In the last few years, many of us have taken a keen interest in the kind of food we consume. We now want to have Organic food. We are being very cautious and particular about how much pesticide content is there in the groceries we buy and how it is impacting our health. Because ultimately it all comes down to our health. If we eat healthy, stay healthy. We live another day to achieve our dreams (Be it big or small).
Safety of food has become one of the biggest challenges we are currently facing. Right from Production, Harvesting, Processing, Consumption.
If we begin with Production, not many farmers are aware of the harm pesticides are doing to the human body in the long run. I don’t particularly blame them, because they don’t have a system who can guide them through this. Although, the government of India has started initiative such as “Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana” for encouraging famers to go organic. But who is actually taking the responsibility of driving these schemes and ensuring enough support is given to them? That is the question which remained unanswered to me.
It is actually nice to see that the film industry is making its own efforts to drive few schemes through their movies and brining awareness to the farmers. In the recent times, the movie – Bhishma has left an impact on how corporate world can bring about changes in the agricultural field. In the movie, the company have taken up initiatives to educate farmers and help them understand how harmful the pesticides are. They have also helped the farmers to produce organic food. Another point the movie portrayed which I liked very much was, how we cannot reduce the cycle of a crop using advanced technology. The crop needs to run its full course, only then the food produced would be healthy to consume.
Not many challenges are faced during the harvesting period, mainly concerning Safety of food. Maybe because they will anyway be processed in the next step. Which has one of the alarming things associated with it. While processing the food, they use chemicals such as Calcium Carbide, to make fruits look ripened. The fruits might look good enough to buy, but if we consume these chemical added fruits, it will lead to adverse health effects on us. So people, next time you step out to buy fruits, vegetables, groceries, please do your research and buy food that is good for your health!
In the last stage of food chain: Consumption: if we are cooking at home, we are very careful about washing vegetables and other ingredients that goes into our dishes. Just so we are eating healthy food. Can we expect the same kind of diligence from the food made in restaurants? Especially since the malls and restaurants will be functional starting tomorrow, how safe it is to go out and have lunch or dinner? Are we there yet, to the point that we trust the restaurants to sanitize the ingredients before they cook and serve us? Well, we all are matured individuals and trust that we can take decisions for our self- preservation.
During these tough times, a lot of famous personalities have actually taken one initiative, or rather you can call it a hobby, to grow their own food. We have been seeing a lot of videos they have shared in which they started a small organic patch in their backyard or terrace or a windowsill. Take a small step towards growing organic food at your own home. Start small, and if it works you can have your own rooftop garden!
