Pesticides are far from being a new invention. In the Odyssey, Homer describes how Odysseus “cleanses all pollution” by applying sulphur, while Pliny the Elder recommended using arsenic as an insect-killer, as well as mixing it with boar’s liver to cure “carbuncles upon the generative organs”.
We have since learned a lot more about what has an adverse effect on our health, while modern science can mix chemicals in combinations the Romans and Greeks could never have dreamed of. So, just how bad are today’s pesticides – and what can you do to mitigate their effects on your health?
