Ifølge en rapport udarbejdet af Greenpeace East Asia dyrkes en stor del af de planter, der bruges i traditionel kinesisk urtemedicin, i industrielle plantager, hvor der i stor stil bruges sundhedsskadelige pesticider, som forlængst er forbudt af WHO.
China’s traditional practice of herbal medicine goes back thousands of years and reportedly works by unlocking nature’s ability to prevent disease and restore human health.
In recent times, Chinese herbs have ascended to the world stage and become a global icon. Their healing properties have led to their use in daily food and beverages like soups, stir-fry’s and teas by millions of people around the world.
In the past, these herbs grew deep in the forest, in very particular soil conditions and picked at specific times. But in a new era of industrial agriculture all of this has changed.
Planter dyrket med pesticider
Herbs are now grown in farms that are heavily dependent on chemical pesticides.To understand how this pesticide addiction impacts the Chinese traditional medicine sector, Greenpeace visited a handful of regions in China renowned for growing herbs.
The results of our investigation revealed a cocktail of pesticide residue on the herbs. Many of these pesticides are illegal in China or classified as ‘highly hazardous’ or ‘extremely hazardous’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Exposure to pesticides via food consumption poses a significant risk to health, namely the possibility of bioaccumulation within the body. Chronic pesticide poisoning can lead to learning difficulties, hormone disruption and reproductive abnormalities.
This is yet another symptom of a sick industrial agriculture system which produces ‘unhealthy products’ and fails to deliver healthy food to people. Chinese herbs are just the latest victims of agriculture’s pesticide addiction.
Læs mere her:
http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/campaigns/food-agriculture/Chinese-Herbs-Elixir-of-Health/
Læs rapporten her:
http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/Global/eastasia/publications/reports/food-agriculture/2013/chinese-herbs-testing-results.pdf
