Researchers have found that pesticides used on crops has damaged the DNA of farmers in India, making them more susceptible to cancer.
For many years there have been concerns over the potential link between pesticides and cancer.
Scientists at India's prestigious Patiala University, Punjab state conducted the study by tracking a group of farmers for several months. They ruled out other factors such as age, alcohol and tobacco use and say their research points to exposure to pesticides as being responsible for a fundamental change in a person's DNA.
Researchers said they had found significant change in the DNA and that risk of cancer is greatly increased when the DNA damage is very high.
Crop Care Federation of India, an industry trade group insists there is no causal link between any pesticide in use now and cancer.
Use of pesticides and fertilizers was touted as a way to increase crop yields. News that pesticide use has been linked to cancer further brings into question whether such intensive farming methods are sustainable, particularly since crop yields are dropping anyway.
But even without a link to cancer, use of pesticides on crops has been found in some instances to reduce the food value of that crop. Pesticides were previously found to somehow impact the antioxidant levels of the tea, reducing the beneficial antioxidants. Health experts have advised people to drink organic tea.
