What is India for safe food ?
'India For Safe Food' (IFSF) is a movement for change amongst
Indian farmers, consumers and the government to ensure that all Indians have
access to safe food, devoid of toxic substances. It is being spearheaded by
ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture), an informal network
of hundreds of organizations and individuals across twenty states of India. Nationwide
petition drive begins with events in mid June by various individuals /
organisations & some continuing till July 2012.
The
mobilisation and demand is directed to the Indian Agriculture Minister, emphasizing that "I as a citizen have
a right to safe food and the government has to:
a)
Promote and encourage organic/ecologically sustainable/natural farming, without
Pesticides and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
b) Ensure access to affordable organic food
(also specifically for pregnant/lactating mothers & children)
c) Ban Pesticides that have been banned in
other countries.
Why the campaign? What is the problem? What is
the solution?
Today the
food we consume and give to our loved ones is contaminated by toxins,
genetically modified organisms, dangerous additives, preservatives and illegal
adulterants. Indian agriculture uses
enormous quantities of toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers for growing
food and these are used indiscriminately by desperate farmers threatening their
own health and that of the consumers. Our farmers, the annadatas, are themselves
victims of pesticide poisoning.
We have a
lax attitude towards pesticide use and exposure to chemical toxins and its
consequent casualties, as is evident by the way the cancer epidemic among farming families in Punjab is treated
and the struggles of the endusulphan victims of Kerala and Karnataka and the 25+
years old battle of the Bhopal gas victims.
Many or
almost all pesticides in use in agriculture are either endocrine disrupters
(that interfere with the hormone system) or carcinogens (cancer causing) or
reproductive toxins or mutagens (causes change in genetic material), teratogens
(capable of causing birth defects) or embryo toxins. Many of them qualify under
more than one category.
Globally
concerted efforts are on to reduce, ban and restrict the use of many agro-chemicals.
Yet, we are cavalier about these toxins, for example 67 pesticides that are
banned in one or more countries are approved for use in Indian agriculture and are
being regularly and routinely deployed.
Therefore,
it is time we worked towards reclaiming our right to eat safe food through safe
farming which is sustainable, healthy and provides a livelihood for the farmer
and healthy, nutritious food for the consumer.
The
consumer endeavour to reclaim safe food can be many pronged:
- Eat
organic
- Grow
one’s own toxin-free food
- Join
hands with farmers who grow non-toxic food in community supported agriculture
groups
The good
news is that there are numerous farmers, outlets, groups providing organic and
safe food in almost every city in India. However we all need to work to increase
their numbers and enable them to grow by choosing organic! Another piece of
good news is that studies reveal that when exposure to toxins is stopped many
of the negative effects reduce significantly and in some cases even disappear.
However all
these personal actions have to be combined with a social action which each one
of us has to participate in, that is banning
the use of these toxins in our agriculture, removing them from our food, water and the very air that we and our
children breathe! Sadly, the birth defects and the cancers which have already
happened are not going away anywhere and it is for each one of us to ensure
that more people do not join these unfortunate ranks! This is a compelling
reason to stop pouring these harmful chemicals into our bodies and the
ecosystems we live in.
These
toxins do not stay limited to our food, they are everywhere, and the way to
stop them is to ban them completely from agriculture. As Sandra Steingraber
says in her incisive and lyrically written book on raising her children in a
world full of toxins (titled: Raising Elijah), the cocoon we create for our
children can’t protect them completely in this world where the air, water and
food are toxic. We need to reduce, remove and eliminate these toxins, to achieve
that, in addition to concerted individual efforts, we need committed policy
changes.
Again from
the book an anecdote(178): during the cold war period a teacher in the US asked
her third grade students how many of them thought that nuclear war would
happen. Except one girl, all others raised their hands, when asked why she
thought otherwise she answered, “because
my parents are working to stop it”.
Let your
child be the one who says that I eat nutritious, toxin-free natural food
because my parents are working to provide safe food! This campaign for safe
food is the time for each one of us to stand up and be counted. We need to act
now. In the interest of our own health and that of the future generations and
for the health of the environment -eat organic, ask for a ban on pesticides,
grow your own toxin-free food, compost your waste and use the compost to grow
food to complete the cycle and spread the word…. Join hands with India for Safe Food!
India For
Safe Food! Just give a missed call at 022
3301 0031
Find out more about IFSF & contact in your city/state at:
Download Posters
Devi Laxmikutty
Founder member
Urban Leaves
