We are what we eat

What makes food unsafe?

• bad practices (poor hygiene, reliance on antibiotics and pesticides)

• unproven or risky technologies (genetic modification, nanotechnology, irradiation, cloning)

• deliberate contamination (such as tampering)• just poor supervision, • Genetic predisposition causing allergies, and• Food habits including the combinations

Food is as safe as it is grown

• What is sprayed comes to your plate

• What is left comes into your bottle of water, tea, coffee, softdrink, packed or breast milk

Pesticides are poisons• Bhopal gas tragedy and Endosulfan

poisoning in Kerala killed and effected lives of millions of people and poisoning continues

• Nagarjuna chemicals in Srikakulam• During 2005 studies show that more

than 500 people died spraying pesticides in Warangal district alone

• Only 99 % of the pesticide sprayed is useless and spreads in air mixes in soil and water

• CSE study showed that farmers blood in Punjab, Vegetables in Delhi, Hyderabad, soft drinks and bottled water across the country pesticide residues beyond toxic limits

• Pesticides constitute 40% to 60% of Cost of Cultivation in many crops…

Pesticide residues in your food and water

• Pesticides used in production of crops and storage are retained as residues in your food

• Pesticide residues also contaminate all sources of fresh water, seen in bottled water and soft drinks

• Body Burden defined as the total pesticide residue in a human is the highest in India

• Breast milk has pesticide residues beyond tolerant limits

• 51% of the food in India is contaminated with Pesticide Residues

• Products like Chillies that are never washed contain heavy does of Pesticides in them

NIN found 18 pesticides in Hyderabad vegetables, Feb’ 2012

•Atrazine•Propanil• Imidacloprid•Triazophos•Ethion•Monochrotophos•Quinalphos•Metribuzin•Cholrpyrifos

• Chlorfenvinphos• Diazinon• Phosalone• Fenitrothione• Acephate• Simazine• Malathion• Alachlor• Aldicarb

Binjal, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Tomato, Bendi

Bio-accumulation and Bio-magnification• Bio-accumulation is the phenomenon when an organism absorbs a toxin at a

rate greater than that at which the substance is lost. For instance, when the half life period (the time that it takes to disintegrate or get destroyed by half) is very long, bio-accumulation poses a greater risk of chronic poisoning by that toxin. Those chemicals that are lipid-soluble (fat-soluble) also create bio-accumulation especially in women with more fat-tissue, for example.

• Bio-magnification, on the other hand, is the increase in the concentration of a pesticide along the food chain (pesticides ending up in water bodies ending up in fish, eaten by birds, eaten further down by animals and then by humans etc.). The substances become concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain. This phenomenon of buildup is usually connected with persistence, slow metabolisation and excretion often due to water insolubility etc.

• While bio-accumulation occurs within an organism, bio-magnification occurs across food chain

What reports say?1999 AICRPPR Report had the following findings for instance:• 20% samples exceed MRLs (all commodities included)• Finds fruits, vegetables and milk to be highly contaminated• In states like UP and Kerala, more than 40% fruits and vegetable samples

exceeded MRLs – finds monocrotophos, DDVP and Methyl Parathion as most prevalent – all 3 WHO class I pesticides

• Finds 78% milk samples exceeding HCH MRL and 43.4% exceeding DDT MRL2001 AICRPPR Report:• Again finds high contamination levels in fruits and vegetables – 61%

contaminated – 11.7% failed MRLs• In milk, contamination still high – 15.2% failed HCH MRL and 7.7% failed

DDT MRL.• Finds new pesticides like Endosulfan, chlorpyrifos and chlorthalonil in milk.

Who regulates whom?• In 2003, CSE findings on pesticides in bottled water in India, followed by another analysis on

pesticides in soft drinks• Fourth time in Indian history and for the first time on health and food safety, a Joint

Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was set up to look into Pesticide Residues in and Safety Standards for Soft Drinks, Fruit Juice and other beverages

• Ministry of Agriculture’s scheme called “Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level” (started in 2005-06, with 21 labs representing various ministries)

The main findings of this monitoring scheme for 2010-2011 are:• Out of a total of 15321 samples analysed, residues were detected in 1044 or 6.8% of samples;

out of this, residues were detected above maximum residue limit in 188 or 1.2% of samples.• 11.5% of the 5170 vegetable samples were contaminated, with 2.3% being above MRL; only

0.9% of 2062 fruit samples were found to fail MRLs.• None of the fish/other marine product samples or CTC tea or pulses samples or

milk/meat/eggs/honey/soil samples were found to be contaminated.• These findings however do not reflect or resonate with the findings from various independent

studies from around the country, including from various government/public sector institutions.

