Tim Tyler writes
In uk.rec.gardening Michael Saunby wrote:
: "Tim Tyler" wrote in message ...
: : "Tim Tyler" wrote in message
: : In uk.rec.gardening Tumbleweed

: : It makes reasonable sense:
: :
: : Our digestive tract has evolved to cope with natural toxins.
:
: : In which case we probably don't regard the food source as toxic at all.
: : Or not - in which case the toxins remain toxic to humans, and we
: : presumably have learned to avoid ingestion, or to process the food
: : so as to reduce the toxicity to levels we consider
: : acceptable. Similar to how we might deal with
: : foods we know to have been treated with 'artificial' toxins, really.
:
: Our taste buds do their best to warn us about many plant toxins.

: I've never tried raw soya but I reckon it's not good to eat. A lot of what
: we eat today needs some processing, to grow it in large quanties requires
: modern technologies. What alternative do you propose - starving people?

What alternative? - to promoting pesticides as safe?

Indeed they are.

Warning people that many pesticides are not safe - and encouraging them
to eat certified-organic produce - or at the very least wash their fruit.

Washing has no effect.

: The plants are happy to cooperate in making themselves taste pungent.
:
: By contrast, the artificial toxins have been designed to be tasteless and
: invisible to consumers.

: And safe!

Indeed - but that often appears to be a secondary requirement.

Not to the regulators, and they have the say that counts.

Corporations want their products to sell. Only if there is
significant damage which tracable back to them, and they can't
claim innocence through ignorance - do they apparently get concerned.

Nothing they say counts.
It's what the regulator says that counts.

Safety typically comes through regulation and testing - not
from the manufacturers -

yawn So what's new?

Heard of the 30 MPH speed limit?

but DDT should have taught us that
it is not an infallible system.

Indeed it taught us a lot. Not least that toxicity, biodegradeability
and carcinogenicity are important as well as other things.

Learned in the 60's, regulations in place in the 70's.
Ever increasing regulation ever since: gold plating.

Please try to keep up to date.

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
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