p a n a c h e
problems! This is why they
An inorganic research
It’s almost fashionable to eat organic food, but a new research in UK
attempts to crop the growth of the organic food movement...
R
ight from their school
days, Indians have been
taught about the Green
Revolution that swept across
the country in the 60s and 70s
and how it revolutionised the
way farming was done. By us-
ing synthetic fertilizers, pesti-
cides and modern, high-yield
seeds, farmers were able to
swiftly multiply their produc-
tion and presto, it had turned
out to be the boon Indians
had long been praying for!
Except, as years went by,
farmers began to suffer from
respiratory problems, memo-
ry disorders, dermatological
conditions etc. due to contact
with or inhalation of the in-
secticide sprays. Pesticide
residues began to be found in
the systems of people, and
some pesticides were found to
even be potent enough to do
serious damage to a child’s
nervous system. It is of little
124 21 august-3 september 2009
wonder then that both farm-
ers and consumers have stead-
ily been taking a U-turn and
going back to naturally culti-
vated ‘organic’ food. So when
London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine
(LSHTM) recently took out a
paper which said, “...there are
no important differences in
the nutrition content, or any
additional health benefits, of
organic food when compared
with conventionally produced
food,” people in support of
the organic
movement were
left aghast, while “When your
companies in-
volved in mak-
inputs are
ing fertilisers, wrong, which is
pesticides and pesticides and
the like cheered.
“Anything chemicals, how
which is pollut- can your output
ed, has to have a
problem,” says be good?”
MD & Global CEO of Or-
ganic India, Mr. Krishan
Guptaa. “Recently, I was in
Malihabad, which is in Luc-
know, and it is where we grow
Dussehri mangoes. The first
thing a farmer told me was,
‘Sir, we were very happy 20
years ago, till the time we
were not using any sprays or
insecticides on our plants.’
They say they started spraying
once and after some years
they had to spray twice, and
now they have to spray at least
four times to
keep the crop
protected. They
were saying that
in cattle there
were problems,
in the water
there are prob-
lems, and when
they are spraying
this stuff they are
inhaling all the
have to be on regular medi-
cine. So, when someone
comes up with a research like
this, I get the shock of my life!
When your inputs are wrong,
which is pesticides and chem-
icals, how can your output be
good?” Mr. Guptaa’s reaction
isn’t an isolated one, for the
scientists at LSHTM have
been flooded with mail lam-
basting their research.
Regular users of organic
food haven’t been moved by
the research either. So much
so that in Edinburgh, a Little
Green Map will be made
available from 14th September,
which will enable people to
directly go to the stores sell-
ing organic and environment
friendly products.
Most supporters of organic
food say the research defies
commonsense, and that it
seems that some people are
trying very hard to protect
their market. The LSHTM’s
study searched over 50,000
papers, and a total of 162 rel-
evant articles were identified
that were published over a 50-
year period. “They have in-
cluded studies from the 50s,
60s and 70s for their research
data. And at that time most of
the earth was still good, it was
not abused. I don’t know who
paid for this research, for that
is the only doubt that crops in
my mind!” exclaimed Mr.
Guptaa, resonating thoughts
of proponents of organic food
all over the world.
The only conclusive point
that does come out of this
entire brouhaha, is that very
little research on organic
food has been done till now,
and food scientists need to get
to work pronto!
Anu Gulmohar
business&economy