A patient petition asking the BC Cancer Agency to offer organic food selections in their cafeteria has been launched by Victoria resident Val Orchison.

When the realtor and chemotherapy patient visited the Vancouver clinic for the first time, she wanted to get a snack but was surprised, she says, at the lack of healthy choices.

There was a pop machine and plenty of sweets like Nanaimo bars and muffins "that were completely inappropriate for someone working on recovering from cancer," says Orchison, adding that it's a well-known fact that sugar feeds cancer cells, and that a healthy diet is an important part of cancer recovery.

In addition, the fruit selections at the cafeteria weren't
organic. Orchison, an organic advocate who grew up on Salt Spring Island in a whole-food and organic gardening environment, points out that many commonly used pesticides have been linked to cancer and that those residues are more likely to show up in conventionally When she went to the Agency to request better food choices, she was told that the cafeteria is contracted out and that there was nothing the administration could do.

Discontented by that answer,
she started the Organic Food for Cancer petition online and has since generated about 150 signatures. Her goal is 20,000. "A lot of people going through treatment and who I speak to
are seeking organic choices," says Orchison. "We want to send a clear message to the BC Cancer Agency and people we look to for treatment. There's a responsibility to us."

Sign the petition at www.petitionspot.com/petitions/organicfoodforcancer/.

Watch for a hard copy version in Lower Mainland health food stores and whole food markets.

Want to search for other articles that may interest you?

Readers of this article also enjoyed...