How bothered are you about pesticides on food?

[Tressle]

We have gone at least 50% organic, not too hung up about it, but have read a few unsettling reports about wheat and oats in particular (spraying prior to harvest leaving a ton of residue that many countries and councils have banned as potentially carcinogenic and environmentally destructive to soil, water and biodiversity).

Seems that a lot of people from the King of England to Tim Spector have spoken out about glyphosate, so I have the impression that there is more awareness or at least a growing push to seek alternatives now.

In general, how bothered would you be about this?
Trying to go 100% organic would be insanely hard work (for us) and I haven't the patience or time to pull it off to be honest but I am interested how other people feel about it.
Is it even worth bothering if you can't go 100%??
We are aware of 'the dirty dozen' and stick by that if and when we can. Been cutting out non organic wheat this past few months and oh god I long for an M$S pizza, lol, it used to be a Friday treat

The problem is that we are exposed to so many chemicals that are unavoidable. All the chemicals in household products, beauty products, diesel and petrol fumes, plastic is really bad. I have started buying bottled water in glass bottles but it is so much more expensive. I try and buy organic where possible but I can't afford for everything I buy to be organic.

It's not something I worry about, I've nothing else to say about why because I don't actually think about it at all.

Very bothered.

Pesticides are killing pollinating insects and we (and all wildlife) are being poisoned in the name of profit.

I buy organic for everything I possibly can. It's my biggest non-negotiable.

sadly, if one is worried about glyphosate, for instance, traces of it are found in tap water, which no domestic filters (regardless their claims) can remove.
It is also used in the production of cotton.

I am happy to buy organic, but I feel that the greater issue is beyond the control of the individual consumer. I can try but I know I can't win

Yes it worries me. I buy mostly organic high welfare, grass and forage-fed meat but will buy non-organic, if there is no real alternative.

Well they’re avoidable, just not in a capitalist society.

I looked up whether I should worry about oats... And took comfort from the article, which concluded: "In reality, this is all a giant nothing burger."

Pesticide in Oat Products – Should You Worry? | Science-Based Medicine

Nope, doesnt bother me in the slightest

I think there are some issues with organic pesticides also, yet since they are used at a much smaller scale, they don't have the same environmental impact as synthetic pesticides.

Makes me wonder whether our (global) population size is the issue, since anything utilised to such a huge extent seems to cause harm (lead to pollution, becomes carcinogenic, etc), leading me to conclude that we are experiencing a progress trap - now that so many of us are fed, don't die in childhood and have advanced medical care there's no longer anything keeping the balance. So perhaps our species' success is driving us towards extinction.

Just thoughts.

I am throwing this around my head because I was reading a fascinating article this week about mass extinctions in earth's history, and how at one point some kind of algae crept into the sea and killed everything else. I can't recall the time period, maybe devonian?

Well anyway, food for thought!

Increasingly - so many people I know are having illnesses related to thyroid imbalances, it seems to be connected. I think like microplastics, we will look back and wonder why we allowed it to happen.

• also very worried about bees and insects declining so less pollination and ecosystem failures increasing

the greater issue is beyond the control of the individual consumer. I can try but I know I can't win

The individual consumer is in fact very powerful. Each individual adds up to millions/billions and will sink or expand any product line. A huge amount of effort and money goes into tracking consumer trends. So if more people go organic and high welfare - the market follows.

Very bothered. We prioritize eating organic food, and probably average 70% of our food being organic. We buy organic oats and other bulk goods, but not flour. We use an organic veg box service and then choose organic wherever possible in the ssupermarket.

I feel that this is important both for my personal health, but also the environment, and by buying organic wherever I can, I hope that I'm helping to send a message that people do care about these things.

Glyphosate is worrying, because it is used on ready to harvest crops, like oats and wheat, to kill the crop plant and dry it out before harvest. There is then no way to remove it from the crops being harvested. Washing does not work because it is absorbed. It is a herbicide, not a pesticide, so designed to be used on and kill plants by directly affecting the way their cells work.
But I think it is much more broadly used in the US than Europe- at present. If you are not worried about it, fine, but if you have kids it might be worth looking into reducing exposure.

As far as I am aware, use of glyphosate has increased by an incredible amount in the UK over the past 10 years.
We're going backwards.

Sadly, whilst I do see the point of each individual making a difference, I am also aware that the majority simply won't care.
It is easy to recognise this in the growing levels of pointless consumerism around us, the almost total reliance upon car ownership, fossil fuels and plastics. One trip around a low income supermarket at Halloween tells you all you need to know about how much the average person cares about waste. That single occasion alone must contribute a fuck ton.

I can do my best, and I will keep on doing it, but I feel that we are shouting into a void. Pessimistic perhaps, but it is better than giving up, you are right about that.

Funnily enough we made the switch to Sainsbury's for our shopping at the start of this year for the wider range of organic options. I would say we are about 70% organic......if it's not available I don't worry about it too much but if there's an organic option I will buy it.

It is the one thing in a world of microplastics, pesticides and declining insect life that I can control so I prioritise that. It costs me more than if I bought non organic so I've swapped to simpler meals, less meat, no takeaways etc to economise and divert the money into a predominantly organic food shop.

As I have got older I am more aware of the harm that we are doing to the planet and ourselves. I was born in the 1960s and I have noticed how much insects have declined since then. When we used to go out in the car the windscreen would be covered in insects after being on the motorway (not good I know) but that doesn't happen anymore. Also you don't see many butterflies now. We live in a throw away society where nothing is really made to last and it's cheaper to replace something rather than repair it.

I do think cancer is on the increase because of our current lifestyles but the majority of people cannot afford to buy everything organic.

I’m curious as to what you particularly take issue with when it comes to pesticides?

My (very limited) understanding is that the evidence does not indicate any adverse health effects on the consumer if they eat non organic food. Always thought organic was a bit of a scam honestly (and a distraction from wider and more important discussions re balanced diets, UPFs etc).

I would worry about bioaccumulation of things like pesticides, as well as heavy metals in fish. Also antibiotic resistance caused by industrial farming.

I'm nearly 67 and have never worried about pesticides - I've always eaten fresh veg etc. from the supermarket and it's not killed me yet. I don't want to pay the 'organic surcharge' - I've eaten canned tuna my whole life, too, and am here to tell the tale. The only thing I avoid is UPF - and have done so since before UPF was a classification. One thing that might shorten your life is unnecessary worry - try not to do it!

Not worried.

Farmer here.

lots of hyperbole used on social media about this.

Dad is a an arable farmer. In 40 harvests I can remember he had never used glysophate on a wheat crop. Occasionally on OSR but that’s with strict time frames where you can’t combine within a certain number of days. I want to say 28 but might be wrong.

also married to a beef producer. Can count on one hand the number of times he’s used antibiotics.

Not saying we have issues - if I could farm organic I would. But the majority of the poylation don’t like even paying the cost of production of food let alone organic standards.

Many of us that eat organic food are doing it to lessen the impact of food production on wildlife - not for our own selfish health kicks.

If I could afford 100% organic I would. Same for avoiding anything inflammatory in my diet. What we put in, can have so many consequences throughout our bodies. When I was younger I didn’t really see or feel the point. My view now. I don’t do it to extent my life, I do it to improve the quality of my life.

Thanks for enlightening me. It's always good to hear from the hive mind. Patronising much?

I'm not bothered at all. I've got to my late 60s in good health, and I agree with a pp - life's too bloody short to worry about it!

I do that by not eating meat and trying to avoid anything which involves the production of food using animals. That's my priority.