Last Chance e Book

8/7/2019 Last Chance e Book

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Dedicated to

Our armers o India, especiallythe small and marginal armer

The arm ecosystem - honeybeesand benecial insects who do nothave a voice



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It all started on the 26th o January 2011, our 62nd Republic Day. I had come to my

village to meet my ather and grandather. Usually, at this time o the morning, they

are in the elds, but on that day, they were glued to the television, watching theRepublic Day parade. I too could not take my eyes o the magnicent sight that was

happening along the long, never-ending road o Rajpath: the marching o our dierent

military regiments, each with its own band; the colourul oats rom the dierent

states that make up our Sovereign Democratic Republic.

The pride on my grandather’s ace – he had been a reedom ghter -- was a sight to

behold. At one point, he burst out, “This is who we are as a nation, so diverse,

so unique and yet united under one ag, the saron, white and green, Tiranga”.

I too was moved. I am not an emotional type, but when our National Anthem plays

and builds up to the last lines… Jaya He! Jaya He! …, my eyes get a little misty.

O course, I make sure nobody sees this side o me. You have to be tough in lie, that’s

my motto.

My grandather has played a big role in this. All my lie and that is a long period o 25

years, I have admired him. I am a little scared o him as well, but that’s another thing,

I do not readily disclose. Even now, at the age o 82, grandather is so much respected

in the community. When I was young, I accompanied him every time he made a

speech in our village or in neighbouring villages. Always, he would begin with a call

that rang out loud and clear ... Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bhagwan Balram ki Jai! Gau Mata

ki Jai!

We, the farmers of India

Copyright © 2011

KRISHI HITRAKSHAK SAMITI

Mandvi - Kachchh

Gujarat, India



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And that’s what I told my elders. Their aces turned to thunder. Grandather in

particular got extremely wild...“So you think there is nothing wrong in some people

in some European country telling us armers in India, what we can and cannot use?How dare they!” shouted Grandather. Father also got a scolding...“ I told you not to

send him to the city, now see what has become o him! He does not give a damn what

hardships will beall us with such a ban!”

I wanted to tell grandather that I did not live in a city. I stay in a wonderul place, but it

is a small town at best. O course, now was not the time to open my mouth. That much

sense I had.

Father intervened. He is the calm one among us; so composed, so supportive.

Like an ancient tree still in all its glory, there to shelter me rom the storm.

He showed me a newspaper article which mentioned that a study conducted in Padre

village in Kasargod district o Kerala held Endosulan responsible or birth deects,

impotency and even cancer.

Grandather erupted once again. “That can’t be! These reports are alse! I have used

Endosulan or 30 years and more! Nothing has happened to me or to the hundreds

o armers in this district whom I know as closely as I know my amily. Nothing has

happened to our children and grandchildren either. Do they think we are so heartless

we would use something that puts our children at risk?! We would rather give up

May our motherland be victorious! May Lord Balram, the guardian angel o armers watch

over us! May all our animals and all our beloved cows prosper!

Father is more my riend than my elder. Some days ago, he had sent word that I should

go see him. Yes, we have a phone in our village house, but he will not use it unless

absolutely necessary. You must respect money, he is ond o saying. Money does not

grow on trees. But when it came to my education and the education o all my sisters,

somehow or the other, ather made sure that the money that we needed was there.

So, I got a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. In his hear t o hearts, my

armer-ather must have wanted his only son to ollow in his ootsteps, but he let me

go. To my destiny which I thought was in the world o corporate nance. But now I am

digressing...

Ater the Republic Day parade was over, the elders took me aside. Something was

troubling them. They asked me i I knew anything about an impending ban on a

pesticide. I knew they were talking about Endosulan because I spend every ree

moment on the internet and I had come across several reports about the Stockholm

Convention which has started a process to ban this pesticide. But I had not paid any

attention to these reports. One pesticide is banned; another will take its place, that’s

what I had thought.



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The next evening when I met Parvati, my ancée, at our avourite ice cream parlour,

I thought at least she would eel sorr y or me, but no, she took the order rom high

command very seriously. She too is a armer’s daughter, although now she is studyingeconomics and commerce. She is always ull o questions. Why this, why that;

sometimes it irritates me, but on the whole, I have no complaints. I am truly blessed.

I knew it! I knew it! I could see it in her eyes, yes, here it was, the rst question. And

surely not the last! She wanted to know what the Stockholm Convention was and why

I was saying POP, POP. Beore I could tell her what little I knew, she had opened her

laptop, connected to the internet and within a ew minutes had ound the answer or

hersel rom the ofcial website o the Stockholm Convention.

• TheStockholmConventiononPersistentOrganicPollutants(POP)isaglobal

treaty to protect human health and the environment rom chemicals that remain

intact in the environment or long periods and have adverse eects to human

health or the environment.

• Itwasadoptedin2001andenteredintoforcein2004.

• 172countriesincludingIndiaarepartiestotheConvention.

arming, starve i need be, than do something so unthinkable! These reports are

alse!”

