When it comes to pesticides the science must lead

As the leading cause of death in Canada, it would be difficult to find a person that has not been touched by cancer in some way. It has certainly touched members of my family and my community, and I empathize with anyone struggling with or supporting someone with this terrible disease.

Its understandable that when people get sick, they want to find a reason. In some cases, there may be clear answers but rarely is it as clear cut as wed like it to be. While stories about possible causes of cancer often make headlines, its important to look at the science to determine the facts.

Canada has one of the most robust pesticide regulatory systems in the world, which helps to ensure pesticides are safe for both the farmers who use them and the consumers who eat the food they grow. Glyphosate, a herbicide that has received a lot of attention in the media, is one of the most studied pesticides in the world and one of the safest ever developed. It has been used for more than 40 years and Health Canada has clearly concluded that glyphosate is not a cancer risk.

For the Administrative Labour Tribunal in Quebec to suggest, as it recently did, that a farm workers non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was caused by pesticides, including glyphosate, runs contrary to the findings of every major regulatory agency in the world, and the global scientific consensus, that glyphosate does not cause cancer.

In the U.S the Agricultural Health Study, which is supported by the National Cancer Institute, studied 89,000 farmers and their spouses for more than 20 years and found no association between glyphosate use and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In fact, studies in the U.S., Australia, Canada and France show that farmers have less cancer overall than the general population.

If the Quebec government were to perform a similar epidemiological study of farmers in the province, we expect the findings would be similar.

What we do know for certain is that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps reduce the risk of many chronic health conditions, including heart disease, stroke and cancer. Pesticides are important tools that help Quebec farmers produce abundant local, fresh fruits and vegetables and grains to support the health of Quebec residents.

In a world of increasing economic uncertainty, making sure Quebec farmers have the tools they need to support domestic food security is more important than ever. And having access to safe and effective tools to manage the multitude of pests that farmers face helps to mitigate some of the price spikes in food. Without plant science innovations Canadians grocery bills would be 45 percent higher on average, which would have a significant impact on many families who are already struggling with rising food prices.

Cancer is an emotional topic and rightly so. But when it comes to the pesticides, which are critical tools that support Quebec farmers in the production of a safe and sustainable local food supply, we have to be guided by science. Its the same science we trust when it comes to cancer-fighting medicine or the vaccines that protect us from COVID-19.

 Pierre Petelle,
President and CEO, CropLife Canada