"REVOLT AND REVULSION" AGAINST GM FOODS-CAN IT BE SUSTAINED?

The mass movement against production of genetically modified food crops is assuming critical proportion if recent reports about global protests organized against the perpetrators of these foods are to be believed. Though there is no substantial evidence about the so called advantages of GM crops, the "innovators" and developers of the GM seeds maintain that there is no evidence of any danger caused by their seeds. It is pointed out that more than 80% of foods eaten by the Americans to day contain GM food ingredients and the population there is still "surviving", though most of them are obese and disease stricken! One of the tall claims made by the monopolistic seed companies is that GM technology increases crop yield and therefore is imperative for meeting future food needs. This is a canard and safety authorities in the US are closing their eyes to the long term dangers posed by these "nature tampered" products! Here is the latest development vis-a-vis the universal anti-GM food sentiments across the world.

"Two million people marched Saturday across the United States and in more than 50 other countries in a protest against seed giant Monsanto aimed at calling attention to dangers posed by genetically modified food that it and other companies produce. Founder and organizer Tami Canal said protests were held in 436 cities in 52 countries. Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But some say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment. The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe. The 'March Against Monsanto' movement began just a few months ago, when Canal created a Facebook page on Feb. 28 calling for a rally against the company's practices. "If I had gotten 3,000 people to join me, I would have considered that a success," she said Saturday. Instead, two million responded to her message. Together with Seattle blogger and activist Emilie Rensink and Nick Bernabe of Anti-Media.org, Canal worked with A Revolt.org ditigal anarchy to promote international awareness of the event. She called the turnout "incredible," and credited social media for being a vehicle for furthering opportunities for activism. Despite the size of the gatherings, Canal said she was grateful that the marches were uniformly peaceful and no arrests have been reported."

GM food companies are citing the support of people to their products as manifested by the narrow defeat of a proposal in November last in California for mandatory labeling of foods containing GM ingredients. What is not told is that the organized GM food industry invested $ 45 million to "brainwash" the electorate into believing that GM foods are "substantially" same as the natural counterpart from which they are evolved. The FDA of the US, not considered truly independent in taking citizen friendly policy decisions, being in the grip of the GM lobby and its political supporters, will never be pardoned for this condescending attitude if the future of American citizens is jeopardized in any way because of its lack of concern for their safety and indirect support to the GM food industry. Even the present President will not be spared for his broken promise about mandatory labeling of GM foods made during his election campaign. One can only hope that the new vigor with which the people are fighting the GM food lobby may eventually succeed.

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

THE HEALTHY "EATING" HABITS-A CANADIAN INITIATIVE

Healthy eating habits are inculcated at early stages of life before rigid attitudes develop amongst children towards various foods. Invariably the "toxic food environment" that confronts the children, especially the high pitch promotion of so called junk foods by the food industry containing too much of sugar, fat and salt, lures them with uncontrolled eating, eventually leading to obesity. True, the labeling information printed on each and every pack is supposed to guide the consumer regarding nutrition status of the contents on a per serving basis, but for majority of them it does not make much sense. Nutritionists and sociologists believe that if consumers are made to read the label more carefully and understand the significance of information contained therein, there is evidence to show that more healthy foods with high nutrient density are selected while shunning unbalanced and unhealthy ones. It is in this context that one has to appreciate the efforts of Canadian Government in allying with the food industry to enlighten the citizens there through a sustained campaign highlighting the significance of reading and understanding the food labels.

"By choosing food that is healthier for them, they'll be eating healthier, and of course if you're eating healthier, then of course you are going to have less problems with chronic disease down the line." The campaign is simple enough. It tells consumers to read the nutrition label and focus on foods with higher levels of nutrients they may want more of, such as fibre, calcium and vitamins A and C. It also warns consumers to avoid products that contain high levels of fat and sodium. "This initiative provides information to Canadians in a variety of ways to help them when choosing a food or deciding between products," said Nancy Croitoru, president of FCPC. "Using the per cent daily value is a quick way for consumers to know if a packaged food contains a little or a lot of a nutrient." The nutrition label campaign begins its rollout with messaging on consumer packaging, in magazines and online. Health Canada has set up a website to lead consumers through nutrition labels.In January, the campaign will move to television and social media".

Such campaigns are good in educating and persuading the consumers to go for foods containing high nutrients during their shopping trips but how far it will have a lasting impact is a matter of conjecture. A more appropriate course of action could be tackling this problem in the schools when the children are at impressionable age, capable of assimilation of the information more effectively that may lead to lasting habits. In a country like Canada where literacy is practically 100% it is easier to evolve school curriculum that will integrate learning about food and nutrition. In India most labels are printed in English while majority of the population cannot read or grasp the significance of label information. Probably GOI should consider pictorial presentation mode for targeting those who are English illiterates. Schools can also be a fertile ground for creating awareness about good foods and their nutritional superiority. .

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

SALT-HEALTH CONNECTION-NEW FINDINGS

Salt reduction is now considered universally as a desirable step to avoid serious health afflictions like CVD, blood pressure and kidney diseases. Policy makers, world over, have an arduous task in making people reduce the salt intake at home from levels as high as 10-12 gm a day and therefore are targeting the processed food industry to cut down on use of salt in their processed foods. The recent report that even marginal reduction of salt intake can have dramatic benefits on a national scale gives further hope for continuing this campaign persuading people to reduce salt in food preparations with out compromising seriously on taste.

The team's results were derived from the Coronary Heart Disease Policy Model, a computer simulation of heart disease among U.S. adults that has been used by researchers to project benefits from public health interventions."A very modest decrease in the amount of salt, hardly detectable in the taste of food, can have dramatic health benefits for the U.S.," said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, lead author of the study, UCSF associate professor of medicine and epidemiology and the co-director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital."It was a surprise to see the magnitude of the impact on the population, given the small reductions in salt that we were modeling," Bibbins-Domingo added.

If the results of above studies are so dramatic, there must be conscious efforts to intensify the salt lowering campaign with well designed "message delivering" format in order to reach the essence of the message. Industry will certainly respond to such causes voluntarily but their action can be further facilitated through financial incentives for marketing low salt foods progressively.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com