Just then, two-year old Guddi made an appearance. She settled on grandather’s

lap and demanded a story rom him. Thankul or the diversion, I quickly turned to

ather. “Why is grandather so upset? What is so special about Endosulan? Let the

newspapers say what they want. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong;

why do we want to get involved with all that! I the Stockholm Convention bans this

pesticidebecauseitisaPersistentOrganicPollutant(POP),Iamsurethosepeople

will suggest an alternative.”

Beore ather could say anything, grandather was with us again. He had calmed

down a bit; now he was in an ordering mood. “Something is wrong, very wrong.

This pesticide has been available in India or 40 years, now all o a sudden, why

is there this hue and cry? My sense tells me Endosulan is being targeted. I want

to know why. Find out, investigate what is going on; put your education to good

use and get us the truth!”

Good Lord! How did I get caught in this Endosulan controversy! As i I had nothing

better to do! Anyway, who did grandather think I was? Being his grandson was

tough enough, now he wanted me to become a detective as well and carry out an

investigation!



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I was impressed. This girl was smart. And she was quick. The laptop was put away in

the bag and out came a diary. She passed it to me and told me to write Satyameva

Jayate, Truth shall prevail, on top o a blank page. I kept looking at her, this wonderulgirl who had agreed to be my lie partner. But right now she wanted to be my

investigation partner. And who was I to argue with that!

Where to begin the investigation? Time was shor t. The Conerence o Parties o the

Stockholm Convention was due to meet in April 2011 to decide the ate o Endosulan.

We had to work ast. I told Parvati that I would go to the agricultural university;

nd out what made Endosulan so valuable to armers. In the meantime, Parvati

should explore the business angle: Who the global market leaders were; when the

product was invented, by whom and so on...I told her that it was imperative that she

cross check and veriy each and every act. There could not be a single error...Parvati let

me nish my lecture and then told me that she expected the same attention to detail

rom me as well. So much or my being the boss!

The visit to the agricultural university was an eye-opener. An eminent scientist-

proessor had graciously agreed to spend time with me. This is how he started:

• AtypicalIndianfarmerisasmall,marginalfarmer.His land holding is 1 to 5

hectares; there are also thousands o armers with even smaller holdings, as small

as 0.4 acres. For the vast majority o Indian armers, agriculture is not a business;

it is sustenance arming – a way to eed their amilies and earn a livelihood

through hard, physical labour.

• Itrequirespartiestotakemeasurestoeliminateorreducethe

release o POPs into the environment.

• SomecountriesincludingtheUnitedStatesofAmerica,IsraelandRussiahave

not ratied the Convention. This means that they have neither accepted nor

approved the Convention.

• TheprocedurefordeclaringachemicalasaPOPtakesplaceinstages.

The main stages are:

A party makes a submission to the Stockholm Convention that a specic chemical

(pesticide)beconsideredasaPOP.

ThePOPReviewCommittee(POPRC)reviewsthesubmissionanddecidesonthebasis

o scientic data whether or not to recommend the chemical or listing as a POP.

The decision to accept or reject the recommendation is taken by the Conerence o Parties. This Conerence comprises the 172 parties to the Convention.



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• Anotherimportantpoint:Smallacrefarmingisveryphysicalandmanual.For

example, a armer walks his eld, carrying a 15 litre backpack sprayer. With his

own hands and eyes, he checks whether insects have come into the eld andwhat those insects are. I they are harmul i nsects, then and only then, he will use

a pesticide. On the other hand, i he sees benecial insects or a beehive in the

vicinity, he will not spray.

We oten hear irresponsible and unair remarks made about uncontrolled use o

pesticides in India. So beore anything else, let me tell you that the Indian armer

uses pesticides rugally and responsibly. To underline my point, take a look at

these global consumption gures which I ound in a report by Phillips McDougall

or the year 2008:

In 2008, the global pesticides market was US $ 40 billion. In Indian rupees this

amounts to Rs. 180,000 crores.

FarmersinUSAusedpesticidesworthUS$6.5billion(Rs.29,200crores).

FarmersinGermanyusedpesticidesworthUS$2billion(Rs.9,000crores).

FarmersinIndiausedpesticidesworthRsUS$1billion(Rs.4,500crores).

• Moneyisrequiredfortillage,irrigation,fertilizers,farmlabourandsoon.And

money is always short. That is why armer debt is so widespread. What urther

complicates a armer’s lie is that even ater spending money, the results are nevercertain, because o actors that are out o his control, such as the weather. Just a

ew rain showers at an inopportune time can destroy his entire crop.

• Anotherfactorthatcanbringanendtoallhishardworkispests.

I a armer does not manage pests, the money that he has spent on all

other inputs will go to waste as the pests will destroy his crop.

And mind you, most o India has a hot and humid climate – pests simply thrive

and multiply in such a climate! So they have to be managed. The armer has

no choice!

