Unsafe Food.

[Guest guest]

*Unsafe foodOrganic farming has a bright future**by Bharat Dogra**A*lthough the food crisis has been discussed mainly in terms of high pricesand accentuating food shortages for the poor, there is another, a lessdiscussed, but nevertheless very serious aspect of the food crisis.This relates to the many-sided deterioration in the quality of food — interms of reduced nutrition content as well as increasing hazards implicit inthe use of too many harmful chemicals used for growing, processing andpreserving food.Wendell Berry truly captured the contradictions of the modern food system inone sentence when he said, "It is one of the miracles of science and hygienethat the germs that used to be in our food have been replaced by poisons."If any one thinks

that this is an exaggeration, then let him or her see the1986 report of the London Food Commission, which said that at least 92pesticides cleared for use in Britain have been linked with cancer, birthdefects or genetic mutation in animal studies.Or the 1987 report of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, which said thatpesticides in the food of US citizens may cause more than one millionadditional cases of cancer in the US over their life-time.It is well known that excessive use of fertilisers causes a loss of flavourof food; what is less known is that it can also cause a loss of nutritivevalue and even create some serious health problems.According to prominent nutrition expert, C. Gopalan, there is disturbingevidence of micronutrient depletion of soils in some areas; these are likelyto be eventually reflected in impaired nutritive value of foodgrains grownin such soils."Richard

Douthwaite has written in his widely discussed book "The GrowthIllusion,Nitrogenous fertilisers can raise the amount of nitrate in thefinal crop to four or five times the level found in the compost-growingequivalent, while at the same time cutting vitamin C and dry matter levels.This change is potentially serious, since nitrates can be turned intopowerful carcinogenic nitrosamines by bacteria found in the mouth, whilevitamin C has been shown to protect against cancers."In addition we've to cope with the nutrition loss caused by unscientificprocessing of food which leads to a massive loss of precious nutrients. Inmany rice mills and other cereal mills, the part of grain which is wasted isthe one which is the most nutritious.According to L. Ramchandran, who has made detailed estimates of the losssuffered in the process of refining cereals in his book, "Food Planning,""The quantitative loss in

the case of cereals alone may amount to not lessthan eight million tons. The qualitative loss is even more staggeringbecause the portions of the grain that are removed in refinement are manytimes richer in quality, proteins, fats, minerals such as iron andphosphorous, and vitamins such as thiamine, nicotinic acid, riboflavin, and,in some cases, also vitamin A, in the form of carotene, than the portionsthat are retained and consumed by us. These are precisely the nutrients inwhich the average Indian diet is woefully deficient."Another major source of loss of nutrients is the hydrogenation of oils.Hydrogenation changes most of the unsaturated fats into saturated fats.Saturated fats consumed in excess can be very harmful.Unsaturated fats, specially some of the poly-unsaturated fats, are importantin nutrition and play a protective role against the risk of cardiovasculardisease and other

ailments.In the words of Ramchandran, "in hydrogenation, what is good and necessaryis changed into what is not necessary and may be harmful."A new threat to food safety has appeared in several countries in the form ofgenetically modified crops. The Penang Statement, issued by several eminentscientists, scholars and activists who had met at Penang to discuss theissue in detail, says, "Some GEOs (Genetically Engineered Organisms) havebeen made with virus to transposon vectors that have been artificiallyenhanced to become less species-specific. Since viruses and transposons cancause or induce mutations, there is the concern that enhanced vectors couldbe carcinogenic to humans, domestic animals and wild animals."In addition to all this there is the ethical dilemma faced by vegetarians,who may find it difficult to select food when animal genes are introducedinto plant genes. The choice becomes

even more difficult (and not just forvegetarians) when even human genes are introduced into food crops.This dilemma is most difficult to resolve when GM foods are not specificallylabelled, and generally GM food companies try their best to avoid any legalrequirement of specific labelling of GM food.There is a widespread myth that food safety standards in western countriesare so high that once something is approved there, people in developingcountries can accept this unhesitatingly.The truth is that there is serious concern in several developed countriesabout deteriorating food quality and standards.As Paul Krugman reported in a recent column on the situation in the USA,"Lately there always seems to be at least one food-safety crisis in theheadlines - tainted spinach, poisonous peanut butter and the attack of thekiller tomatoes."Blaming the undue emphasis exercised by big business

interests on governmentregulation agencies, he blamed "the systematic appointment of foxes to guardhenhouses" for this malaise.The risk of harmful imports, including GM imports, has increased for manycountries in these days of free trade supported by WTO regulations. Greatcaution is needed to ensure that harmful food is not imported. It is equallyimportant to emphasise food production and processing methods within ourcountry which can provide good quality, healthy food.In this context, the future prospects of organic farming are bright. Healthyfood provided by organic farming can make a big contribution to improvinghealth and nutrition of people as well as farm animals while alsocontributing to improving soil quality and farmland fertility and protectionof the environment and wildlife.

“There is an unpleasant whiff of arrogance in the whole (vaccine-autism) debate,†Horton says. “Can the public not be trusted with a controversial hypothesis? The view that the public cannot interpret uncertainty indicates an old-fashioned paternalism at work. The public is entitled to know as much as possible.â€

Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Invite them now.