In this age of industrialisation where things are produced at a mass scale, and in a speedy manner, the quality of things is getting affected in a very fundamental manner. We are now generations into synthetic, artificial, and toxic products.
Our clothes that we wear, the food that we eat, and the buildings we construct – all of it is coming at a huge price. And the price is that the environment and human health are getting devastated.
The degree of destruction that can be so easily witnessed in the form of shrinking green cover, polluted water bodies, and dwindling glaciers is beyond measure. Similarly we are witnessing a steep rise in different deadly diseases that were unknown to us some time back.
Today when we talk about stress as a disease, it is all because our lifestyle has moved away from the natural anchors. Now we are being told by the experts in health sciences that most of the diseases are because of our life style. And most of the toxicity in our bodies is because of the food that we take.
Hence there is now an emphasis on having organic food, and returning to a natural life style. To bring changes in our lifestyle is a matter of discipline and we can do it, somehow. But the question is about the availability of organic food in the market.
Here government needs to intervene in a more meaningful way, and at a larger scale. In Kashmir we can do it if there are some good interventions, and if there is a consistent guidance available to our farmers, and also at the level of household, to grow organic vegetables.
Some days back the concerned department had highlighted the importance of organic farming at a vegetable cluster. Such activities need to be conducted regularly, and the possibility of growing organic food at commercial as well as household level needs to be articulated in a more effective manner.
If we grow organic vegetables, and turn it into a sizeable commercial activity, we can benefit in multiple ways. One, we can improve our health. Two, it can enhance our economy at grassroots level. And third, it can save our environment.