Poison on our plate | Ramanjaneyulu GV | TEDxHyderabad

Is our food safe? A red alert question that Ramanjaneyulu, puts out to all of us. Hear him talk about the quality of food we are eating. Listen to the reasons we need to adapt to organic farming as a results of excessive use of chemical pesticides and horrifying facts and statistics, surrounding them. He alerts us to the damage we are doing to our ecological footprints. In his heart wrenching talk, Ramanjaneyulu, highlights the plight of farmers and the reasons they commit suicide and the many reasons that farmers and farming should not die.

“We are what we eat and plants give us what we feed.” He is waging a war against the use of pesticides in agricultural activities and has challenged the traditional methods of farming. Apart from running the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture as the Executive Director, he also runs a small outlet, Sahaja Ahaaram, which stocks pest-free products from farmers. After leaving his full-time government job, Ramanjaneyulu dedicated himself to the benefit of farmers and his campaign, ‘India for Safe Food’.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

We are what we eat.

But how many of us know,
what we are actually eating?

How many of us know,

what food does to environment
before it comes to our plate

How many of you know,

what food does to farmer,
who is producing that food?

Do you know? have you ever thought?

How many of you think
if you are eating food,

about the farmer who has produced it
or fate of the farmer who has produced?

You know, some of the questions

which grappled me when I was
studying my agriculture.

While doing my Ph. D. in agriculture
I had a choice,

Like every young boy in 90's

I was also crazy about
getting into Indian Civil Sercvice

Reading the Indian Economy
I really understood about Indian Economy

by reading for an exam.

Finally by time I got into services,
I was selected for Indian Revenue Service.

But, I also had a choice of joining as
Agricultural Research Scientist.

It was tough choice.

I made my choice as joined as
Agricultural Research Scientist.

I thought, "I should continue
working with farmers."

(Applause)

But, that didn't last long,
I'll come to that.

Before I come to that,
let's understand ,"What is our food?

What we are eating? How safe is our food?"

All of you saw this news, sometime back

Pesticides residues in soft drinks
and bottled water.

But, forgot the next day.

Have you ever thought,

How pesticides residues come into
this bottled water or soft drink?

If bottled water and soft drink had
pesticide residues,

The water you used to make tea or coffee
also must be having,

But we never worried about it.

The news is short the next day
we forget about it.

At least this must be a memory,
Noodles having heavy metals.

How many of you've thought,

how did this heavy metals reached
in the Noodles?

If lead has to added in Noodles,

Probably lead is more costly than Noodles.

Nobody will add it but it came.

If ingredients used to make Noodles
had the lead,

The "Aata" which you used to make
your "Chapati" also must be having.

Or the Samosa which you're eating
also must be having. Right?

But we don't connect the dots.

Same is the story when we hear about
pesticide residues in vegetables.

You all get horrified.
But, forget it in the evening.

We all think if we buy food at good place
or eat it in good hotel, it's safe.

Food is only as safe as it is grown.

End of pipe solutions doesn't work.

The pesticides which are
used in agriculture,

less than 1% actually kills the insects,
99% gets into the water,

get into the air
and comes back to your food.

We look at it very casually.

Everything happened around us
we look at it casually.

I'll give you one example,
While having the lunch I saw people

painting there, what was that?

Spray Paint.

Where does it go?

Part of it goes on to the board,
part of it into the air.

You all were eating there.
It comes there.

We all are educated,
We feel we can make connections.

We never make.

And we expect that farmer will
make those connections.

and produce safe food for all of us.

I think that's where disconnect between,

What we observe, what we know,
and how we act is the serious problem.

It's not only about the pesticides,

do you know the eggs
that you buy in the market

what kind of eggs you buying?

They are half cloyed eggs.

Half cloyed means they are produced
without male & female meeting together.

That's why if you hatch the eggs,
they won't make chickens.

But how they are produced?
They are produced by using estrogens

And what happen to those estrogen?

When you eat those eggs?
they'll come back to you.

That's one reason today
pivot in girl child has advanced.

Gynic problems in women has increased.

Breast development in men has increased.

Do you know last year's India Today's
survey shows that,

the largest number of plastic surgeries
done in India of to remove breast in men

you got into that situation
where fruit is supposed to be healthy,

is creating all that problems.

It's not just pesticides or antibiotics
are growth hormones,

which are used in production.
But also how they are processed.

You might have heard the last one week
10 days doing rounds in all the media

artificially ripened fruits.

But why fruits are ripened artificially?

if all of you want to fruits
in off season.

How will they do it?

