09/14/05 Pesticide solution. A few beers?

The media loves to hype the dangers of pesticides, but before falling prey to sensationalism consider the following perspectives from science and medicine. Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, famous Danish statistician recently commented that in terms of carcinogenic effects of pesticides on humans, the two most dangerous synthetic pesticides are about 18,000- times less likely to cause cancer than drinking two beers. He goes on to say that when taken over an average life span, the risk they pose is the equivalent of drinking 13 beers over a lifetime. If that isn't enough to squelch pesticide fervor, last fall the EPA released the results of a study on one of the most prolific pesticides that has been under the microscope for nearly 30 years 2, 4-D. Again, the studies found that there has never been any evidence of ill effects on humans. The equivalent of our EPA in Canada came to the same conclusion that there was no risk associated with 2,4-d when used according to directions. Just took few beers to put it all into perspective, didn't it. I'm Susan Allen with Food Forethought.