Are you drinking RO (Reverse Osmosis) water?
Are you using a sanitiser to clean your hands?
Are you boiling your veggies to remove pesticides?
Are you using a disinfectant to mop your floor?
If the answer is yes, then I wonder what you will do about the food you buy which is Genetically Modified (GM)? We will be as helpless as we are against pesticides in our food. On the internet, you will find different ways of washing or boiling your veggies to get rid of pesticides. But we can't be sure if these methods genuinely work.
Have you ever wondered what this viral fever is that doctors diagnose? What is it? Which virus? Any cold, cough, fever these days is termed as viral? Who knows what's happening, what's being hidden from us?
The air we breathe is polluted, the water we drink is polluted, and the food we eat is polluted. And if this was not enough, the government wants to further pollute our food. With the introduction of BRAI bill (Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India), we will soon be forced to eat Genetically Modified (GM) food. What a sorry state of affairs!
My question is, why? Why should I not have the freedom and right to eat food which is safe? Is this a democracy or a dictatorship? Were we ever asked if we are okay with GM food? Why are foreign companies like Monsanto being allowed to pollute our food? It's only Monsanto, an American company, which will reap the benefits from the BRAI bill.
There are so many unanswered questions. We are told that GM crops will provide enough food to all. But what about the food grains rotting in storage? Who is accountable for that? All these schemes that are launched by the government go waste. Food grain is stocked up to ensure that different food schemes can be applied. But we know how good this form of governance is. A lack of monitoring, lack of proper transport and a lack of accountability leads to monumental wastage.
Yet, GM food is that magic wand which is being touted as the solution to all our food problems. Is that really true? Cure one disease with another seems to be the mantra for our Government.
If you are curious, if you are worried, you can demand for your right to safe food here:
Reema Ganguly is a Marketing Communications Manager with Greenpeace India.