So or a armer, pesticides are a necessity. They are crop protection products that

he needs to saeguard his arm-investments and in turn secure his l ivelihood.

But this does not mean that a armer uses pesticides irresponsibly. In India, sheer

economics prevents this. Pesticides are not handed out ree; a armer has to pay

or each and every litre o pesticide that he uses. So, his pesticide use is rugal, he

sprays only when absolutely necessary.



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wondering whether our armers were even aware o this mighty achievement. And

whathavewe,therestofusdonetorecognizeandacknowledgeit?Ourfoodsecurity

lies in their hands, but we just take them or granted. And they go about their work,bent over their crops, day in and day out, just to make ends meet. Their struggle does

not diminish.

One track in my mind was stuck on the unairness o the equation between armers

and ood production. On another track were questions pertaining to beehives and

honeybees. I asked the proessor, what was so special about honeybees?

Why would a armer not spray near a beehive?

• Thehoneybeeisprecioustofarmersbecause its unction is to pollinate the

owers, that is, to move pollen rom the male ower to the emale ower and in

thiswaytounitethemaleandfemalesothatfertilizationcantakeplace.Once

this union takes place, the ower goes on to bear ruit. I the union does not take

place,thereisnofertilization,nofruitandafarmerhasnocrop.

• Sopollinationisasimportanttocropcultivationassunlightandrain.Andit is

the honeybees that help pollination to take place. In India, out o 160 million

hectares o land under crop cultivation, 55 million hectares grow crops that

depend upon bees and other insects or pollination, said the proessor reerring to

a report obtained rom CSK HP K rishi Vishvavidyalaya in Himachal Pradesh.

This comes to only 2.5% o world consumption.

And yet, with comparatively so little pesticide consumption, India ranksNumber 2 in ood production in the world.

Here is some more data that shows that crop protection usage is very low in India

as compared to other parts o the world.

Worldwide, over 16,000 pesticide ormulations based on 1055 active ingredients

are used. This is as per the Crop Protection Handbook, 2010.

In India, a little over 400 ormulations based on 228 active ingredients are used.

This inormation can be ound on the Central Insecticide Board website.

The scientist-proessor had got my attention. This point o rugal use o pesticides by

the Indian armer was an important one. Many times developing countries are blamed

or being the major culprits in degrading the environment.As ar as pesticides are concerned, this certainly is not the case.

I was also surprised to learn that it is our Indian armers who eed most o the world;

we rank second in ood production; which is a great achievement. But still our armers

remain poor; they do not enjoy the ruits o their own achievement. I couldn’t help



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honeybees. This is the unique chemistry o Endosulan. This is the reason

why Endosulan and no other insecticide is recommended or use as the rst

spray during the owering stage by agricultural scientists and entomologistsworldwide.

• Whereveralternativeshavebeenusedtherehavebeenreportsofworkerbees

rom the beehives disappearing and even whole bee colonies vanishing abruptly.

This does not happen with Endosulan. This insecticide allows the armer to

protect the honeybees and at the same time targets harmul pests.

• Anotherspeciesthatthefarmersdependuponarethebenecialinsectssuchas

ladybird beetle, chrysoperla, trichograma. We call them benecials because they

eat harmul insects that destroy crops.

• Endosulfanisfriendlytobenecialsaswell.This is also very important.

Because as long as there are sufcient numbers o benecials in the eld which

destroy the harmul pests, the armer does not have to use any pesticide, or use

only the minimum amount o pesticide. This too is a great saving or the Indian

armer.

• Whatismore,Endosulfanisinexpensivebecauseitisagenericpesticide,that

is, any producer anywhere in the world can produce it. A patented pesticide is

always much more expensive because the company that has invented it holds a

monopoly on it and hence can sell it at whatever price it wants.

So now you see how vitally important honeybees are to the Indian armer. He

loves this git o nature, because without honeybees, he might as well stop

arming.

Suddenly, rom God knows where, a childhood memory suraced: some relatives who

were visiting had seen the droves o honeybees and said... “Wah, wah, gor maharaj are

gracing your felds!” Now I knew why they had said that. Just as the maharaj, the priest,

joins the bride and the bridegroom in matrimony, in the same way, the honeybee

is the maharaj o the owers, joining the male and emale ower, to create the ruit!

What a wonderul way to reer to these helpul insects, or what the proessor called

pollinators.

My knowledge was growing by the minute. The relationship between honeybees,

pollination and ood production had become very clear. But I wanted to know

about Endosulan. The proessor must have read my mind or at that very instant he

launched ully and squarely into the heart o the matter:

• Pollinatorsandpestsappearatthesametime.So,thechallengeforthefarmeris

to manage pests and yet at the same time ensure that honeybees are not aected

and that they continue to do their job o pollination.

