WILL GM FOODS BE A NORM IN INDIA? SUPREME COURT ALLOWS GM TRIALS!

It is a sad day for India when the highest court in the country, contrary to the recommendations of its own technical expert committee (TEC) succumbed to the half truths and untenable claims put forward by the GOI and allowed to continue with trials involving genetically modified food crops. Of course one consolation is that the apex court did not hand out a total clearance for the trials but wanted its TEC to look into the governments claims and put before it for a decision in six weeks time. Those antagonists of GM food crops have been waging a war on GM crops convincingly claim that research in this area is fraught with many dangers which are difficult to anticipate with to day's limited knowledge. Two of the most contested claims of GM food lobbyists are that GM food crops are safe for human consumption and GM crop cultivation will not contaminate the environment leading to extinction of the original strains of plants on which mankind was depending heavily for survival. 

One of the most blatant lies uttered by the government attorney before the honorable court is that GM technology will increase yield of food crops dramatically and only with this technology the country can manage to meet the target for food production that is required to feed the nation adequately! No where in the history of agriculture so far any scientist has proved that GM technology can increase production and only losses due to pests can be minimized which in turn may reflect on the over all yield, that too marginally. Almost all countries in this planet who produce much more food than India with lesser acreage have achieved the same without recourse to GM technology. If India is stuck at the bottom of the list of land productivity the reason is not far to seek and the first Green Revolution which was hailed at that time turned out to be a game changer in destroying the soil health across the farm lands in this country using liberally chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The fact of the matter is that it may take ages to recondition the farm land health before productivity can be raised substantially.

At this juncture one must ask the most pertinent question as to why Government of India did not allow genetically modified Bt Brinjal into the country if it was so sure about its safety to the consumer and environment? It was done after extensive consultation by the then Minister for Environment who came to the conclusion that enough data was not available to clear the new GM Brinjal for country wide cultivation. Citing the example of the US where 80% of the products available in the market in that country contain one or more GM ingredients does not become relevant in India because American consumers are being fed these foods without them actually knowing about it! By now it is well established that the American government which is influenced in its every food policy decision by powerful GM crop lobby consisting of monolithic giants who have invested billions of dollars in developing most of the GM crops. The oft repeated claim that in spite of using GM foods and ingredients derived from them, Americans have not come to harm so far, is not sustainable when the ground reality is that more than two thirds of the population there are sick due to over weight, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other afflictions and till to day no one has been able to conclusively prove that massive consumption of GM food, day in and day out, has not contributed to this sorry situation.  

Coming to the contention of the attorney of the government before the honorable court, one can understand the extent of deception by listening to his sworn statement before the Supreme court which is reproduced below: "The government pleaded that recommendation of the apex court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) for banning field trials of the GM crops be rejected as the use of biotechnology in agriculture can bring second green revolution in the country. "Revolution have been saturated at the producer and consumer level and the methods of conventional breeding are showing very marginal increase in yield. Further, the use of inputs like fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation schemes is expensive and unsustainable. Hence biotechnology could bring in a second green revolution," the Centre said. Appearing before a bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, Attorney General G E Vahanvati contended that field trial should be allowed to go on as the demand of food for growing population could be met only through the GM crops. "...Bearing in mind the far reaching implications of this matter on food security and the pressing requirement of continuation of the ongoing research on application of GM technology in improving agriculture productivity and production, it is humbly prayed that the proposed recommendation of the interim report of TEC to impose ban on field trials should be rejected outright," the Centre said in its affidavit". Opposing the TEC's recommendations, the Centre contended that genetic method is the only way for increasing the farm output to ensure food security in the country. "There is a need to increase food grain production from the current estimated supply of 257 million tonnes to 345 million tonnes by 2030. With no further possibility of increasing Net Sown Area, the only recourse left to meet the requirements of country's food security is through increase in productivity."