If you want mangoes in May,
how do you get mangoes?

You have to cut unripened one's
ripen it artificially and sell it.

Banana's which are seeing uniformed yellow

What are they?
They all are carbon ripen.

The apples the shiny apples which you see,

What are they? When were they produced?
Where were they produced? Do you know?

California apples,
you get apple from California

Can you keep it fresh?
They are coated with wax.

Go back to your home,
take apple from your fridge.

Just scratch it. You'll see the wax.

We are eating all that.

The watermelons which are red in color,

they are injected with injections, color.

They are injected with growth hormones.

The milk which is sold,
we have seen in news last several years,

the reports which say, "The milk is
contaminated with synthetic milk."

If you want to have milk
at 40 rupees a liter thats what you get.

We want food cheaper,

and there is competition
between the companies

They pay low to the farmers,

They also contaminate it
and get away with that.

All brands of milk sold in Hyderabad,

prone to have
contaminated with synthetic milk

GM Foods, How many of you know about this?
How many of you've heard about this?

BT Brinjal, to tell you simply,
what BT Brinjal is?

when pesticide is sprayed from outside
it damages the environment.

Like I said,"99% goes into the environment
only 1% kills the insect."

So scientist thought why not we produce
pesticide in plant itself.

So plant produces insecticides.
So which ever insect eats plant will die.

But what happens to us?
Who eats that.

So there are several bio safety questions
in front of us which were never addressed.

What you see here, yellow, white,
golden rice which is going to come soon

You know why it was done?

They say "vitamin A deficiency
is serious problem, so we will produce

vitamin A in the plant."

If you eat that rice you can have
as much as vitamin A as possible.

But do you know vitamin A is
fat soluble vitamin.

So it's not just enough to have vitamin A,
but you also need to have enough fat.

But if you have enough fat in your food
you don't need golden rice.

In 2005 we came across a farmer in Guntur,

Who was cultivating BT Bhendi.

We were shocked.

I said "How did you get it?"

He said,"Company gave me the seeds."

We went to the company.
They said,"We are doing a trial."

We went to the government.
Government said,"Yeah, That is seen."

They said, "You are not permitted."
Those were taken off in 2005.

2013, similarly we came across a cotton,

Kerbside tolerant cotton which is grown.
No permissions.

In 2009, when BT brinjal was permitted
there was public discussions.

But It was the only time
there was for public discussion,

to introduce whether we need a food or not
And it was banned.

Sometimes, some wise politicians
take better decisions.

But by this we would have
flooded with GM foods.

Today there is case pending in
Supreme Court,

there is expert committee appointed by
Supreme Court.

Which said, "We don't need this
for next 10 yrs. Let's wait."

There is parliament standing committee

which was appointed it also said
"We don't need."

But, you don't know how they are
going to come into your plate.

Food is not only useful energy
but also good for your health.

It can treat many of the deceases.
Food is a medicine.

It can act as preventive medicine and
It can also act as a curative medicine.

I know many people who are working on
treating autism with good food.

Many of the problem which you are seeing

Obesity, diabetes, blood pressure
all are because of the food which you eat.

You need to make right choice
about your food.

Second, What food does to the environment.

Let's look at ecological footprints.

How many you have seen rice fields?
Almost all, right.

What comes to your mind
when we think of rice fields?

Full of water. How much water it takes
to produce an acre of rice?

6 million liters.

6 million liters per acre of rice.

Which is equal to 100 families
annual consumption.

1 family of 5 members eats about
a Kg of rice a day.

Which is equivalent to tanker of water.
180 showers.

All of us want to eat rice,
more and more water you need

in production of rice.

You were making calculation

how much 1 meal of rice in Hyderabad
costs an environment?

It's probably as big as, all over a dam.

We need to worry about,
the ecological footprints.

It's not just about the water,
about pesticides, about growth hormone.

Everything. What agriculture leaves
before it comes to you plate?

Not just that.
What it does to farmers?

The more and more pesticides you spray
insects get resistance. They don't work.

First time you spray,
second time you spray

third time you spray it,
fifth time you drink.

That's what we have seen
along farmer suicides.

The fall outs of such things is
increasing cost of cultivation,

but prices are not increasing.

You know 1 Kg of rice costs
Rs. 2100/- as per government calcuations

But today price is on 1400 for farmers.

Today a ton of sugarcane is Rs. 2000/-

A ton of firewood is Rs. 4000/-

How farmers can live?

The policies are also lop sided.