• Endosulfanistheonlyknowninsecticidethatishoneybeefriendly.Being

generic, it is also afordable. It targets harmul pests, but it does not destroy



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As I let the university, it was my ather who lled my thoughts. What must he have

elt like when I did not show any interest in arming, a tradition that had been in our

amily or generations? Did he have dreams that one day I would attend an agriculturaluniversity and learn the science and technology o agriculture?

When I met Parvati, I was ready with all the points pertaining to the relevance o

Endosulan. I had even made a little chart in my notebook:

• Eectiveonarangeofpestsandinavarietyofcrops

• Aordable:LessthanRs.286perlitre

(Alternativescostatleasttentimesmore)

• Safetopollinators,thatis,honeybees

• Safetobenecialinsects

• Avoidsresistance

I made a note o all this.

Generic = less expensive Patented = more expensive

Generic = more suppliers

Patented = monopoly, only one supplier

So much o arming is linked to economics, I thought to mysel. I had learnt a lot.

Endosulan is generic. It is aordable. It is sae to honeybees and benecials. But on

how many crops can Endosulan be used? I put this question to the proessor…

• Endosulan is a broad spectrum insecticide: it is eective against no less than

60 pests and over a large number o crops including ruits, vegetables, tea, coee,

spices, owers, and also or non ood crops such as cotton and jute. This means

that the armer does not have to spend additional money to buy a variety o

pesticides to take care o the dierent pests that dierent crops are vulnerable to.

• Another important point: There are many pesticides to which pests develop

resistance over a period o time. This decreases the efcacy o pesticides and

armers have to use progressively more and more amounts in order to destroy the

pests. This means that the armer has to spend more and more money. However,

this is not the case with Endosulan. Pests do not develop resistance to it. So

armers do not have to spend extra money.

Relevance o Endosulan



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• Chemicals are the second largest traded merch andise in the world,

next only to oil.

• Agro-chemicals,thatis,pesticidesareaverybigglobalbusiness.

• In2008,theglobal pesticides market was US $ 40 billion or Rs. 180,000 crores.

• Out o this, the top three companies, all o them European, accounted

or US $ 20 billion (Rs. 90,000 crores). This works out to 50% o the global

market.

• Endosulan is the third largest, generic pesticide in use worldwide, with a

global sale o US $ 300 million. (Rs. 1350 crores). Over 40 million litres are used

globally every year.

• Formorethan50years,aEuropeanmultinationalwastheleaderinthe

manuacture and sale o this pesticide.

Now, why was Parvati telling me all this? O course, I knew that Europe has a big stake

in pesticide business. She saw that I was getting restless. That girl can read me like a

book! She gave me a long hard stare as she continued with the journey o Endosulan

in Europe:

I had saved one interesting and important act or last. I read out the proessor’s

exact words:

• Inadditiontoitsagriculturaluse,Endosulfanhassince2006beenallowedinthe

USA as a veterinary insecticide or use as ear tags or lactating cows and cattle or

control o ecto parasites. This shows that it is sae or use even on animals.

Parvati had listened intently but when I nished, there was not one word o praise

rom her. I wanted to protest, but didn’t get hal a chance; she immediately launched

into her own presentation. I had never seen her like this, all solemn and business-like,

speaking with such clarity and condence, as i she were delivering a scholarly paper

at a conerence...



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And again, in 2010, European manuacturer stopped selling Endosulan and in the

same year, the POPRC recommended Endosulan or listing as a POP.

The sequence o events did strike me as being signicant. Were these just coincidences

or was there more to it? Parvati told me to hold on, there were even more signicant

revelations that she wanted to share...

• Yes,itistruethattheEuropeanmultinationalwastheworld’sleaderandthe

largest producer and exporter o Endosulan.

• Butinthepasttenyearsorso,anothercountryhastakenawayanextremelylarge

share o the European multinational’s Endosulan market.

• Whichisthiscountrythathasgivensuchatakkar to the European multinational?

• Itisourcountry.Indiahasemergedastheworld’slargestproducerand

exporter o Endosulan with a 70% share o the global market.

• TheEuropeanmultinationalhaslostitsNo1positionandwithitasignicant

portion o its prots.

In 2001, the European multinational decided to phase out Endosulan.

In 2005, the European Commission stopped its 27 member countries rom usingEndosulan.

In 2007, the European multinational stopped manuacturing Endosulan,

but continued to sell it.

In the same year – 2007 – the European Commission made a submission to the

Stockholm Convention recommending the consideration o Endosulan as a Persistent

OrganicPollutant(POP).

The European multinational also announced that it would stop selling Endosulan

by the end o 2010.

In October 2010, at the Stockholm Convention, the POPRC recommended that

Endosulan be listed as a POP.

“Wait a minute!” I told Parvati. I wanted to examine these coincidences: The European

multinational stopped manuacturing Endosulan in 2007 and in that very same year,

the European Commission started the process o getting Endosulan banned.



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The European multinational has already produced replacements or Endosulan.

But unlike Endosulan which is an aordable pesticide, the alternatives are ve to tentimes costlier than Endosulan as this table shows...