GM foods

Skin Allergies with GM Soya

• To improve the nutritional quality, methionine-rich 2S albumin from Brazilnut (Bertholletia excelsa) was introduced into soybeans

• Study shows that an allergen from a food known to be allergenic can be transferred into another food by genetic engineering

Brazil nut allergin

Transgenic soya

Skin Prick test

(Nordlee J A, Taylor S L, Townsend B S , Thomas L A & Bush R K, 1996: “Identification of a Brazilnut allergen in transgenic soybeans”, The New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 334: 688-692)

Health Hazards: Various studies & instances

1998: Arpad Puzstai’s study on GM Potatoes – change in organs (liver, heart, brain) of rats & immune systems-CaMV promoter effect??

• Potentially pre-cancerous cell growth in

the digestive tract

• Smaller brains, livers and testicles

• Partial atrophy of the liver, and

• Immune system damageS. W. Ewen, A. Pusztai, 1999: “Effect of diets

containing genetically modified potatoes expressing Galanthus nivalis lectin on rat small intestine” Lancet 354(9187):1353

Intestinal Wall

Stomach lining

Non-GM GM

Non-GM

GM

1998: Monsanto & Russian Academy of Medical Sciences – GM Potatoes – higher organ & tissue damage: “Not safe to be used in the nourishment of people”[“Medical-biological investigations of transgenic potatoes, resistant to the Colorado beetle

(under agreement with Monsanto Co.)”, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Institute of Nutrition, Moscow, 1998. Signed off by V.A.Tutelian, Deputy Director. Physiological,

biochemical and morphological investigations in rats. Full Report 275 pp, including raw data.]

1999: Journal of Medicinal Food – beneficial phytoestrogen compounds lower in GE soybeans – 12-14% lower[Marc Lappe, E. Britt Bailey, Chandra Childress, Kenneth D.R. Setchell, 1999: “Alterations in

Clinically Important Phytoestrogens in Genetically Modified, Herbicide-Tolerant Soybeans”, The Journal of Medicinal Food, Vol. 1:4, pps. 241-245]

2001: Starlink Corn contamination – one billion dollars’ cost of recall….

Health hazards…contd.

2003: Terje Traavik – Filipinos & allergies (skin, respiratory, intestinal, with fever) – pollination of Bt corn field – blood tests showed an immune response

[Terje Traavik & Jeffrey Smith, 2004: “Bt-maize (corn) during pollination, may trigger disease in people living near the cornfield”, http://www.mindfully.org/GE/2004/Bt-Corn-Human-Disease24feb04.htm]

2004: Nature biotechnology – only human feeding trial of GM crops – gene transfer from GM soy to human gut bacteria!

[Netherwood et al, “Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal tract,” Nature Biotechnology 22 (2004): 2]

2005: Monsanto – Bt Maize – kidney abnormalities & high WBC levels

[Seralini et al, 2007: New Analysis of a Rat Feeding Study with a Genetically Modified Maize Reveals Signs of Hepatorenal Toxicity, Archives of Envir.l Contamination & Toxicology, Vol. 52, No 4 ]

Health hazards….

2005: Irina Ermakova – offspring of GM-soy-fed rats die – growth abnormalities

Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 (55.6%) rats from the GM soy group died compared to only 3 of 33 (9%) from the non-GM soy group and 3 of 44 (6.8%) from the non-soy controls.

On the right is a 20-day old rat from GM soy-fed study group and at left is a 19-day old rat from control group

Ermakova, I: Preliminary Findings presented at Symposium of National Association for Genetic Security, October 10, 2005; also, "Influence of genetically modified soya on the birth-weight and survival of rat pups" In Proceedings of the Conference Epigenetics, Transgenic Plants & Risk Assessment, Institute for Applied Ecology, Frankfurt, 2006, pp. 41-48

Control GM soy fed

Rat testicles

2005: University of Urbino - misshapen nuclei in liver cells of rats – dramatic reduction in enzyme production in pancreas – cells in liver, pancreas and testes affected

