• "Food Matters Newsletter, June 2013....."
  • "Details of some resource persons on organic farming, state-wise".
  • Pesticides like Mancozeb and Captan, classified as Probable Human Carcinogen (US EPA) continue in India.
  • India has 67 pesticides that have been banned or restricted in other countries.
  • Nearly 40% of pesticides registered in India belong to Class I and Class II WHO categories of acute toxicity.
  • Studies show that less than 0.1% of pesticides for pest control fall on target insects. Rest dissipates into the atmosphere, contaminating our resources.
  • Farming can indeed be done profitably without synthetic pesticides – research proves this; experience on millions of acres shows this.
  • In Andhra Pradesh, 1000s of farmers have adopted Non Pesticidal Management of crops through a government programme called Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture.

India For Safe Food...

...is a movement for change amongst Indian farmers, consumers and the government to ensure that all Indians have access to safe food, devoid of toxic substances. This movement is being spearheaded by ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture), an informal network of hundreds of organizations and individuals across twenty states of India and we consider you to be part of this movement!

The Latest Updates

Kerala: Weedicide Glyphosate banned

February 05, 2019 01:42 AM

 

The Hindu, 4 Feb 2019

Harmful effects on human health and environment cited. The State government has banned the sale and distribution of the weed-killer Glyphosate and all products containing it citing its harmful effects on human health and the environment.


 

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Two die of suspected pesticide poisoning

January 21, 2019 03:14 AM

 

The Times of India, 20 Jan 2019

KOTTAYAM: Two people died and three others were hospitalized on Friday in an incident suspected to have been related to pesticide poisoning in Thiruvalla

 

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EU Parliament adopts strong recommendations to protect health and environment from pesticides

January 18, 2019 08:38 PM

 

GM Watch, 16 Jan 2019

The European Parliament has voted to adopt the final report of the Special Committee on Pesticide Authorisation (PEST), which calls on EU governments and the European Commission to make the authorisation procedure for pesticides more transparent, to take decisions based on independent scientific evidence, to test pesticides and pesticide active substances more rigorously for health and environmental risks, and to re-assess the product glyphosate for its cancer risks.

 

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How did the US EPA and IARC reach diametrically opposed conclusions on the genotoxicity of glyphosate-based herbicides?

January 17, 2019 03:11 AM

 

Environmental Sciences Europe, Charles M. Benbrook, 14 Jan 2019

The US EPA considers glyphosate as “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A).” EPA asserts that there is no convincing evidence that “glyphosate induces mutations in vivo via the oral route.” IARC concludes there is “strong evidence” that exposure to glyphosate is genotoxic through at least two mechanisms known to be associated with human carcinogens (DNA damage, oxidative stress). Why and how did EPA and IARC reach such different conclusions?

 

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Child drinks insecticide due to hunger in MP NCPCR sends team

January 08, 2019 03:09 AM

 

The Week, New Delhi, 7 Jan 2019

A tribal child in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam district reportedly consumed insecticide out of hunger, prompting the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to set up an inquiry into the matter. The incident allegedly took place on December 31 when even after repeated requests, the child was not given wheat by the local ration shop, sources said, reacting to local media reports.

 

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Gazette Notification on Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulation related to MRL of pesticide

December 25, 2018 12:50 AM

 

India Environment Portal, 24 Dec 2018

The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed amending its regulations regarding the maximum residue levels (MRLs) for certain pesticides used in connection with food and food products. Recently published in The Gazette of India, the draft “Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulation related to MRL of pesticide” proposes to add 219 additional pesticides to its list of restricted substances. The draft Amendment also includes recommended MRLs for each of the newly listed pesticides.

 

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Mumbaikars to walk for ‘toxicity-free, good food’

December 22, 2018 03:07 AM

 

Financial Express, 21 Dec 2018

Over 10,000 Mumbaikars, including cancer patients and farmers, will march for healthy and ‘toxicity-free’ good foodstuff grown naturally without using deadly chemicals or pesticides, an organiser said here on Friday.

 

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Toxic pesticide U.N. had urged banned found in temple food that killed 15 in India

December 20, 2018 03:01 AM

 

The Japan Times, 19 Dec 2018

NEW DELHI - A toxic pesticide that a U.N. agency wanted India to ban a decade ago contaminated food that killed at least 15 people at a temple last week, police said on Tuesday. More than 100 also had to go to hospital after devotees consumed portions of tomato rice blessed at the Hindu temple in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. A senior police officer told Reuters laboratory tests showed the presence of monocrotophos — a pesticide that attacks the nerves — in food and vomit samples.

 

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No Pesticide Use Week celebrated on World Soil Day with Yavatmal declaration and launch of Maharashtra Association of Pesticide Poisoned Persons

December 06, 2018 02:56 AM

 

Yavatmal, 5 Dec 2018: about 150 farmers and farmworkers gathered in Pallavi Mangal Karyalay, Yavatmal to observe No Pesticide Use Week and the World Soil day (December 5th) today. Pestcide Action Network (PAN) India, PAN AP and the Shetkari Nyayhakk Andolan Samiti in Yavatmal organized this meeting of farming community, with the title “Impact of Pesticides on Soil and Children of the Soil”. A Maharashtra Association of Pesticide Poisoned Persons was launched. A Yavatmal Declaration has been approved and released. Participants pledged to work together at community level and also with District, State and Central governments to end pesticide poisoning of people and soil.

 

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Glyphosate herbicide sales banned in Punjab

October 26, 2018 02:54 AM

 

GM Watch, 25 Oct 2018

Manufacturers, marketers, and dealers in Punjab will not be allowed to sell the chemical or its formulations and sellers will have to return unused stock. 1. Glyphosate, its formulations banned in Punjab, 2. Punjab bans cancer causing glyphosate weedicide

 

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Punjab to ban sale of glyphosate formulations

October 25, 2018 10:21 PM

 

Business Line, 24 Oct 2018

Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee has recommended the herbicide only for use in tea gardens and non-cropped areas. Punjab Government has decided to ban the sale of all formulations containing weedicide glyphosate, a day after a court in San Francisco upheld the weed killer’s role in causing cancer.

 

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