Tim Tyler writes
In uk.rec.gardening Oz wrote:
: Tim Tyler writes

:By contrast - for many pesticides - the compensation accrues to the
:those in the supply chain - who can generate more produce - and the
:health cost is borne by consumers.

: 1) There is no direct health cost, due to the approvals testing.

So you claim - yet pesticides kill thousands anually.

I don't think so.
Please offer a .gov source from a first world country useage to show
this where it's not misuse.

: 2) There is most definitely a health cost for consuming produce
: contaminated by fungi. Aflatoxins and vomitotoxins for example.

Humans can easily detect many sorts of fungal infection - and can
reject contaminated produce.

Rubbish. Most are undetectable at the lethal dose.

There /are/ some undetectable fungus toxins. Aflatoxins on or in
nuts are notoriously difficult to detect by the consumer.

So are ergots, vomitotoxins and in fact pretty well all of them.

In principle, testing ought to be able to deal with the problem
with minimal adverse health consequences - but I believe this is
currently prohibitively expensive.

Not really. The main problem is that in some EU harvests the organic
wheat production would be almost totally rejected, which is considered
politically 'difficult'.

In such cases the use of fungicides may be currently better than the
alternatives.

Better to use a safe fungicide than sell dangerous produce.
Quite.

However, if they wind up on the produce, consumers should expect to
see them on the label.

No need, current use of pesticides leaves minute, usually undetectable,
residues which are perfectly safe.

Personally I look forward to the time when levels of plant toxins are
quoted and safe levels set. Obviously you couldn't use the same safety
spec as for pesticides as you would have few, probably no, allowed food
plants. However it might avoid problems where conditions (such as bad
pest attacks) produce particularly high levels of natural toxins.

After all this precise situation killed a few people eating courgettes
(squash) is NZ a few years ago from curcubin poisoning in organic
courgettes under unusually bad aphid attack.

Solanin levels in new potato varieties are now, happily, checked after a
close shave with a variety that was in fact acutely toxic. Fortunately
it poisoned the breeder at the multiplication phase and was spotted in
time.

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
Note: soon (maybe already) only posts via despammed.com will be accepted.