Organic agriculture

I gladly welcome Francis Agius's article about Organic Agriculture in Malta (October 13). I also look forward to the introduction of certification by the Malta Standards Authority (MSA) so that Maltese farmers will be registered and their methods of production of organic products will be compliant with EU Reg. 2092/91 as the parliamentary secretary stated.

Fruit and vegetables are good for us. Ask any nutritionist. They are packed with vitamins, fibre and antioxidants, which ward off many chronic diseases.

But fruits and vegetables may have a darker side. A daily diet that includes lots of fruit or fruit juice has been recently linked to Parkinson's disease, a disorder of movement characterised by rigid muscles and tremors in the limbs.

Pesticides or other toxins in fruits and vegetables may be the culprit according to researchers at the University of Hawaii's Pacific Biomedical Research Centre. It doesn't mean we should stop eating fruits and vegetables but certain simple precautions should always be taken like washing the products more than once for many reasons. We should also choose organic products in favour of non-organic ones.

Agricultural poisons have been fingered before with regard to Parkinson's and also other diseases like cancer.

I agree with Dr Agius that most of our farmers are not aware of the details and methods of production of organic products. They have misconceptions about these products and most believe it is something expensive and impossible to be applied in Malta. To mention just one pesticide, methyl bromide is supposed to have been phased out from the production of agricultural products by now due to its effects on the ozone layer and the general health of humans, yet there are farmers who widely use this pesticide in their glasshouses when growing tomatoes. The use of other pesticides, fungicides and fertilisers is not adequately controlled and every farmer is left to his own methods to control the use of these chemicals. Are the products being tested by the MSA?

As consumers we are at the mercy of the producers and importers of fruits and vegetables even from non-EU countries where certain regulations of the EU are non-existent. But we also have the right to choose between organic products and non-organic products. I am sure that once that this choice is more available in all supermarkets the consumers will appreciate any difference in price these products may have compared to others. Nowadays people are more health conscious and eating the right healthy food free of toxins is a fundamental law in preventive medicine. So all measures in this direction are mostly welcome.