You are What you eat !

With the advent of new technologies & giant corporate ruling & controlling our daily needs. We really are cut off from our routes. On 5th June 2010 i.e. World Environment Day I just happened to see the documentary on Peter Proctor about One Man, One cow, One Planet- Bio-dynamic farming. It was not only inspirational but also played catalyst role my thought process. This documentary is value addition in understanding world around us. It could act as raw material for enhancing clarity in thoughts & its could possibly solve our many problems.

Our individual problems are related to food,health, shelter & society is widely based on environment we live in. All sorts of media especially television is playing vital role creating, building, sustaining social thoughts & its health. Fewer times I had asked my mother about daily soaps that she has been viewing during her free time. “Why do you watch a daily soap daily & do not want to miss any episode of it” She simply says “It’s just entertainment, just watch & forgets.” Choice of amusement or entertainment is based on individual preferences.

I applied similar analogy to our choice of food we eat. Does our body digestion system works alike my mother’s opinion about her choice of entertainment to get entertained our senses & just forget all about it? No,it’s not, rather whatever food we eat body always need to process every part of it. Our whole digestive system with coherence with other systems of body decides what stays inside our body & what should be thrown out of the body. If there is overload on any system we feel sick.

Does our mind works on similar lines. Any input via our senses get processed in similar fashion? We might not have simple answers to these types of questions. I would rather put it with simple example with one bibliographic reference. This could throw some light on choice of food we eat & our emotions & memory forms towards pleasure. Yesterday I read small article from New Scientist weekly [bib ref:3rd April 2010 page 13-original extract from Nature Neuroscience, DOI:10.1038/nn.2519] titled “Fast food ‘addicts’ may be exactly that”
Article as it is.
Junk food may seem like an addictive drug because it is. In rats, at least, too much fatty food raises the threshold for feelings of satisfaction, sparking a cycle of compulsive overeating.
In people, addictive drugs desensitize the brain by raising the threshold of “reward” activity that is needed to feel satisfied: more drug is needed to achieve the same effect.
Paul Kenny and colleagues at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida, wondered if fatty foods might also cause desensitization.
They used electrodes to measure the sensitivity of rats’ brains to reward activity. Some ate normal rat food while others had limited or unlimited access to junk foods, tasty to both rats and humans. After 40 days, the brains of those that ate junk freely were less sensitive than those in the other groups. They were also obese.
All the rats learned that a flash of light led to a painful electric shock. Rather than try to avoid the shock when the light came on, “addicted” rats just carried on eating. Like drug addicted humans, they also had fewer receptors for the reward chemical dopamine.

Well after reading this article I was amazed to see the co-incidence & linkage with two all together different scenarios.

1 Genetically modified seeds: condition of chemical based farming: dead soil

2 We & our eating habits & our thoughts.

First scenario could be well addressed in documentary by Peter Proctor. Genetically modified seeds do not sustainability. It’s failed to cop up with on site environmental condition at various places all over the world. These seeds need specific chemical fertilizers supply to grow to its optimal design. Continuous use of these seeds along with chemical fertilizers year after year output from farm diminishes to such extend it built up salts into soil.

To obtain same yield, chemical fertilizer & hybrid seed manufacturing companies promote additional usage of chemical fertilizers to maintain the crop yield to it's expected output. It’s promising in initial years but after 5 years soil standards drop multi fold along with porosity of soil. Thus soil become weaker to hold water for longer period. even it could not absorb rain water during monsoon. vertical penetration of water is very less. Extreme but simple example would be sponge & rock. Hence chemical farming need more water than conventional seeds.

The ratio of water needed to grow genetically modified seeds vs. conventional seeds with organic/bi-dynamic farming is 1:2. If you extend this understanding further to water shortage in cities. We might have solution for Indian population. Out of total water requirement 65-70% water requirement is needed by agricultural sector in India. If every farmer in India adapts the technique of organic/bi-dynamic farming there is direct saving of 50% out of 65-75% & it's have multi fold benefits to rural as well urban population. It would be harmonizing & self sustaining factor.

Second Scenario: We & our eating habits & our thoughts

Our thoughts are control by emotions & vice versa. We are bombarded with information from mobile to television, news paper to holding, posters & handouts etc. we could classify these information bombardments into two broad categories that is chemical bombardment & organic bombardment. I have assumed chemical bombardment as any negative news, information that makes us stubborn or less sensitive for concern subjects just addicted rats previous example & organic bombardment are those data which cultivate positive thoughts, hope, safety, secured future for ourselves as well as overall well being of every person in family along with society we live in.

I would like to show linkage between students committing suicide: educational system: role of media. It might look weird link on surface but it’s very much closely integrated. It could be considered with general known facts & and parental concerns about their children.