Malatesta M, Caporaloni C, Gavaudan S, Rocchi MB, Serafini S, Tiberi C, Gazzanelli G. (2002): “Ultrastructural morphometrical and immunocytochemical analyses of hepatocyte nuclei from mice fed on genetically modified soybean”, Cell Struct Funct. 27: 173-180; Manuela Malatesta, et al, (2002): “Ultrastructural analysis of pancreatic acinar cells from mice fed on genetically modified soybean”, Journal of Anatomy, Volume 201 Issue 5 Page 409

Cooked GM soy is reported to contain twice the amount of soy lectin, which can also block nutrient assimilation

Stephen R. Padgette et al, 1996:, "The Composition of Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybean Seeds Is Equivalent to That of Conventional Soybeans," The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 126, No. 4

Health hazards…

2007: study done by Vavilov's Agrarian University in Russia: RoundUp Ready soy approved for human consumption in the Russian Federation and in many other countries, induced serious changes in the morphology of viscera (liver, kidney, testis) of mice, in their histological and cell structures. GM-soy also is found to impact the size of litters, and the mortality of the young.

2011: A recent study from Canada published in the Journal ‘Reproductive Toxicology’ has shown that Bt proteins have survived the human digestive system and passed into the blood supply and found in the unborn babies (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21338670).

On top is a mouse fed with GM soya and at the bottom is one fed with non-GM soya, in this Russian study

Can there be a choice to consumer? Labelling still to be put in place

How primary products like vegetables would be labelled ? Who is accountable ? In a country with more illiteracy how to implement ?

Problems with detection due to Degradation of DNA High degree of processing Low amount of ingredient

Highly Processed food May contain GMOs (oil, starch, glucose syrup) Detection not possible, no DNA left after processing

Mixed processed food May contain GMOs in flour, or any other ingredient

(e.g. cheese) Detection possible but in most cases very

complicated, time consuming and expensive

How, what, who and where to detect ?

Food processing, storage

• Highly polished rice-diabetes

• Calcium carbide used in ripening

• Wax coated apples• Transfats in edible

oils

Food Adulteration

• Synthetic milk• Metalic colors on

greens• Growth hormones to

fruits and animals• Animal oils• Turmeric,

chillipowder, tea adulteration

Changing Food Habits

• Loosing diversity in food• Millets, minor fruits, vegetables disappearing• Unseasonal vegetable• Pizzas, softdrinks, icecreams• Unnatural combinations: cooldrinks/ice

creams after fatty food

Junk food• Junk food is bad for health• It lacks nutrition and is loaded with empty calories

(refined carbohydrates)• High on Salt, Sugar and Fats, including Trans fat• Unhealthy diet is one key cause of the growing global

burden of disease-WHO• Changing diet -- low on nutrients and high on salt,

sugar and fat, are directly indicted to disease.• Junk food is responsible for rising cases of obesity and

non communicable diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes

Salt in your food

• The amount of dietary salt consumed is an important determinant of blood pressure levels and overall cardiovascular risk.

• WHO recommends salt intake of less than 5 grams per person per day; NIN recommends 6 gm

• India has a serious salt problem; more than 40% population consume above 10 gm/day

Nutritional guidelines

• Fats: 15-30% of total calories• Trans fats: Max. 1% of total calories• Carbohydrates: 55-75% of total calories• Proteins: 10- 15% of total calories• Sugar: 20-25 gm/day added sugar• Salt: 5-6 gm/day

Person Kilo calories allowed/day

Carbohydrate (gm/day)

Salt (gm/day)

Total fats (gm/day)

Transfats (gm/day)

Adult male 2,320 290-348 6.0 39-78 2.6

Adult female 1,900 263-315 6.0 35-70 2.1

Children (10-12 yr) 2,100 238-285 6.0 32-64 2.3

Potato chips• Total fats: 33 gm• Carbs: 57.5 gm• Trans fats:• 0.6 gm (Bingo Oye Pudina)• 3.7 gm (Lay’s American style cream & onion, March, 2012 batch)• Salt:• 1.2 gm (Lay’s American style cream & onion• 3.5 gm (Uncle chips Spicy Treat)

What these numbers mean?Values per 100 gm• Munching a standard-sized packet (65-75gm); finish about half of the daily fats

quota.• Munching a packet of Lays March, 2012 batch will exceed Trans fat quota• And a packet of Uncle Chips Spicy Treat 60-70% salt quota

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Indian SnacksTotal fats: 36 gmCarbs: 50 gmTrans fats:• 0.7 gm (Kurkure masala munch)• 2.5 gm (Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia)Salt: • 1.6 gm (Kurkure masala)• 3.3 gm (Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia)

What these numbers mean?