I could not help eeling a sense o pride at India’s industrial might. Imagine competing

with a world leader and emerging the winner!

And what a huge setback this must have been not only or the European multinational

but also or the European agro-chemical industry as a whole which has dominated the

world market or over 50 years!

Then it struck me:

Could the real reason or wanting to ban Endosulan be that it was no longer

protablefortheEuropeanmultinationaltoproducethisgenericchemical?

I Endosulan got banned, then in one shot, the competition would get

wiped out. More importantly, a large, a very large space would open up or a

replacement.

I this were true, then grandather was right. Something devious was going on. ButI wanted to keep an open mind, I did not want to jump to conclusions; this was a

serious investigation, so I kept these thoughts to mysel and told Parvati to continue...

None o the above alternatives to Endosulan are sae to

honeybees



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But this was dierent. This trade war went beyond business empires; it was going to

ruin a whole section o people – the small and marginal armers – who had nothing

whatsoever to do with manuacturing and selling. This is what made this trade wareven more unjust.

What is more, Europe was calling or a ban but its most devastating impact was not

going to be elt by European armers. The ones that would lose out the most would be

the armers in poor, developing countries. Why? Because, rst o all, insect-pests are

not as much o a problem in cold countries as they are in hot, humid countries. We, in

India need aordable pesticides to control pests, otherwise entire crops get destroyed

and armers get ruined. Secondly, armers in rich countries o Europe can aord the

ve-to-ten-times-more-expensive-than-Endosulan replacements. But millions o

our small and marginal armers simply cannot. They are already under grave nancial

strain; any additional burden will simply wipe them out.

We sat quietly or sometime. It was as i we were mourning or millions o our armers.

“Exactly how many millions are we talking about?” I asked Parvati. Out came her laptopcomputer and within a minute she had the answer: As per the Census o 2001, there

are 250 million agricultural workers in India. I wondered how many were even

aware o the sword hanging over their heads.

I took my time to study the table. Calmly, dispassionately as I have been trained to do.

Parvati was right. The alternatives were indeed very costly as compared toEndosulan. And, none o them were bee-sae products.

Now, it all made sense. The acts and gures that Parvati had gathered let no doubt in

my mind. I was convinced that:

TheEuropeanswereghtingatradewar.Theirplanwassimple:

• StopmanufacturingthelowcostEndosulfan.

• EnsurethatnooneelseproducesEndosulfanbycampaigningforabanagainstit.

At the same time,

• Produceandpromotealternativesthataremuchmoreexpensive.

O course, I knew that trade wars were not an uncommon occurrence. One business

empire ghting against another occurred oten enough, within a country and across

countries.



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We were back at our icecream parlour. I was dying to tell Parvati what I had discovered,

but rst I reminded her that in 2005 the European Union had stopped its 27 member

countries which included Italy rom using Endosulan. However, in 2008, despite theban, the Italian Ministry o Health and other departments had jointly issued an order

allowingEndosulfantobeusedfor120daystosaveItaly’shazelnutcropwhichwas

beingattackedbyweevils(CurculioNucum).

Parvati asked me again and again whether what I had just stated was really true. I told

her it was true indeed; i she wanted to see a copy o the Italian order issued in Rome

on 7th April 2008, I would show it to her right away on my laptop computer.

Parvati was thinking aloud, ast and urious:

• SurelytheItaliangovernmentwouldnothaveissuedsuchanorderifitreally

believed that Endosulan was harmul to health. The Italian government would

not risk the lives o its citizens to save a hazelnut c rop.

• ThisclearlyshowsthatEndosulfanisnothazardoustohealth.Italso

indicates that the alternatives must not have been efective, otherwise why

would the Italian government bring back Endosulan which it had stopped using

as per the European Commission’s directive?

I made a silent promise to my ather and grandather that come what may,

I would complete my investigation; I would bring home the truth.

Parvati’s excited voice broke the silence:

• IftheEuropeanCommissionhadordereditsmembercountriestostopusing

Endosulan as early as 2005, why did the European multinational continue to sell

it to the rest o world the till 2010?

• Iftheyreallythoughtitwasharmful,wouldn’ttherightandmoralthinghave

been to stop selling it altogether? How can there be one policy or Europe and

another policy or non-European countries?

Iwasamazedattheclarityofthisgirlsittinginfrontofme.Iwantedtotellherthatshe

should have been a lawyer. She was certainly arguing like one.

That night, I attacked the internet once again. I was hoping the answer to Parvati’squestionwassomewhereoutthereincyberspace.Ididnotrealizewhenthedarkness

outside my window gave way to dawn, till the chirping o the birds announced the

new day. I had ound some inormation that I thought was vital to our investigation

and I could not wait or evening to come...

