Food safety and toxins

18th March ' 2011/ By MP Modi, Former Agriculture Secretary, Orissa.

Dear Sunita
Attack by pesticide/insecticide industry on CSE is shocking and deserves total condemnation. They have money power and muscle. They lobby Govt and influence decision making. It is high time Govt protects public health and public interest, and not industry's purely for profit motive.

Regards
MP Modi

18th March ' 2011/ By Prof. Dr. Asit Datta

Dear Sunita,
I am shocked and surprised to come to know that you had to undergo such harassments.
Please let me know if I could do something.

Best wishes
Asit Datta

18th March ' 2011/ By Sunil Ambekar, ABVP Activist

Respected sunita
I use to read these CSE mails. Really you are doing great job. Myself sunil ambekar , ABVP activist and presently organisational chief, regularly touring whole country.

Thanks.
Sunil

18th March '2011/ By Arvind Bhambhri

Hello Sunita,
Please let me know if you need any help(in terms of protest and writing ). Your organization will come under attack more often, because the path of economic development that the Indian state is following is anti-environment and anti-poor .

with regards,
Arvind

18th March ' 2011/ By RP Shahi

Keep it up......the fight has to continue and we admire and support people like you who are bringing the facts of these greedy people.

We found the statement of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, a good sign for organic farming. His refusal to allow GM seeds may be the first step by any Govt official to resist this seed/ pesticitise and fertiliser lobby.

RP

18th March ' 2011/ By R. K. Chari, Bangalore

Dear Ms Narain,
Great crusaders like you are akin to Erin Brokovitch! Do keep up the excellent work and always know that even if the sensible part of our intellectual population may be small in numbers they are all solidly behind you.

God bless and do fight these Pesticide guys with all the might that your pen has against the ugly sword of their dirty tricks department.

Regards,
R. K. Chari

18th March ' 2011/ Vikram Singh, IPS, M.Sc. Ph. D.(HIMALAYAN ECOLOGY),Former Director General of Police UP

Dear Dr. Narain,
The fight must indeed go on and all right thinking people,sensitive to environmental issuesare right behind you. Please do let me know how we can contribute in this just cause.

Regards
Vikram Singh

18th March ' 2011/By Vijay Bhushan

Dear Sunitaji,
Thank you for your missive. Keep up your good work!! I am with you like many others.

With regards,
Vijay Bhushan

18th March ' 2011/ Dr.R.Kishore, Advocate

Dear Sunita
Matter Of Endosulfan
Basically I have done Ph.D. in Pesticde Toxicology from B.H.U. in 1982 but presently I am a practicing lawyer in Supreme Court,Delhi. Once I have met you .

Please do not hesitate to ask me for any help in this matter.

Dr.R.Kishore
Advocate

19th March ' 2011/ Dr. Rajiv K Sinha, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Griffith School of Engineering(Environment), Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

Dear Dr. Sunita Narain,
Thanks for your mail. You are doing a great job for the environment & society. I am proud of you.

I know the LOBBY OF GREEDY AGRO-CHEMICALS PRODUCING COMPANIES throughout the world are trying to undermine the efforts of environmental scientists and crusadors who are working to search for SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE to the DESTRUCTIVE AGRO-CHEMICALS. I get this reports from U.S. too.

But we are determined to fight back by educating the farmers directly who are now 'boycotting' agro-chemicals. This is what Mahatama Gandhi did. I am educating the farmers in Bihar (every year in my visit) about the virtues of earthworms VERMICOMPOST in farming. A VERMICULTURE REVOLUTION is going on and thousands of farmers have completely given up 'Chemical Fertilizers' and also 'Chemical Pesticides' with very high crop yield.

Vermicompost (due to the enzymes CHITINASES) has the power to REPELL & SUPRESS crop PESTS and DISEASES and the VERMIWASH (liquid obtained from vermicomposting) is a wonderful BIOPESTICIDES. Dr. George Hahn of USA is working on this aspect. I can give you more detailes about it if you want.I am with you and your organization. I have great regards for great Sir Anil Agarwal - the 'Great Environmental Crusador' of India. You can use my papers & reports to highlight the issue in India. I am NOT AFRAID of any such company in India . My Bihar farmers have forced to close down several such companies.

Warm regards
Dr. Rajiv K Sinha.

19th March ' 2011/ By Sushil Gupta

Dear Sunita
Thanks for the update and I understand whom you are referring to. I can only tell you that from my heart I am with you in this fight of unequals. Keep on with your goodwork and with best wishes.

