19 April 2010

harmful pesticides

This is the label on the top of a box of strawberries I recently bought at Mabohai Supersave in BSB:I have a couple of questions about this. First, does 'no harmful pesticides' mean "no pesticides were used because they are harmful"? Or does it mean "no harmful pesticides were used, though some harmless ones were used"?

My guess is they want us to believe the former, though the latter seems quite likely. In which case, I am a bit dubious. Pesticides are designed to kill pests ― that is their fundamental role. And it is hard for me to believe that something that kills pests is actually harmless. I bet DDT was once claimed to be harmless to humans, but later it was found to be absolutely lethal.

One other thing about this label: they seem to be putting an awful lot of effort into trying to persuade us that it is all natural. ('A natural harvest' ― I wonder what a non-natural harvest would be like?) And I am rather sceptical about such efforts at persuasion.

But maybe I should celebrate the fact that marketing food as 'natural' is seen as so important nowadays. Let's hope it reflects a change in the way things are grown, as customers are increasingly demanding naturalness.

Anyway, the strawberries were actually very tasty, so perhaps I shouldn't be too cynical about the labelling.