before we consider the unintended effects of Genetic Modification! In UK there has been very strong resistance to GM food, with good reason. Look at the excellent site GMWatch.co.uk for increasing evidence of genetic damage to pigs, cows, rats and of course humans.

In recent months many of the major supermarkets have announced that the meat they sell will have been fed on GM foods, and if you buy these or anything made with soy, maize or tomatoes, they are likely to have unlabelled GM ingredients (4).

It’s in the interest of all humans present and future to avoid GM and pesticide ridden foods, and for those who have the energy, support the organisation working to resist the invasion of money-before-health principles.