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From: dant@tekla.UUCP
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,sci.bio,sci.misc
Subject: Re: pesticides
Message-ID: <2207@zeus.TEK.COM>
Date: Fri, 14-Aug-87 17:33:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: zeus.2207
Posted: Fri Aug 14 17:33:19 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Aug-87 20:41:25 EDT
References: <3620@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Sender: news@zeus.TEK.COM
Reply-To: dant@tekla.UUCP (Dan Tilque)
Organization: First National Security Trust Bar and Grill
Lines: 19
Xref: utgpu misc.consumers:2132 sci.bio:532 sci.misc:386

Steve Walton writes:
>One point about the original poster's comments about carcinogen
>testing of pesticides: it has been pointed out recently that most of
>the vegetables we eat produce natural insecticides, often very potent
>carcinogens, which are present in far greater quantities than the
>artificial ones. 

Two points about natural insecticides (carcinogens) need to be made.

1.  Because humans have selected and bred for more insect resistant plants, 
the amount of natural insecticides in plants has actually increased over
the years.

2.  The natural insecticides are concentrated just in the plants, not
spread indiscriminately about the countryside.

---
Dan Tilque
dant@tekla.tek.com  or dant@tekla.UUCP