General fact

Most of us know out of students who failed in exams few commit suicide. Government or many intellectuals would discuss this issue & come up with solution to this problem by removing merit list, suggesting counseling for students as well as parents, teachers etc.
Parents concern & prosperity(favorable conditions)

I had attended one lecture under “Chai & Why” session organized by TIFR(Tata Institute of Fundamental Research} at “Pruthvi Theater” as part of public outreach program. Lecture was delivered by Angika Basant under title “HUM SAB EK HAIN”

It was all about a looking at biology 200 years after Darwin, and how despite evolution and diversity, some things at the heart of all life are just so similar! Most of crowd present was from higher class & there kids were asking very interesting & innocent questions on the complex topic of evolution. I was amaze with kid’s ability to speak in crowd as well contends of questions.

This might be early exposure to good books & parents interaction with their kids. Parents are able to provide well illustrated books to very young age. since child curiosity is beyond adults parameters. since we built invisible walls to our thoughts & limit our curiosity to kind of robotic, artificial life style.

One 8 year kid asked question “How to become Biologist?” It’s normal to hear kids wants to become Doctor, Engineers, and Pilot etc. but nobody asks elders in such determinedly. How to become x-x-x-x? It was my first experience to face such confident kid. After why session I had interacted with parents of few kids.

One parent was concern about her kids reading accidents, violence stories & photos published in news paper. The kid get depressed after reading & seeing photos of such demoralizing incidents. She shared her grief about impossible task of isolating kid from such readings from newsprints or telecast on television. She was also aware of the famous example of Israel print media publishing the terrorist attacks on 3rd page with small head line instead of publishing bold headline on front page along with photographs. Israel print media would prefer to published farmer success story on front page along with prospering farm s photograph.

Giving these all details is just to reveal linkage between positive attitude of media & general health of society. Why students commit suicide psychologist would point out it's result of depression or nervous breakdown could lead to take such steps. we should ask question to our own selves why students feel depressed? Am I depressed few times? Just try to follow the questions origin until you reached to beginning of it. anyone could discover there is not specific reason that causes such extreme steps.

Each students interaction with it's surrounding has key role for defining, building, harnessing negative thoughts, remarks and ultimately resulting in cumulative effects & chain reaction to the specific students or adult suicide.

we never allowed & given change to think independently. Just like genetically modified seeds we are accustomed to so called safe lab environment & act like addicted rats in every aspect of life. Media always strong supported & promoter of these kind of life style. Our visual world is dominated by promotional products of octopus natured corporate sector.

Most parents bound by office work or professions. Do we get time for our kids, family or life partner? if yes Do we able give quality time? Parents are more worried about rising inflation & ever increasing cost of living. It's lead to work harder to meet the perceived requirements in monetary terms. There is less time for their children & family it could result lesser communication between family members. children easily detached from their families at very early age.

How does feeling of insecurity could cultivate security in future generation? How do insecure & worried parents could cultivate feeling of security inside their kids. So does the child or adult committing suicide lie with only specific system of education or do we need re-think, review our our basic needs & how we live.

Most of us are eating food produced out of fertilizers farm or fast food and many of us are addicted to it. Before green revolution there was 30000 rice verities where produced in India. Now only about 10-15 verities are remaining.
[http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/greenrevolution.htm]

So we are eating food deficient in fighting with local disease & it does not provide basic nutrients earlier found in sufficient quantity. It’s possible that our quality of food & fast food deteriorating our immunity as well. Weird linking e.g
use of Hi-performance petrol is providing longer & better engine life on higher speeds,but normal petrol fails to prevent depreciation of engine components.

Most of us are least bother about solving the problem from route. No one wants to take burden? We are not trained in to solve our problems with our own hands. Powerful marketing & advertising making people addict to certain products for life time & maximizing their profits. For example

1 Gelucel tablet or syrup consumed by many individuals after their dinner or lunch. But they never try to solve their route cause of body creating excess acids.

2. Recent add of toilet freshener with kid sitting on toilet holding his nose due to foul smell form his stool. It’s mostly based on what we eat or certain medical condition.

3. Mosquito repellent coil or liquid: it’s clearly written on package but in very small fonts difficult to read with 20/20 vision that it’s poison for humans & It’s not recommended below 3 year kids. Even many physicians recommend avoiding coil or liquid during cough & cold. List could be endless. Now days it's become status symbols for specific apparatus to have at home instead of seeing need for it. corporate are immensely good at creating artificial need of the product.

If we look at origin of chemical fertilizers it's was initially develop for military weapon but after the end of the world war II many biological weapons stocks remain as pile. Investors don't want to loose their stacks. so biological weapons after alteration become made chemical fertilizers & need for it created with clever marketing gimmicks world sink into the chemical fertilizers. Even while spraying chemical fertilizers farmers needs to use gas mask and rubber suits. In European & Americans countries using it but nature does not have such rubber suits & it does not requires such suits now & in future.

All the above words are my thoughts & nothing else. I do not want to put any new theory or to prove anything. It’s perception of my mind in word form willing to share with all of you, who are privilege and have access to Internet.
If some one is interested in details of Peter Proctor & his work or bio-dynamics just visit this link http://www.biodynamics.in/