Herbs can supply the vitamins and minerals so often missing from the modern diet and make our food so much more appetising. Herb plants have a useful place even in the smallest garden. They are attractive to butterflies, bees and to other insects which benefit the garden. These include some of the most commonly used pesticides. Cancer, however, is not the only health problem linked with pesticide-ridden food.
Some pesticides can cause nervous system damage, and are classed as neurotoxins.
Children are at a heightened risk from pesticides, because they eat more food relative to their body weight, their nervous systems are still developing and because, according to research, children eat more fresh fruit than adults, which can expose them to multiple pesticides. To avoid these risks switch to organic food, i.e. food produced without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The National Academy of Sciences reported in 1993 that federal pesticide standards provide too little health protection for infants. Organic baby food is widely available and you can also make your own by cooking, pureeing and freezing organic fruits and vegetables. The fresh, sweet strawberries you buy in the supermarket are the single most heavily contaminated fruit or vegetable in the U.S. Seventy percent of all strawberries tested contained at least one pesticide, and 36 percent contained two or more.