Italian order permitting re-use o endosulan ater its ban in Europe on Page No. 62

English translation on Page No. 63



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That none o us workers have aced any adverse efects whatsoever

completely destroys the credibility o the studies that claim that Endosulan

is harmul. One such study was conducted by the National Institute o OccupationalHealth(NIOH).Itsndingsaretotallyfalse.Andyet,thisawed

study has been used as evidence to push or the listing o Endosulan as a

Persistent Organic Pollutant at the Stockholm Convention.

We, the workers o the Endosulan plant wanted to stand up against such

alsehood. That is why we took out a silent rally. About 10,000 men, women and

children walked in a dignied manner along a two and a hal kilometer route that

started at the municipal school ground and ended at the District Collector’s ofce

where we submitted a memorandum to the Collector demanding the withdrawal

o the NIOH report.

You don’t have to take my word about the NIOH report. Our Union has a

document that disproves the case made against Endosulan by NIOH. I will ask

our Union leader to send it to you. Read the document careully, study it and thendraw your own conclusions.

But this I will say -- the experience o us Endosulan workers must be taken

into account at the Stockholm Convention. We are the ones who are in closest

proximity to Endosulan. Our health records have shown that there are no

We were certainly drawing a lot o attention, what with Parvati thumping the table

rom time to time; her icecream had melted a long time ago... I looked around or our

server, when I noticed a gentleman, he could not have been more than 30-35 and hewas coming straight to our table. Without any unnecessary chit-chat, he told us that

he had heard us using the word Endosulan over and over again and since he was a

worker at an Endosulan plant, he was eager to nd out what we were talking about.

We told him about our investigation. Then he started. The way he spoke, it elt as i he

was not speaking or himsel but on behal o the entire workorce...

• Youmayhavereadreportsinthemediathatmakementionofstudiesthatclaim

that Endosulan is harmul to health. Let me tell you this – our Endosulan plant

was started in 1980. For more than 30 years, over 3,000 people in this plant alone

have handled this chemical.

Weworkersaretherstpointofexposure,becausewehandleEndosulfanin

averyconcentratedform.IfEndosulfanwasharmful,wewouldbetherstoneswhosehealthwouldbeendangered.Butnoilleectshavebefallenany

o us, our children or grandchildren. I have been here or 14 years, but there

are many workers much more senior to me, who have handled Endosulan or 25

years and more.



32 33

We paid our bill, gathered our things and were stepping out o the icecream parlour

when we saw our newly-made riend running towards us, holding out a piece o paper.

When he got his breath back, he told us, we should denitely talk to the person whosename was written on it. He was the Director o International Stewardship Centre Inc.

Now what was I going to do with this Director? Or the International Stewardship

Centre? I needed help about the Stockholm Convention.

That night as I sat sur ng the internet, I checked out on International Stewardship

Centre. Our worker riend had taken so much trouble, this is the least I could do. I

foundoutthatitisanon-protorganizationcreatedtoeducateandpromotesafety

in all aspects related to chemical substances. This did not appear to be o much help.

One minute! What is this… oh my God! They are also observers at the Stockholm

Convention! Their Director has attended many o their meetings and has closely

ollowed the developments. I could not believe this!

It is at times like this when help comes out o the blue, that I think o God. I know itshould not be this way. As grandather says: “He should be in our every breath and our

every step.” But grandather is grandather...

I requested a meeting with the Director o the International Stewardship Centre to

learn more about the Stockholm Convention.

residues o Endosulan in our blood. Our blood has been tested to check or

Endosulan residues by reputed internationally recognised GLP laboratories.

This has been done not just once, but every two years or the last six years.All these tests have not detected any Endosulan residues in our blood. My

question is: why are these health reports not taken into account?

There was pin drop silence when our riend nished.

Beore we could ask him anything more his toddler son came up to our table. His

wie signaled that they should leave. We thanked our riend but he would not hear

o it. It was his duty, he said, to let as many people know what the truth really is.

It was so very inspiring to hear our worker riend speak. His testimony was a major

milestone in our journey to the truth. But, there was so much more that needed to

be investigated. We had to nd out more about the Stockholm Convention, who

those people were, and what they had ound about Endosulan that made them call

or a ban. Another issue that worried me was the report about the Kasargod incidentthat blamed Endosulan or causing birth deects and so on. How could such a report

have come about? What was going on in Kerala?

I did not know where to turn or whom to ask or help and guidance. Time was

running out. The Stockholm Convention was scheduled to take a decision regarding

banning or not banning Endosulan in April 2011. What i, we could not nd the

answers beore then? How would I ace my ather and grandather?



34 35

Let’s talk about persistence. The term persistence reers to the length o time a

pesticide takes to degrade in the soil. It is measured by way o hal lie, that is, the

number o days it takes or hal o the pesticide in the soil to degrade ater which itloses its efcacy. Any pesticide with hal lie o more than 180 days is considered to be

persistent.

How ast a pesticide degrades in the soil is dependent on actors such as soil type and

environmental conditions; temperature and moisture play a crucial role.