* Values per 100 gm• Highly fatty food; Don’t eat too much Aloo Bhujia – will get heavy dose of salt and

Trans fat• Eating a packet of Kurkure will exhaust one-third of your calorie quota and two-

third of your total fat quota

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Carbonated drinks

Carbs:• 14 gm (Pepsi Cola)• 14.8 gm (Coca-Cola)

They say all of it is SugarWhat these numbers mean?* Values per 100 gm• A 300 ml bottle will have over 40 gm sugar;

consumption of a single bottle will exhaust your added sugar quota almost twice over

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Instant noodlesTotal fats: • 14 gmCarbs: • 72 gmTrans fats:• 0.6 gm (Masala Maggi)• 0.7 gm (Top Ramen, Super Noodles)Salt:• 4.2 gm (Masala Maggi)• 3.2 gm (Top Ramen, Super Noodles)

What these numbers mean?* Values per 100 gm• Highly salty food with lots of empty calories; 70% of calories is just from refined

carbohydrates • Eating a packet will exhaust more than half of your daily salt quota

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Burgers

• Total fats: 10.5 gm in veg --- 13.5 gm in non-veg• Carbs: 33 gm in non-veg --- 43 gm in veg• Trans fats: 0.4 gm• Salt: 1.2 gm in non-veg – 1.8 gm in veg

What these numbers mean?• Highly salty food with lots of empty calories; non-

veg high on fat (40-45%); veg high on refined carbs (55%)

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Fries

• Total fats: 20 gm• Carbs: 56 gm• Trans fats: 1.6 gm• Salt: 0.4 gm; Add to taste

What these numbers mean?• Rich in Trans fat; a medium fries (about 150

gm) will exceed your safe limit for Trans fat

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Pizzas

• Total fats: 7 gm• Carbs: 50 gm• Trans fats: 0.1 gm• Salt: 1 gm* Values per 100 gmWhat these numbers mean?• Low on fat, salt and Trans fat; high on refined

carbs --- only the basic version

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Chicken fries

• Total fats: 23.4 gm• Carbs: 14 gm• Trans fats: 0.7 gm• Salt: 0.9 gm

What these numbers mean?• A two piece KFC chicken (about 250 gm) will

exceed your Trans fat and total fat

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

r

• This meal will stuff you with fats and trans fats, and take care of 60-70% of your calorie requirement for the day

Carbs sugar fats

TTransfats salts % of daily need

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Carbs sugar fats

Transfats salts % of daily need

Study done by CSE, New Delhi March 30, 2012

Food LawsFood laws in our country

The Indian Parliament has recently passed the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 that overrides all other food related laws.Such as;

Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954

Fruit Products Order,1955

Meat Food Products Order ,1973;

Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947

Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1988

Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967,

Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 etc are repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006.

Commnity Managed Sustainable Agricutlure in Andhra Pradesh 2004-05 started with 225 acres in one dist and reached 7 lakh acres in 2007-08 in 18 dist. today the prog covers 20 lakh acres in 18 distWorld Bank says this is a good tool for poverty eradicationWith 50 % development expenditure one can double the incomes of the farmers

2004

2009

2006

…aiming to reach 100 lakh acres across crops in all districts of AP in by 2014

Farmers and area covered under CMSA

pilot

CSA handholding support

NGOs technical support at field level

SHG groups ind. handling

RKVY funds

* Planned intervertion

MKSP funds

Who benefits from your purchase• Farmer gets Rs 15 for each kg of rice you

purchase at Rs 35

• Farmer gets Rs 30 for each Kg of Toor Dal you purchase at Rs 80

• In case of other foods the farmer’s share is similar or lesser.

• In processed foods farmers share is less than 10% and the rest goes to the Industry, advertising and sales.

• Your purchases in retail chains go towards energy-hogging facilities like air-conditioned stores, cold storages and transportation all of which have a huge ecological cost.

YOUR CHOICES CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH, THE ENVIRONMENT AND LIVELIHOODS

How your choice of food impacts livelihoods?

• What you buy is what is grown

• Where and from whom you buy determines the farmers’ share in your rupee

• Today farmers income is less than Rs. 20/- a day

• Perpetual losses and indebtedness is driving farmers suicide

• 16 of the 32 crisis ridden districts are in AP

My Home Garden

www.indiaforsafefood.inwww.csa-india.orgwww.agrariancrisis.inFacebook: ramoo.csa; indiaforsafefood

SAFE FARMING FOR SAFE FOOD