What is interesting in the above statement is that the government was trying to confuse the court by using the word "biotechnology" interchangeably with GM technology which is not ethical as GM technology is just one branch of biotechnology which is a marvelous tool in the hands of scientists to do hundred and one things for the benefit of mankind. If a government is bent on riding piggy back on American GM lobby without considering the vital interests of the Indian population by allowing the GM crop giants to set shop in the country, it will be a sad day for the country whose agricultural diversity is likely to be destroyed and the health of the people, most of them poor with sub-optimal health conditions, to be further jeopardized.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

   

CALLING THE BLUFF-DUPLICITY OF FSSAI!

From day one since the advent of the much "acclaimed" Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) with a hard core bureaucrat at the helm of affairs, it was pointed out by many with a fair knowledge of Indian food industry that nothing much was going to happen by changing PFA to FSSAI unless this body is equipped with experts in the field of food science and technology and vested with real Authority to chase the fraudsters for bringing them to books. Unfortunately people in Delhi with power to do any thing they want, have neither the time nor the inclination to listen to the views of others opposing their policies. The result is the creation of a moribund organization going in circles, in the face of a serious crisis that threatens the health of citizens with foods most of which are sold in the marker after adulteration, not knowing how to tackle the situation.

The very foundation of India's food safety program is shaky as Government of India has passed the buck for protecting food supply to its citizens to the states under the pretext of constitutional propriety. The resulting dichotomy is a ripe recipe for disaster as neither the Center nor the States do any thing substantial to establish the required infrastructure to monitor foods, commodities as well as that manufactured by the industry, and book the culprits who indulge in selling unsafe and unfit foods day in and day out. Poverty of ideas, lack of vision, low sensitivity to the sufferings of the citizen and practically no dedication are the hallmarks that exemplifies the food safety program in the country. 

Look at the situation in the country to day! For a nation with a population of 1.2 billion plus, the food requirement is huge and the country is fortunate in managing to produce adequate food grains to feed the nation, thanks to the hard work and sacrifice by its farmers. But due to mismanagement by the government, poverty and hunger are rampant and the country continues to be at the top when international hunger index ranking is considered with many African countries faring much better! The quality of food grains distributed under the PDS is scandalous and if FSSAI conducts a serious check on them real truth will come out.Take the quality of milk supplied by many vendors which are worse than poisons and the cooperative diaries do not fare better. FSSAI or the State safety authorities seem to have an unwritten understanding that milk quality of these diaries need not be checked at all with the result most of the time sub-standard quality product is supplied to the unsuspecting citizens.

While the criticism is a well intentioned one, probably it might have no impact at all since all government controlled consumer products industries are totally insensitive to any sufferings of people as they are "drunk" with power entertaining the notion that they are all "mini Gods" with license to do any thing! Take for instance the recent introduction of Masala Butter Milk by a cooperative diary in Karnataka and if one has to believe the label declaration the product as 10% fat, 13% carbohydrate and 11% proteins! Probably these diaries are manned by personnel who do not know even the fundamentals of food! The tragedy is that the Dairy still gets away with such rabid misdeeds. 

In an interesting case that reached the High Court in Delhi recently, no less an Authority than FSSAI submits an affidavit declaring that "there is a well established system to monitor presence of pesticides in fruits, vegetables and other food items in the country"! Can there be a bigger "lie" than this and fortunately the honorable judges were able to see through this "fraud" pulling up the Authority for misleading the court. The court rubbished the declaration of the FSSAI" in the light of facts" available with the court! Further the court had the wisdom to say that on many occasions non-permissible pesticides have been found in vegetables sold in Delhi and surrounding areas and dubbed the "tall claims" of the FSSAI as "surprising" after perusing their affidavit, which informed the court that there were 68 state pesticide testing laboratories, besides regional and the referral central insecticides laboratory for monitoring food products in the country. Similarly court also had to ridicule the stand of FSSAI that the presence of Endosulfan in food items, despite the pesticide being banned, is due to its presence in water used for irrigation, already contaminated years ago! These instances show that FSSAI is not all equipped to deal with country's food safety program as they have neither the manpower to fulfill their responsibility nor necessary knowledge about the ground reality in the country.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

  

WAH! WHAT SENTIMENTS ON JUNK FOODS!- THE COURT IS BOWLED!

