Pesticide content in food is now a very real problem. But a more proactive role by women will help change the way we produce and consume our food, says Vaishali Kirpekar Satwe

THEY have entered our home. They have invaded our body. They are eating away at us, weakening and gnawing at our cells. We’re talking about deadly, poisonous, life-destroying pesticides. You go about the clockwork routine of cooking, eating, often with nothing more than a cursory washing and cleaning to check whether the food is safe.

Many moms are happy to see that their kids, who watch the Popeye cartoon shows, are more open to eating greens. But Popeye has certainly not been eating spinach that is sprayed with pesticides — can mothers today be equally sure?

A report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) shows 51 per cent of food is contaminated with pesticides, out of which 20 per cent had levels of pesticides exceeding the maximum tolerance limits. The excessive leaching of pesticides into the soil and water results in traces of pesticide in end-products like bottled water.

Apart from other dreadful side effects, pesticides also attack our immune system, cause cancers, hormonal disruptions and are counted as a cause for increasing instances of infertility. The dangers of pesticides increase with children as their bodies take longer to get rid of toxins. For women too, as they have a higher body fat composition than men, and because fat tends to store more toxins, women are more vulnerable to pesticides than men.

But most environmentalists believe women will be the key players in changing the way we grow and consume our food. At home, decisions regarding food are made by women. If women decide to cook only organically grown food or at least foods that follow global standards of pesticide usage, it will make all the difference.

Time For Action
Diseases due to pesticide exposure often plague agricultural workers too. To help them find their way towards cleaner, safer production of crops, Greenpeace, the international environment protection group, facilitated farmer-to-farmer training workshops that helped train them to cultivate crops without using pesticides.

Srishti, an environmental group based in Delhi, has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court demanding safe food for all. To bring the issue to the doorsteps of end-users, consumers and policy makers, Greenpeace organised a signature campaign in agricultural districts, where over 4,000 farmers and other agricultural workers, men, women and children signed petition postcards.

The campaign was then brought to urban consumers in cities including Bangalore where 300 people signed the petition. The Greenpeace campaign also included a call for True Food — food that is not only free from pesticides but also free from genetically modified ingredients.

Reformists In The Kitchen
Actress Vasundhara Das, a staunch supporter of the organic campaign, says, “Women are the most important link in this campaign. They have to demand organic food, which in turn will lead to more supply and therefore affordable costs.”

Wondering how you could feed your family True Food? You need to do a little extra leg-work first. In most cities there are a few stores that stock organic food. There are also a number of farmer organisations that produce organic food and stock it with support from NGOs. Find out where they stock organic foods, then get out there and make a choice — an informed, educated choice that will eventually ensure good health not just for you, but for thousands of agricultural workers, men, women and children of pesticide-affected communities, and perhaps more importantly for you — your next generation too.

If we can go for a fat-free, sugar-less, low-cholesterol, low-cal food, why not say ‘No’ to pesticides too? The choice, after all, does rest in your hands.


Organic food stores:
Naturally Auroville Boutique
8, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Chennai
Nesara and Green Bazar, Mysore
Whole Foods
New Friends Colony, New Delhi
Tel: 011 26820701

Bapoorouu Parupudi’s Farm
Tumkunta, Hyderabad
Tel: 044 27812160 or 9848160025
Earth Shop
SD Road, Hyderabad
Tel: 044 27768967