LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 1995

To the editor:

uraging to note in your Dec. 11 issue [Page 5] that the "Health Scare Industry" is alive and well and still out to scare American consumers away from a healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegetables. The ad placed by Food & Water Inc. [and the Environmental Research Foundation] under the headline "More People Are Killed by Their Salad" alongside a graphic of an assault rifle was enough to make one who loves truth cry.

The ad's copy stated, in part " . . . every year, literally thousands of men, women and children die from a silent and invisible assault: Toxic pesticides on fruits and vegetables." The statement is pure fabrication. No one has ever died from pesticide residues. Period. In fact, the opposite is true, and by attempting to scare consumers away from fruits and vegetables, F&W Inc. is demonstrating its total lack of concern for Americans' health.

Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop put it best: "I do not know of a single instance where exposure to pesticides on foods in the marketplace is a source of danger to children or adults. It's a risk of zero."

Also, it's time we see outfits such as F&W Inc. for what they are: organizations who use fabrication, falsehood and fear to collect money for their corporate coffers.

The American food supply is the safest in the world.

THOMAS E. STENZEL

president United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association Alexandria, Va.

To the editor:

[A] recent issue contained an advertisement which was at the least pure fabrication and more likely plain dangerous.

Probably the most informed voices about the dangers of pesticides in our foods unfortunately get the least public notice. You would be doing the public a greater service by publicizing the words of people like the following:

"Our food supply is not only the safest, but most abundant in the world and pesticides are one of the most important tools that have made that abundance possible. I do not know of a single instance where exposure to pesticides on foods in the marketplace is a source of danger to children or adults. It's a risk of zero." -- Dr. C. Everett Koop, former U.S. surgeon general.

BILL FRYE president Ringer & Son Brokerage Co. Denver

To the editor:

We were shocked to see the [Food & Water] advertisement in a fine business publication like Supermarket News.

As you can see, the ad headline claims, "More people are killed by their salad" than an AK47? If it weren't for the fact that ads like this do real economic damage, we could laugh at this ridiculous assertion.

The sponsors of this ad have one goal. That is to undermine the credibility that consumers have regarding the safety of the American food distribution system.

STEVE LUTZ president Washington Apple Commission Wenatchee, Wash.

To the editor:

Western Growers Association is appalled and outraged by an advertisement that ran in the Dec. 11 issue comparing the consumption of fresh produce to assault weapons. This comparison is tantamount to yelling "fire" in a crowded theater, and the ultimate example of irresponsibility.

Let science be the basis for any debate and not unsupported fear tactics that are used as fund-raising gimmicks. Even though this was an advertisement, it is irresponsible and a terrible disservice to an industry that has worked very hard to teach consumers about the documented healthful benefits of its products.

These are the facts: No one has ever been killed by the proper use of crop-protection materials. The use of these products has been regulated at both the national and state levels to the extreme for decades.

Reputable organizations including the National Academy of Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and others all agree that the benefits of consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables far outweigh any risk associated with pesticide residues.

DAVID L. MOORE president Western Growers Association Irvine, Calif.

To the editor:

"Alarmist," "sensational" and "irresponsible" are just a sample of words that come to mind upon seeing the slanderous advertisement in the Dec. 11 issue. How ironic for Supermarket News, of all publications, to sanction this brand of wholesale public misinformation that Food & Water Inc. so carelessly tosses around to make a few bucks. America's food supply is the safest in the world.

F&W Inc. is notorious for making outrageous and dangerous claims about the safety of our food. Their claims are outrageous because there is no peer-reviewed science to back them up; they are dangerous because such nonsense will undoubtedly discourage some people from consuming the very fruits and vegetables that have been shown in countless studies to reduce the risk of cancer.

MICHAEL J. STUART executive vice president Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association Orlando, Fla.

To the editor:

The Produce Marketing Association is dismayed and appalled by the lack of judgment shown by Supermarket News in running the ad by Food & Water Inc. that compared fresh produce to assault weapons.

The proper use of crop-protection tools on fresh produce has never killed anyone and the publication that prints such a lie, even in an advertisement, should be called to answer. We are particularly shocked because this happened in Supermarket News, the retail trade paper that has given the most attention and focus to fresh produce.

ROBERT L. CAREY president Produce Marketing Association Newark, Del.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Dec. 11 ad that these letters refer to -- one that shall not run again in Supermarket News -- contains the opinion of the advertiser only, not that of Supermarket News. It's worth noting that the ad appears to represent early word of a direct-mail and consumer campaign that may be undertaken by the advertiser, Food & Water Inc. See the follow-up news article on Page 26.