TheyLovedBloodand Soil but Not the Mind 207Universityof AarhusstatisticianBjørn Lomborgwarnsthat if the entireindustrialized
realmswitchedto organicfarmingandceasedthe applicationof syntheticpesticides,
fertilizers,and agriculturalantibiotics,the consequencewouldbe an increasein the can-
cer rate.Thisis becausetheseagriculturalchemicalsso heavilyderidedby environmen-
talistshave,beginningwiththe early1900s,increasedcropyieldswhileprovidinga
statisticallynegligibleincreasein the risk of spreadingcarcinogens.To avoiduse of these
chemicalswouldtherebyshrinkcropyields,consequentlyreducingthe supplyof indus-
try-createdfruitsandvegetablesthatdo moreto fightcancerthancauseit. Thiswould
raisethe priceof suchproduceon the market,whichwouldleadto consumersbuying
themin smallerquantitiesand consumingless of them.^42
BruceAmesagrees,“The effortto eliminatesyntheticpesticidesbecauseof unsubstan-
tiatedfearsaboutresiduesin foodwillmakefruitsandvegetablesmoreexpensive,de-
creaseconsumption,andthusincreasecancerrates.”^43 TheAmericanCancerSociety’s
(ACS)websiteavowsfirmagreement:“Pesticidesand herbicidescan be toxicwhenused
improperlyin industrial,agricultural,or otheroccupationalsettings.Althoughvegetables
andfruitssometimescontainlow levelsof thesechemicals,overwhelmingscientificevi-
dencesupportsthe overallhealthbenefitsandcancer-protectiveeffectsof eatingvegeta-
blesand fruits.At presentthereis no evidencethatresiduesof pesticidesand herbicides
at the low dosesfoundin foodsincreasethe risk of cancer,but produceshouldbe washed
thoroughlybeforeeating.”^44
In fact,mostplantswe eat naturallyproducetheirownpesticidesas a consequenceof
naturalselection.Resultantly,we ingest10,000timesmore(by weight)naturalpesticides
thanwe do the syntheticpesticidesthatfarmersspray.^45 To quotesBruceAmes,the
syntheticchemicalresidueson foodsare “likelyto be a minimalcarcinogenichazard
relativeto the backgroundof naturalcarcinogens.”^46 Dr. RobertJ. Scheuplein,whowasa
directorof the FDA’s Officeof ToxicologicalSciences,findsthatmorethan99 percentof
food-relatedcancerriskscomefromthesenaturallyoccurringsubstances.Syntheticpesti-
cideresiduesandthe antibioticsadministeredto barnanimalseachaccountfor 0.01
percentof the risks.^47 BruceAmesadditionallybringsour attentionto the factthata
personsubjectshimselfto greaterexposureto carcinogensby consuminga singlecup of
coffee—includingcoffeemadefromorganicallygrownFair Tradecoffee,mindyou—than
he doesin an entiremonthof havingthreemealsper day,whereineachmealincludes
producecontainingsyntheticpesticideresidue.^48 In 1989the FDAestimatedthatthe risk
of someonedyingfrombuildingup a collectionof microscopicsyntheticpesticideparti-
cles in his bodywas0.0015in a million.By contrast,the risk of dyingfrominsectstings
was0.02in a million;froma lightingstrike,0.3 in a million;fromelectrocution,3 in a
million;fromdrowning,16 in a million,froman accidentalfatalityat home,90 in a
million;and,froma trafficaccident,192 in a million.^49 A two-decadestudyconcludedin
2014,headedby Universityof OxfordnutritionistKathrynE. Bradbury,examinedover
600,000womenin the UnitedKingdom.It classifiedorganicfoodas foodgrownin the
absenceof syntheticpesticidesandsyntheticfertilizersandwhichwerenot provided
antibiotics.Conversely,it classifiedconventionalfoodas foodthatmighthavereceived
thesetreatments.Thisstudyconcludedthatexceptfor the caseof non-Hodgkinlympho-
ma, womenwhoconsumedthe organicfoodwereno less likelyto developcancerthan
thosewhoconsumedconventionalfood.^50
For thesereasons,Amessighsthatthe fableof pesticides“bringingdisease,” rather
than“freeingus” fromit, is nothingless than“twisted... Variousmisconceptionsabout
the relationshipbetweenenvironmentalpollutionandhumandisease,particularlycan-
cer, bothstemfromand drivethe maligningof pesticides.”^51
“Thereis no evidence.. .” ScienceJournalismAwardwinnerMichaelSpecterconcurs,
“... thata singlepersonhas diedor becomeseriouslyill as a resultof the accumulated