What can we do?

Buy organic food whenever possible, if you can afford it. If more people buy organic food, it will make prices lower for everyone.

Ask you supermarket to sell organic food - and food that is fairly traded. Don't buy genetically modified (GM) food.

Grow your own organic food if you have enough space for a vegetable garden.

Join a group that campaigns for pesticide-free crops. For example, The Pesticide Action Network: PAN.

ORGANIC FOOD: food that is grown naturally, without using man-made chemicals

FAIRLY TRADED: if food is fairly traded, the farmers who grow the food get a fair price for their crops. (See the unit on coffee and fair trade)

Learn about your area. For example: What's in your water? Is it safe to eat fish from local lakes, rivers or seas?

Avoid animal fat as much as possible: the fat is the part of the animal where most of the pesticides in its body are stored.

Avoid golf courses! Golf course managers often use a lot of pesticides: one estimate says that they use about four times as much pesticides per acre as farmers.

ACRE: a unit of land (2.47 acres is a hectare)

Check it out: go to www.foodnews.org and find out what you have eaten in your breakfast!

Remember: 3rd December is No Pesticides Day!