Sainsburys must pull green ad
28 March 2001
Sainsburys must pull ‘green’ ad
By FWi staff
AN advert promoting Sainsburys “green” credentials is to be banned over implications that the chain does not use pesticides on fruit and vegetables.
The Advertising Standards Authority said this could mislead consumers into thinking produce was organically-grown, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Data from Friends of the Earth showed pesticide traces in 42% of Sainsburys fruit and veg.
In the same newspaper, Tony Trewavas argues that it is a myth that modern intensive farming is environmentally damaging.
The professor at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology at Edinburgh University says claims that organic food is healthier cannot be substantiated.
He argues that some cancer rates have dropped since farming has intensified, “probably an effect of cheap and plentiful fruit and vegetables”.
In contrast, he says, organic farms act as repositories of disease as toxins from contaminating fungi are reported to be higher in organic crops.
Organic farmers rely on mechanical diggers for weeding which pollute the environment and disturb birds and invertebrates, he claims.
A single herbicide treatment, coupled with no-till conventional farming avoids this damage, says Prof Trewavas.