no dickie, not a joke. That someone would be desperate enough to ingest poison to end their life is no laughing manner, and frankly I'm taken aback that you would consider some sort of humour in what is merely a factual statement. From memory over 60% of acute poisonings were intentional. My assumption was by drinking the stuff- and because it was not stated thus the "perhaps".

That it is simpler to ban certain chemicals than teach people how to use it properly and ensure adequate handling procedure is not a reflection on the chemicals alone. Endosulfan was banned because of misuse, when it was used to incorrectly replace the previously banned organotin chemicals.
One thing to come out of the chemical reforms was better chemical handling practices, and the importance of protection for the applicator. for all chemicals.

Indeed we use much lower toxicity chemicals these days, and often very species selective. GM cotton has vitually eliminated the use of Endosulfan within that industry.

I did err on the date of banning of endosulfan in the Philippines, and therefore the WHO figure I presented was not a true representation, my apologies.

"We see a similar sort of market distortion with the rejecting of nuclear electricity or genetically modified food, given that both are now shown to be safe and in the best interests of consumers."

Consumers should be allowed to form their own opinion - they are not sheep to be told what to do by "authorities" whose past records haven't been that great. Scientists are historical very poor at risk analysis beyond their own fields. Your definition of "safe" is flawed. I'm a PhD qualified particle physicist myself and I reject nuclear energy. I also reject GM food, and, yes, I buy organic food if its reasonably priced.

"Today, the largest food corporations in the world own most of the organic industry’s leading labels, which are distributed by the world’s largest food retailers."

Who cares about "leading labels". We can go to half a dozen markets with organic product from local providers. Often this food is the same price or cheaper than non-organics in supermarkets, and it last a lot longer in the refrigerator because it is much fresher. Guess what: you don't always have to shop in supermarkets and buy "leading labels".