Coming to Endosulan: there are several scientic reports that indicate that under

tropical conditions, Endosulan degrades rather ast and the hal lie is typically

between 20 to 70 days. This is ar below the 180 day hal lie criteria to determine

whether a chemical is persistent.

However, the POPRC chose to take into account a study done in a colder climatic

region which showed hal lie in excess o 180 days.

Clearly, this was not representative o what the data on soil persistence was in most

parts o the world and it was apparent that this study was chosen so that Endosulan

could be shown as persistent.

“But didn’t anyone protest?” I asked the Director.

From the moment I presented mysel at his ofce, the Director gave me his ull

attention. I did not want to waste his time so I got straight to my rst concern,

which was:

• ThelivetestimonyoftheEndosulfanworkersandthefarmersinIndiais

that Endosulan is not harmul to health.

On the other hand, the Stockholm Convention considers Endosulan to

be so harmul that it has recommended that the pesticide be banned.

Could the Director share with me, scientic data on the basis o which the

Stockholm Convention had taken such a s erious step.

The Director was swit with his answer:

A committee called the POPRC meets to decide whether a chemical can be

recommended or listing as a POP. There are our criteria by which a chemicalis judged in order to recommend it as a POP. They are:

• Persi stence

• B ioaccumulation

• Longrangetransport

• Adverseeectonhumanhealth



36 37

One o the rules governing the Stockholm Convention states that all substantive

decisions have to be taken by consensus. This means that all members have to

unanimously agree beore a major decision is taken.

Consensus is absolutely necessary in order to ensure that the decision taken is air to

all countries including minority countries, that is, those countries who view an issue

dierently rom other countries. The minority countries have to be convinced about

the issue beore a decision is taken and this can only happen through the practice o

consensus.

Unortunately, all decisions pertaining to Endosulan have not been taken by

consensus.

Instead, decisions have been taken by voting. This is against the rule. And it is very

unair. Voting does not allow the voice o the minority countries to be actored into the

decision-making process. Instead, the majority countries, simply by virtue o being the

majority are able to push through their agenda. It is a case o might is right. The sidewhich has more numbers wins the day.

This is exactly what has happened in the case o Endosulan.

The Director did not have to spell it out. I already knew who the mighty were and what

theirrealagendawas.ThemeetingwiththeDirectorhadmademerealizehowthe

“O course there were protests, rom a small number o countries including India,”

the Director inormed me. As an observer in many o the meetings o the POPRC, the

Director had himsel witnessed how the meetings were conducted. In his own words:

It has been my observation that any inormation that is not in avour o POP listing

is tactully ignored. While reviewing Endosulan, studies that support POP listing

were considered and decisions were taken despite signicant data gaps. How can an

inormed decision as regards listing a chemical as a POP be taken when such gaps

exist? This is the rst o my concerns.

It took me some time to absorb what the Director was saying. All this was a little

technical, so I asked a lot o questions to make sure I had understood everything

properly. What I concluded was that the POPRC wanted Endosulan banned, that was

all that they were concerned about, the data that supported the ban was accepted

and data that did not support the ban was ignored; thus creating the scientic gaps

that the Director was talking about.

The Director had mentioned that the scientic data gaps were the rst o his concerns.

Meaning, he had other concerns as well. O course, a sharp investigative mind like

mine had picked up that point and o course I had to ask him about it. “Yes, I do have

another concern.” began the Director...



38 39

Fact

PlantationCorporationofKeralahadbeenseasonallysprayingEndosulfan(onceor

twiceayear)intheircashewplantationinthedistrictsofKasargodandPalghatin

Kerala rom 1980 to 2000 or control o a major pest called tea mosquito bug.

In February 2001, CSE released to the media a report based on a study that it had

conducted in Kasargod district o Kerala. The study claimed to have ound “alarming

levels o Endosulan residues” in water and human blood samples taken rom Padre

village in Kasargod district. It also claimed that the “alarming levels” o Endosulan were

causing several health problems including cancer and birth deects.

Coincidentally, 2001, the year in which this study was conducted was also the same

year in which the European multinational decided to phase out Endosulan, a pesticide

it had produced and exported worldwide without any adverse eects or 50 years.

Fact

The claim o the CSE study regarding “alarming levels o Endosulan” is scienticallyincorrect.

Here are just two examples that prove the alseness o the CSE report:

mighty were driving the decisions, that is, how they were subtly getting their way at

the Stockholm Convention.

I remembered another act that Parvati had told me earlier which was that almost

all the chemicals that have been listed as POP have been on the basis o

submissions made by the European Union. She had also told me that all o them

were generic chemicals. Not a single chemical was recommended or POP listing

whileitwasunder‘patentprotection’. This act struck me as being very signicant.

I did not want to waste any more o the Director’s time, so I thanked him, shook his

hand and was almost at the door, when suddenly, something made me ask, “About

the articles that have appeared in the newspapers. What are your thoughts on that?”

I described the one that my ather had shown me on Republic Day and how my

grandather had been shaken to the core upon reading it.