Babus in Indian Government have been forced by the judiciary to spell out the policy about selling "junk" foods near the schools in the country! In response to a PIL petition in the Delhi High Court the honorable judges sought the views of the Ministry of Health Family Welfare on this issue and of course as expected the court was provided with a "beautiful piece" of report which only Babus that run the ministry can do! No wonder GOI depends so heavily on these Babus to "govern", with really no governing!

From where the GOI got the idea of selling dal, roti and nutritional foods in the schools is not clear. Probably credit must go to the Babus for keeping themselves abreast of developments in the US where there is a powerful movement for banning junk foods in the school canteens because of the perception that the dangerous epidemic of obesity rampaging that country is due to consumption of such junk foods. Sure the US government knows fully well about what it is talking about and the predominance of processed foods in the diets of Americans is the root cause of the problem. While an average American depends on industry made foods to the extent of 80% in the daily diet, the corresponding figure is less than 10% in India. What junk foods are the Babus in India talking about? How many schools in this country has canteens like the ones American School system has? It is unfortunate that GOI has filed an affidavit containing lot of platitudes confusing the judiciary and the problem remains as they were before.

What does any one mean by calling an edible product "junk food"? If foods rich in calories, sugar or fat are called "junk foods", probably more than 75% of foods made by Indian food industry will come under this category. What is left for selling in the country? It is true that foods children eat during their early growing stages invariably decide the dietary pattern through out the life and therefore much thought has to be given when it comes to their exposure to various types of food. Parents have much more responsibility in "habit forming" vis-a-vis their kids and it is sheer callousness to shift this responsibility to the school under one pretext or the other. While residential schools have the onus to be more careful in providing a balanced menu, where does an ordinary school come into the picture in this "high decibel debate"? Millions of schools attended by a vast majority of children in the country have no role to play in this junk food controversy. Pupils generally take their own food to the school in their own "Tiffin Box" and it is natural and logical to expect that parents must be sending the most nutritious food to their children. It is amusing to read the affidavit filed by the Health Ministry with the court which is reproduced below verbatim as gleaned out from News Papers.

"The Centre has asked state governments to ban sale of junk food and carbonated soft drinks on school premises and withdraw all such items that lead to unhealthy eating from canteens. The ministry said this while responding to a PIL filed by an NGO in the Delhi High Court seeking ban on the sale of junk food and carbonated drinks within a 1,500 feet radius of schools. The MoHFW said in an affidavit that it is against sale of junk food in educational institutions and the states have been advised to keep them out of reach of students as far as possible.Though junk food is not defined under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, the ministry said that any food that has poor nutritional value is considered unhealthy. Any food item that has empty calories and is responsible for obesity, cavity, diabetes and heart diseases cannot be considered good for the consumption of children, the ministry said. Studies have indicated a correlation between consumption of food with empty calories and chronic degenerative diseases as well as hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular problems and glucose intolerance, the ministry added".

Plenty of platitudes and sentiments expressed through empty words having no intention to do any thing! Most of the above lines are taken from standard pieces of information on junk foods in the Internet with least relevance to India, probably to confuse the judiciary and to create an impression that the Babus are 'knowledgeable" on the subject. After the above episode one is left wondering whether the education authorities are really capable of protecting the health of school going kids because a more serious problem posing danger and not receiving attention due to it, does not come from junk foods from the organized food industry. The real culprits are thousands of street hawkers who congregate near schools at important timings when the schools start or have recesses and a range of items like frozen ice, colored drinks, fried snacks, cut fruits etc are sold openly under most unhygienic conditions with potential to ruin their health. With many dotting parents showering their children with liberal "pocket money" without being serious about monitoring as to how the money is spent, there is disaster waiting to happen through these street hawkers and sadly most civic authorities in the country either do not bother about controlling them or close their eyes not wanting to see the ugly scenario around the schools. Of course FSSAI has absolutely no clue regarding this sorry situation across the length and breadth of the country!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com