Reject pesticides and GMOs in food!
· Reject pesticides and GMOs in food - GO ORGANIC: In Bangalore,
you can visit one of the organic food outlets we've listed in the
'Related Documents'. If you know of other organic outlets, in
Bangalore or in your own city, email the information in to us, and
we'll be happy to add it to our database.
· Reject packaged processed food: For one, most packaged and
processed foods are laced with chemical preservatives. For another,
consider the number of kilometers that your food has traveled -
from the field to the market, from the market to the factory, from
the factory to exporters, then across continents to your country's
distributor, to the retailer, and eventually to the supermarket
shelf from where you pick it up! And not all foods arrive at your
kitchen as simply as that, many have several intermediary steps as
well, thereby increasing energy use and decreasing nutrition.
Buying food grown locally or better still in your kitchen garden
reduces the food miles from the field to the plate, making it
healthier, and lessens the burden on the planet.
· Eat traditional, eat seasonal: There is an intrinsic
intelligence to why nature provides some food items at certain
times and in certain regions. When we demand fruits and vegetables
that are out of season, or imported from great distances, it only
increases the burden on agriculture, creates incentives for farmers
to switch to mono-cultures and cash cropping instead of sustainable
agricultural practices, and ends up increasing your burden on the
earth. A simpler inexpensive way to ecologically sustainable eating
is to eat fruits and vegetables that are seasonal and that are
locally grown. By eating seasonal food, one is likely to eat fruits
and vegetables that have less pesticides, preservatives, growth
hormones and genetically engineered ingredients. You can be sure
that the papads made from Ragi in Karnataka have a negligible
amount of pesticide as compared to the rice applas (papads) because
ragi is a more traditional crop that grows easily with less care
that rice.
· Reject fortified foods - Say no to GM Potato / Vitamin A Rice:
Genetically Engineered seeds are those with foreign DNA, which is
inserted for producing a specific protein, which in turn has a
specific function. (eg genes that produce a protein that acts like
a pesticide in the case of Bt Cotton). Science tells us that a gene
does not just code for one protein but a series of proteins. When a
genetically engineered seed is sown, it does not remain static but
moves about and multiplies in the food chain. It continues to
produce its varied proteins some of which may cause severe
allergies in us. As even scientists are unable to tell us how
exactly genes interact with each other to produce proteins and what
these proteins are, we will never be able to assess the risk
associated with it. We have no idea as to who will be susceptible
to a toxic attack by these seeds and when. Since these foods are
not in the market yet, there is a need to make sure that they
remain out of the market shelves so we can be sure we don't
accidentally consume them.
What we don't know is that we have no clue as to what other
protiens(toxic/ otherwise) we might end up consuming. Genetically
Modified Organisms (GMO) technology aims to change age old
multicropping practices. Different food crops that represent the
different food types will be replaced by monoculture cultivation of
large tracts of a single grop genetically engineered to provide
Vitamin A! A GMO mindset attempts to make us switch from a balanced
diet (containing, for instance, rice, pulses, vegetables and dairy
products) to one containing fewer products genetically engineered
to fulfill many nutritional needs - potatoes with amaranth genes
and lots of rice with vitamin A - is cool and convenient!
Be cautious of these new-fangled technologies, choose your food
with care, and think, before you eat, how your food choices affect
the environment.