• "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

Imported lentils toxic: FSSAI

October 20, 2018 10:14 PM

 

The Pioneer, 19 Oct 2018

Food regulator asks people not to eat masoor, moong dal as they are induced with hazardous herbicide Glyphosate

 

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That pesticide ‘dressing’ for your salad is to die for!

October 19, 2018 10:17 PM

 

Business Line, 17 Oct 2018

PANAP study finds unauthorised use of toxic chemicals is rampant in India. More than half of the 53 pesticides commonly used in Indian agriculture are highly hazardous, and two-thirds of those involved in manual spraying do not wear any protective equipment, which exposes them to toxic chemicals, a report released on Wednesday said.

 

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Will India take heed as a US court rules that Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide causes cancer?

October 05, 2018 10:11 PM

 

The Caravan, 4 Oct 2018

On 10 August this year, a California jury ruled that Roundup, the world’s most widely used herbicide, caused the terminal cancer of Dewayne Johnson, who was formerly a groundskeeper of a school near San Francisco. The jury directed Monsanto, the agricultural biotechnology corporation that owns Roundup, to pay Johnson $289 million—Rs 2116 crore—in punitive and compensatory damages. In his court testimony, Johnson said he worked with the herbicide 20–30 times a year and was soaked with the product on at least two occasions. In 2014, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a rare type of cancer.

 

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Will organic revolution boost farming in India?

September 25, 2018 10:08 PM

 

BBC, 24 Sep 2018

In 2016, Sikkim, a small state in India’s northeast, was declared the country's first fully organic state. Since then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been trying to promote chemical-free farming across the country.

It’s been nearly half a century since the "Green Revolution" introduced modern farming techniques that included the use of pesticides, to make India a self-sufficient food producer.

 

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I refuse to poison my farm: How two singers have continued to redefine activist music in Gujarat

September 25, 2018 10:04 PM

 

Azim Premji University, Himanshu Upadhyaya

In their new song, Vinay and Charul are seen performing live, with the very basic Dafli and Ghunghru a song in Gujarati that celebrates what the proponent of Organic Farming – Sir Albert Howard – had referred as humus content. Painting a moving word picture of farmland, they sing in a very persuasive tone a refrain: Maare Zer Nathi Aapvu (I refuse to poision my farm).

 

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SC notice to Centre on plea to ban 85 pesticides

September 18, 2018 09:51 PM

 

Business Standard, 17 Sep 2018

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from Centre on a plea for a ban on 85 pesticides since these were banned in other countries but were allowed in India, posing a serious health hazards to farmers. A bench of Justice Arun Misra and Justice Vineet Saran issued notice to the Centre and others on a plea by one Kavita Kuruganti who said that the continued use of "deadly pesticides" is a major threat to the right to life of farm workers and farmers. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, argued for empowering the states to take decisions at their own level for prohibition and restriction related to pesticides.

 

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MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE - NOTIFICATION

August 09, 2018 09:21 PM

 

New Delhi, 8 Aug 2018

Gazette Notification signals immediate ban on registration, import, manufacture, formulation, transport, and sale of 11 pesticides (Benomyl, Carbaryl, Diazinon, Fenarimol, Fenthion, Linuron, MEMC, Methyl Parathion, Sodium Cyanide, Thiometon, and Tridemorph), restricts the use of 1 pesticide to wheat (Trifluralin), and bans the import, manufacture and formulation of a further 6 pesticides (Alachlor, Dichlorvos, Phorate, Phosphamidon, Triazophos, and Trichlorfon) with effect from the 1st January, 2019 with these 6 pesticides' use to be completely banned as of 31st December, 2020.

 

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