CANCER RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY
by AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned
About Resources and the Environment)

"Chemicals are largely to blame for soaring cancer rates," recently blared from numerous newspapers and news radio stations.

Earlier this year our own national newsmagazine featured a cover story suggesting that nothing was safe to eat. We are bombarded daily with news that pesticides are killing us all.

So why are Canadians living longer, healthier lives than ever before? Canadians' life expectancy has risen by 20 years for women and 16 years for men since 1920. During this time agricultural pesticide use became widespread, leading to an increasing abundance and quality of food, which in turn, has helped increase our average life span. The truth is there is no cancer epidemic and pesticides are not killing us en masse.

Cancer rates are actually declining, despite what the headlines say. According to information gathered by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, cancer death rates for both men and women and cancer incidence rates for men have dropped in the last 15 years. From 1988 to 2003, overall death rates for Canadian men dropped by 12 per cent and for women by 3.1 per cent (13 per cent if increased lung cancer rates among women, resulting largely from lifestyle choices, are excluded). Canadian Cancer Society officials claim that at least 50 per cent of cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyles.

Of course there is an increase in absolute numbers of cancer cases because our population is growing and ageing. Cancer remains largely a disease affecting older Canadians; 82% of cancer deaths in men and 78% of those in women occur over the age of 60. The report supporting the above headline pointed out that in 1921 cancer killed 6.6% of males and 8.6% of females, whereas now the death rate has risen to 27.4% and 23.1% for men and women, respectively. Not surprising, considering the average life span of Canadians in 1921 was 59 for men and 61 for women. People simply did not live long enough to die of cancer. They were more likely to die of an infectious disease, tuberculosis or malnutrition before reaching the ripe old age of 60.

As farmers, we need to do a better job of letting the public know about what we do, and the government safeguards in place, to ensure that their food is safe. We are proud of the job we do to provide safe food within all production streams, organic or conventional. We need to emphasize that food safety systems will always operate under a continuous improvement model as research continues to find answers to enhance food safety.

We need to let our consumers know that farmers are continuously adopting new management techniques to reduce pesticide use and the environmental impact of food production. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food's "Food Systems 2002" study provides evidence of this; we have reduced our pesticide use by over 40% in the last 20 years. We need to assure consumers that agricultural pesticides can only be purchased and used by a farmer who has been trained and certified through the Grower Pesticide Safety Course as required under the Pesticides Act.

Recent research stated that 30 to 35% of all cancers can be prevented by eating well, being active, and staying at a healthy weight. (Compare this to the 0-5% of cancers that may possibly be attributed to all "environmental contaminants" combined.) Ironically, it is not our food production practices that are causing cancer, it is the over-consumption of the food we produce that can lead to obesity, which has become the leading cause of cancer.

Ensuring that you eat five to ten servings of fruit and vegetables per day is recommended to reduce your cancer risk. Thankfully, the use of pesticides has made low cost fruit and vegetables more widely available, thus making it easier for us to eat our recommended five to ten servings. The Canadian Cancer Society website specifically states "The benefits of eating more vegetables and fruit far outweigh the risks from pesticides."

Unfortunately "Eat your vegetables" is not as attractive of a headline as "Pesticides kill." However, instead of becoming frustrated over the misinformation we see every day, the agricultural community should seize the opportunity to inform consumers about our food production practices, while we have their attention.