India faces obesity crisis thanks to rise in junk food culture
Published: September 22, 2020
India has joined the growing list of countries whose populace is falling victim to the intensifying obesity pandemic. It is estimated that 1:5 men and 1:6 women are now considered clinically obese and the numbers are still rising.
Several other countries including Mexico, Russia and China have recorded higher percentages of their population but due to the sheer size of India’s populace, the epidemic is leaving huge numbers of individuals with potentially deadly health problems.
India is also still struggling with farmer suicides due to chemical companies like Monsanto signing them up to life long contracts which forces them to buy machinery and patented seeds which they can not save as farmers traditionally do. The costs of maintaining the contracts are pushing the farmers into poverty and rather than face the issues head on, many are opting to end their lives over what they see as insurmountable odds.
Is it possible that India’s obesity problem has coincided with the introduction of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) crops?
Indian farmers have been committing suicide in alarming numbers rather than face a lifetime of debt with Monsanto.
Certainly the introduction of money from foreign investors has seen a sharp increase in junk food and western product brands which are high in sugar and monosodium glutamate, both of which contribute heavily to obesity.
The actual increase in figures was initially recorded over a seven year period (between 1998 and 2005) and rose by 20% for that period. Since then the number of cases has increased further and many people are now suggesting that heavier taxation should be placed on junk food and sugar.
The problem with taking such measures is that Monsanto, for instance, has people from its board of directors directly linked to congress. Indeed many staff members have been responsible for passing food bills by jumping from Monsanto to the FDA and back again (several times) which make it harder to produce anything other than non-organic food. It is only logical that taxing junk food would bring the money back to the companies who produce the raw materials to make the junk, as has been witnessed recently in the drug industry with the US government trying to send more money towards big pharmaceutical companies, money which will come from obese tax payers pockets.
Monsanto own patents on thousands of seeds and are using them to extort money from farmers all over the world.
There are several solutions to the growing obesity pandemic. Firstly, food advertising and labelling needs to be made extremely clear and products like Aspartame and Processed Free Glutamic Acid need to be banned completely as they are poison – this will stop food companies hiding MSG by deceptive labelling.
A return to organic, healthy farming needs to be made so that crops are grown without the need for chemicalisation. Obese people need to be encouraged to exercise more and if those things aren’t incentive enough, then health care for obesity related illnesses needs to cost more.
Until governments can enforce such laws and measures we have to do what we can for ourselves and that includes more exercise, eating healthy, raw fruit and vegetables as well as cutting out mass produced, over processed, junk and sugary food.
Please share your thoughts on obesity in India by leaving a comment.
Read about the war against obesity like a rallying call for stronger measures against the illness, it’s impact on other health issues, how bad sugary drinks are for us, how the food industry uses propaganda to lie to us and the rise of diabetes cases since obesity appeared.
images: deep717.blogspot.com, blogs.wsj.com, indiadaily.org, thewatchers.adorraeli.com, scienceroll.com, subhash.instablogs.com
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