Resurrecting the quality of food: Can Vizag lead the change?

The Editor of Yo! Vizag, Shilpanjani Dantu, shares the necessity of going green when the quality of food has become questionable.

“The quality of food that was fed to us by our mothers, when we were small, never seemed to be a matter of grave concern. However, cut to the present, and as a mother of a 9-month-old, I seem to question myself, every step of the way. Is this safe? This isn’t the only answer I seem to be seeking, for with all the information that is now accessible to me. I also worry whether a slew of chemical pesticides, preservatives or ripening agents have been sprayed on to the food that I’m giving my baby.

When we were young, I’m very sure, that our mothers and grandmothers wouldn’t ever have panicked before feeding us. They wouldn’t have checked nutritive values behind packs because most of what we ate was from a trusted source. They wouldn’t have gone out of the way to look for stores selling organic products because everything was organic. However, today, such food has become a luxury product. The quality of food has gone down. One needs to shell out over double the price to purchase it. While this is possible for some of us with a few products only, we do end up adding the perhaps-chemically-sprayed products to our carts and homes as well.

As we look towards more sustainable ways of living, I feel that it’s time for us to go back to gardening. While the green spaces, that were part of our past through farms and gardens, have reduced for most of us, perhaps it’s time to bring them back. A few green warriors across Vizag are taking up initiatives of terrace gardening, where they cultivate vegetables and grow fruits. A small terrace patch, may not mean that all the food in your kitchen becomes naturally grown but it can definitely ensure that you know the source of a few of the items that go into your daily meal. In fact, with shrinking agricultural spaces as real estate seems to mushroom everywhere, I feel it should be made mandatory that every apartment building has a rainwater harvesting structure and a terrace garden where vegetables are cultivated.

With growing populations, the gap of demand vs supply of naturally grown chemical-free food is increasing. And as a city that’s vying to be smart, going green should be our first step. If Vizag has to be a model city worth emulating, then the change begins right here.”