Ample evidence of pesticide ills

CONTRARY TO Judy Foreman's "Comparing apples to organic apples" (Health/Science, Nov. 10), which questions the relative benefits of organic as opposed to conventionally grown foods, there is a massive body of "hard-nosed" scientific evidence linking pesticide residues to a variety of illnesses, including cancer, birth defects, autism and other neurological problems, and infertility.

As we document in our book "Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children," the young are especially vulnerable to these poisons because they have not built up their defenses. A 1993 report by the National Academy of Sciences, "Pesticides in the Diets of Children," described the dangers in detail and led to the passage of legislation requiring an extra margin of safety to protect kids from food contaminated by these poisons.

While the cost of buying organic foods may be higher than conventional foods, the costs of dealing with the illness caused by organophosphate pesticides can be prohibitive.

Interestingly, on the same day Foreman's article appeared in the Globe, the European Parliament's environment committee issued a report calling for a reduction in the use of "dangerous pesticides" on foods in order to protect human health.

Philip and Alice Shabecoff
Brookline