NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from ministries of health, agriculture, and the food safety standards authority of India (FSSAI) on a PIL that alleged that govt have failed to stop overuse of pesticides in cultivation of food crops and that it posed a serious health hazard for people.
Arguing for petitioner Akash Vashistha, senior advocate Anitha Shenoy informed a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that unchecked overuse of pesticides and other inorganic substances on food crops, vegetables, grains and cereals is a major reason for several life-threatening ailments among people.
“Toxic foods are, but poison, the continuous intake and consumption of which is extremely fatal for the health and survival of the people. Just as polluted air is constantly inhaled by a person, in the absence of any other choice, a person has no choice but to consume pesticide-laden food, in the absence of any other alternative,” the petitioner said.
The petition also raised the issue of artificial ripening of fruits with chemicals such as calcium carbide and carbohydrate compounds, the colouring or coating of fruits, such as apples, and vegetables with wax made of materials such as paraffin, shellac and polyethylene and the polishing of pulses and rice in order to lend colour and the use of preservatives in excess of the prescribed limits.
Apart from the deleterious impact of overuse of pesticides and insecticides on food grains, “several animal deaths have taken place because of this. Despite the scale and seriousness of the issue, the central govt and its authorities have completely failed to prevent, control and abate the rising incidence of use and overuse of pesticides and other inorganic chemical substances,” it said.
Arguing for petitioner Akash Vashistha, senior advocate Anitha Shenoy informed a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that unchecked overuse of pesticides and other inorganic substances on food crops, vegetables, grains and cereals is a major reason for several life-threatening ailments among people.
“Toxic foods are, but poison, the continuous intake and consumption of which is extremely fatal for the health and survival of the people. Just as polluted air is constantly inhaled by a person, in the absence of any other choice, a person has no choice but to consume pesticide-laden food, in the absence of any other alternative,” the petitioner said.
The petition also raised the issue of artificial ripening of fruits with chemicals such as calcium carbide and carbohydrate compounds, the colouring or coating of fruits, such as apples, and vegetables with wax made of materials such as paraffin, shellac and polyethylene and the polishing of pulses and rice in order to lend colour and the use of preservatives in excess of the prescribed limits.
Apart from the deleterious impact of overuse of pesticides and insecticides on food grains, “several animal deaths have taken place because of this. Despite the scale and seriousness of the issue, the central govt and its authorities have completely failed to prevent, control and abate the rising incidence of use and overuse of pesticides and other inorganic chemical substances,” it said.