Today average income of 83% of farmer
in this country is only Rs. 5000/-

Only Rs. 5000/-

So farmers have lost
their economic independence.

Not just economic independence,
physical independence as well.

This were photographs taken farmers were
standing in queue for fertilizers.

Standing in queue for seeds.

Seeds which they can produce.

Fertilizer which they can
make by composting.

But they are not subsidized.

If you buy it in a market,
they are subsidized.

Lop sided policies from government.

All these are lead to farmer suicides.

In last 20 yrs 3,00,000 farmers
have committed suicide.

Everyday about 48.

What is the point about just discussing
dark side of the picture?

How much and we can do
to change the situation.

Some of us working in agriculture.
Various institution came together

we started organization called
Center for Sustainable Agriculture in 2004

We started working with farmers,

telling them,
"How they can move away from

the high external input base agriculture
to low external input based agriculture?"

It was not easy.

But what we found is across the country
there were wonderful experiences.

But all those experiences were thought
in ideological framework.

They don't talk to each other.

There are good things, bad things
but if they discuss with each other

it would have been good
but they never talk to each other.

Main stream institutions
never worried about them.

So we brought all practices together.

Evolved what we called as sustainable
agricultural practices.

The first success came in Kulukulla.

Kulukulla is village in Kamang district
which became completely pesticide free.

The village which was speinding 60 LPA,
they completely stopped using pesticides.

(Applause)

Agriculture minister came.
He said, "Wonderful. What do you want?"

Farmers said,
"Make Andhra Pradesh pesticide free."

He was amazed. He said,
"Certainly I'll do. But what do you want?"

They said,"We are happy with what we have.
But change all the agricultural practices"

He brought all
agriculture university scientists of

department of agriculture together to see
and then make a change.

They said,"Sir, this is one village
we can't do it. It's not possible."

Then came Enabavi this is 80 km from here,
compeltely organic village.

The last three years over 10000 people
have visited the village to know

"How they are doing farming?"

"But this has also not changed anything
under government."

But consumers have changed.

Many people have started understanding
what is good for them.

This is an advertisement
which is The Hindu uses for itself.

This is the village called Dorli.

Dorli is in Vardha. After Telanagana,
you hear lots of suicide from Vardha.

In 2005 the village was put up for sale.
Farmers decided, we can't do farming.

They put up village for sale.

We went there in 2006 and said
"Can we start working together?"

Today all of them have repaid their loans.

All of them are back to farming.

(Applause)

It's possible. It's possible.
It's possible.

All examples are in front of us.

We also side by side worked with
woman self fill groups in Andhra Pradesh.

These are cover stories of "Down To Earth"
magazine which tracked the whole change.

We started with 225 acres in 2005.

Today its 35,00,000 acre in Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana together pesticide free.

(Applause)

50% use of pesticide
in state has come down.

We were 3rd in country
in terms of pesticide used

today we are 20th in the country.

(Applause)

This was part of a show on Satyamev Jayate

some of you might have seen.

In this show we had interesting discussion

On the other side was person
who was largest pesticide seller in country

Towards end Amir Khan asked me a question,

"I am fully convienced with
what you're saying and what you're doing

It is possible to do it India. But how to
convince man who is sitting here?

I said ask his brother, His brother is
largest organic exporter in this country.

(Applause)

And he said, "Yes."

That shows people see it as business.

If they sell pesticide, will sell pesticide
if they sell organic, will sell organic.

You buy pesticides or
our organic pesticides

or certificate from us, saying
"you haven't used any of these things."

Farmers are made into consumers.

But what our consumers are doing?

Then what we did is we brought
some consumers in Hyderabad together

to form a consumer cooperative called
Sahaja Aharam.

We also brought all farmers together
to form farmers cooperative

So that they can market directly.

Today we've 20 farmer cooperatives

who produce organically
and directly sell in the market.

While many of you worry about
organic food prices.

The oraganic Sahaja Aharam prices are
20% lower than the market prices.

And 75% of what consumer pays go to farmer.

In the regular market just 20%
which goes to farmer.

(Applause)

What do I see from here?

I see a ray of hope.

It's possible.

If all of us can join together
we can make a change.

But it's long way to go
in terms of Government Policies.

Still there is serious crisis in agricuture.

Yesterday you might have seen
about farmer's suicide.

Today mornings newspaper,
you might have seen.

Number of farmers are dying.

It's a responsibility of all of us.

Business as usual is not an option.

We need to change as consumers
we need change as farmers

We all need to come together
to pressurize government

to make a change.

Otherwise, the future is very very glee.

Thank you.

(Applause)