Debunking the myths on pesticides is vital to raise food production in India

It is an unsupported claim commonly accepted that all pesticides are unsafe, both for crops and human health. In recent years, studies have highlighted the toxic effects of pesticides, especially in the long run. Most attacks have come from selfacclaimed environmentalists and some environmental NGOs, without enough research to even corroborate their findings.A major concern put forth by such lobbyists, without scientific evidence, is that pesticide residues cause cancer, but no link has been established. In India, a fact-finding document by the Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI), a forum advocating crop protection and harvest for Indian farmers, and a pesticide company exposed the myth.The World Health Organization makes no such link either and shows that overall cancer rates in the developed world, except lung cancer, are either on the decline or have remained at a steady level. Remember, longevity in western nations has dramatically improved and the increase can be associated in part to intensive farming and the arrival of pesticides. This has helped in mass production of cheap and nutritious food. Earlier, there were some chemicals known as teratogenic and mutagenic that caused birth defects.