Poison in the dish :: Promote kitchen gardening at home

Seram Neken *

A farmer of H Mongjang village in Chandel district :: Pix by Nepram Tombi

Your daily menu is gradually spoiling your health. Fertilizers and pesticides present in fruits and vegetables are causing many types of diseases among the consumers. So, let us promote kitchen gardening at home for availing chemical-free fruits and vegetables, green surroundings, healthy lifestyles and developing work culture.

Due to limited space for cultivation and gradual depletion of work culture, many people no longer indulge in kitchen gardening of vegetables for self-consumption. Each and every vegetable and fruit item has to be bought from the market.

Although it promotes vegetable cultivators and traders, the quality of the available vegetables is lost to the artificial fertilizers and pesticides administered in the large scale farming. Moreover, many families can hardly get the benefits of greening the surroundings. Small scale gardening at home which is also a means of maintaining good health has been shunned by many.

One major worry is that the vegetables and fruits produced in large scale contain chemicals which are harmful to health. If one happens to cultivate for one's need, one can get the best vegetables besides availing the secondary benefits of clean environment, good health and economical living.

The favourite item we purchase from the markets may outwardly appear to be nice and good for health, but in reality it has been fed with lots of inorganic chemicals in the form of fertilizers and pesticides. Many types of cancers, ulcers and other diseases are caused from the inorganically cultivated food items. So, it is rightly said that there is always poison in the bowl of our daily food.

In olden days, people cultivate for themselves at home in their Ingkhols. The economy was, thus, self sufficient. People used to eat their own productions in which inorganic chemicals were not used. Every member of the family indulged in preparing the cultivating soil beds and nurturing the plants on daily basis.

Watering and soil loosening in the Ingkhols were routine works of family members. Fresh vegetables and fruits were sufficiently available in each Ingkhol. The then food items did not harm human health. However, due to rapid urbanization and increase in population, space for kitchen gardening has drastically reduced. People now have less time to devote to cultivation. Thus, one has to purchase every vegetable and fruit item from the market, no matter how harmful these nice-looking items are.

Agriculture in modern times is getting more and more dependent upon the steady supply of artificial fertilizers and pesticides with the introduction of green revolution technologies. Most fertilizers contain the basic materials such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and zinc needed for healthy plant growth. Fertilizers and pesticides tend to increase yields, and thus make a significant difference in food production. Pesticides are extensively used for control of diseases and crop destroying insects. Weedicides for eradicating grasses are also commonly used in farms.

Pesticide includes chemicals used to control insects, fungi and weeds. Pesticides serve many functions, some of which are more essential to society than others. Pesticides can prevent crop failure, control invasive plants, or promote a uniform green lawn. Some pesticides reduce blemishes on fruit and vegetables, ensuring that a greater proportion of the crop is marketable. However, Chemical pesticides can have far-reaching effects on human health.

Most people are exposed to a certain level of pesticides. Farmers who experience routine exposure to pesticides may exhibit neurological symptoms such as headache and hand tremors. Children, in particular, may be more susceptible to negative effects resulting from pesticide exposure. Pesticide runoff can have devastating effects on organisms.

They can contaminate the quality of surface water and groundwater, besides causing toxicity within most individuals who consume pesticide-sprayed fruits and vegetables. Exposure to pesticides can trigger irritations of the eyes, skin, nose and throat. Irritations include burning, itching, rashes, stinging and blistering. These chemicals can also cause diarrhea, vomiting and nausea, headaches, wheezing and coughing. Pesticides also leak into groundwater and soil.

Exposure to these pesticides can occur from drinking unfiltered water, eating contaminated fish, working next to contaminated soil while planting or harvesting crops, or from handling the contaminated soil. Immediate exposure to pesticides may cause respiratory problems, nervous system disorders and irritate pre-existing ailments such as asthma.

While fertilizers may be beneficial to the plants, they are not always as healthy for the rest of the environment. Many of the quick-release fertilizers have been known to lead to oxygen loss in waterways due to runoff into the water. High amounts of nitrogen can find their way into waterways in this way causing an excess of algae and a resulting loss of oxygen in the water. This can have a negative effect on fish and other wildlife in the water.

Overall, the use of inorganic chemicals for cultivating vegetables and fruits harms human health. Therefore, it is high time we develop the habits of kitchen gardening at home to produce vegetables and fruits for self-consumption. We may easily get chemical-free food, if cultivated at home without harmful fertilizers and pesticides.

The surroundings will also become green and work culture promoted. The small children may also learn to develop habits of gardening at home. In this way, we will be able to remove the poison present in our bowl.