Sushil Gupta

19th March ' 2011/ By Srinivasa Rangan, mumbai

Dear Madam
We are all with you.
The Indian industry in connivance with the powers to be - is throttling the voice of all others.

They have scant respect for their fellow country men or even mother earth. We all are behind you and please tell us what we can do to carry this fight further.

Regards
Rangan

19th March ' 2011/ By Srimanta Kumar Das, Ghigidia, Kendrapara, Orissa

Dear Madam,
This is very fun in our country that Government allows to produce endosulfan and other pesticides and then give subsidies also. I belong to a farmer family. I have been seeing from my child hood that these deadly pesticides are being used in farming land since then. Just one year back I came to know about these pesticides and about its harmful effect from Mr. Rajib Dixit. He was nicely & scientifically explaining and giving solutions how by using gomutra and gobar we can produce organic foods with more productivity. So mass campaign is required in our country to educate people and at the same time policy reformation is required to give incentives who produce organic foods. So code of cultivation should be based on not the amount of food we produce but the quality of food we produce.

Thanks & Regards,
Srimanta Das

19th March ' 2011/ By Anil, AINS India Pvt. Ltd; HYD

Sunita
well done and keep it up . You are doing great service to humanity I know.

with warm regards

Anil

20th March ' 2011/ By Shreerang Thergaonkar

am extremeny angry and aggrieved to read about these campaigns against you and the CSE.

I have started "my own personal war" against the use of pesticides subsequent to my"internalization" of the book "silent spring" by Rachel Carson.

This war of mine constitutesinforming, in my own way,my acquaintances (comprising the consumers and producers) about the "Pesticide Lobby", in particular about their extremeny dangerous and "purely profit centered" intention of promoting use of certain pesticides (endosulfan, etc,..).

I feel that the need of the hour is to consolidate this movement of yours by pooling in such individual and isolated efforts.

We have to be aware of the fact that "the lobby" is implicitly supported by the so called "policy people" who, apart from vested interests, have nothing in common with any neighbourhood, however small, centered at the concept of "nationalism".

These people first formulate policies and then derive "values" out of them, where as we need highly motivated, awareand adequatelyfired individuals who will have the inclination, ability, wisdom and freedom to base policies on the right kind of values.

Many times i am overpowered by feeling of utter helplessness. This is attributable to the feeling that now nothing can be done. The ball of "destruction" and "pure self-interest" has gathered sufficient momentum to prevent it stoppage.

I resort to reading and getting inspired from"individual"success stories which are in considerableabundancein all disciplines which have occupied the human mind and thought processess.This fills me with immense hope.

The "essential nonlineartiy" and "incongruence"of our relationship with our environment, which is basically due "pure unilateral self-interest", can rectifiedonly by exploiting thesecharacteristics themselves. The solution lies in the problem itself. Therefore, the only way out is to cause pre-identifiedperturbations in the initial conditions at the local level. Therefore, the need of the our is totarget the "unit" i.e. " the individual", generate the desired localinstabilities and then unite these to cause the desired effect.

Shreerang Thergaonkar

20th March ' 2011/ Manoj Kumar Menon, Executive Director, International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture, Bangalore, Karnataka

Dear Sunita,
We fully subscribe to your views and have followed the story of Endosulphan (and other toxic pesticides) closely. In fact we need to cleanse agriculture and the overall environment of all toxic chemicals if we wish to ensure good health to population all over the country.

The high-handedness of the chemical lobby and their bad influence is no secret and not all a new phenomena. In these endeavours of fight against such forces, the organic stakeholders, including lakhs of farmers, stand with you and promise support.

ICCOA also joins issue with CSE as we too push for positive and progressive policies that protects our farmers and citizens and soils, as we represent the organic sector. We intend to continue to work with all like-minded organizations.

Best regards,
Manoj Kumar Menon

20th March ' 2011/ By Prem Chandran John

Dear friends in CSE,
What do you want us to do regarding endosulpan and the vile campaign of the industry?
All good wishes,Prem Chandran John

18th March ' 2011/ Sumati Mehrishi

We intend to support you.

Regards
Sumati Mehrishi

18th March ' 2011/ Roy da Silva, PRINCIPAL, St. Stephen's School, Togan,Chandigarh - 160 014

Dear Sunita Narain,
Received the fortnightly bulletin.
Too bad things are this way.
However your efforts are commendable.

Regards,
Roy da Silva