The Director asked i I had read the Kasargod study conducted by the Centre or

ScienceandEnvironment(CSE)uponwhichthenewspaperarticlewasbased.“No, I had not read the study. People like me, ordinary people that is, don’t read scientic

studies. We go by what we read in the newspapers.”

The Director beckoned that I sit down once again. I told him I was taking up too much

o his time. He told me not to worry about that. And then he began. Fact or act, this is

what he said:



40 41

Fact

Several expert committees have been appointed by the Government o India to

determine whether Endosulan was the cause o health problems in Padre village

o Kasargod district. All these committees have concluded that there is no link

whatsoever between the use o Endosulan and the reported health problems.

Fact

Accordingtoinformationobtainedfrominternationalorganizations,Endosulfan

isnon-carcinogenic,thatis,itdoesnotcausecancer.Theseorganizationsinclude

theWHO(WorldHealthOrganization),FAO(Food&AgricultureOrganization),

IARC(InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer),andtheUSEPA(UnitedStates

EnvironmentalProtectionAgency).

Fact

Ignoring the observations o the expert scientic committees as well as the

observations o scientic bodies such as the WHO, the CSE and a small group o

environmental NGOs got together to create a pressure group to ban Endosulan.The scientically incorrect CSE study became part o a systematic and aggressive

campaign to create negative public opinion regarding Endosulan.

As a consequence o this campaign, the National Research Centre or Cashew

recommended that Endosulan should not be used or cashew cultivation in Kerala.

Thereater, because o public pressure, the Kerala government suspended the use o

Endosulan all over the state.

CSE Claim

Endosulfanresiduesof9.19ppm(partspermillion)werefoundinlteredwater

samples taken rom Padre village.

Scientifc truth

Endosulan’s water solubility is 0.33 ppm. This means that this is the maximum amount

o Endosulan that can be dissolved in water. CSE’s claim o 9.19 ppm is scientically

implausible. It completely violates the basic and undamental principles o chemistry.

This is thereore a alse claim.

CSE Claim

115.19 ppm o Endosulan residues were detected in the blood sample o Dr. Mohan

Kumar, an activist associated with Pesticides Action Network.

Scientifc truth

0.86 ppm is the lethal concentration o Endosulan in human blood.

This concentration and anything more than this would mean that the person would

not survive. No human being can carry 115.19 ppm o Endosulan residues and still be

alive.

When challenged, neither Dr. Mohan Kumar nor CSE could explain these unscientic

laboratory ndings.

Scientifcally incorrect CSE study unded by EU on Page No.. 66



42 43

incidents reported rom certain villages in Kasargod district, no conclusive evidence

has been produced to show that the diseases were linked to Endosulan and nothing

else. An independent study demonstrates that the symptoms in reported cases

correspond to those o handi godu (a disease) attributed to chronic inbreeding in

the region.”

The second article, a ull page one, had appeared in the Indian Express, New Delhi and

Mumbai editions, dated January 30, 2011. The ar ticle was titled Kerala’s Pesticide Puzzle

and the subtitle read ... “Shaju Philips travels to Kasargod and nds that there is little

evidencetolinkthesediseases(congenitalandinfertilityproblems)withEndosulfan”.

The ollowing is a direct quote rom the article:

“....Jagadeesh, 40, rom a village under the Enmakaje panchayat, is an Endosulan

victim in government records – diagnosed with mental retardation and epilepsy.

Hewasbornin1970,atleast10yearsbeforetherstsprayingofEndosulfan

and even beore the trial run began in 1977-78. That he wasn’t enrolled in primaryschool at the age o six indicates his congenital problems preceded the spraying.

His our younger siblings are all married with children who are in good health.

Jagadeesh was rst taken or treatment only 15 years ago, when the Endosulan issue

erupted.”

Goodness gracious! So there were health problems in Kasargod, but they did not

have anything to do with Endosulan; th ey existed long beore Endosulan was

I let the Director’s ofce eeling very shameul. How could our own people, use a

scientically incorrect report in this manner to malign Endosulan? What was really

going on in Kerala? Some o the pictures that we have seen in the anti-Endosulan

reports did indicate that there were health problems. I Endosulan was not causing

them, then what was?

While I was waiting or Parvati, I opened my laptop. Surely someone must have asked

the same question: What was going on in Kerala? Just then, Parvati arrived, all hufng

and pufng. She was late but there was good reason or that, she said, as she handed

over two newspaper articles and a map to me. She would not sit down. She said she

would be back in a l ittle while. In the meantime, she wanted me to read the articles

careully, especially the portions that were highlighted in yellow.

My God! My Parvati was turning out to be quite an investigator! Here were two articles

in two dierent newspapers written by two dierent journalists; both the articles

pointed to the act that there was a history o congenital problems in Kasargod and in

the adjoining areas o South Canara district o Karnataka. Long beore Endosulan orany other pesticide was ever sprayed, these areas had children with birth deects.

In an article entitled Proxy Battle Over Endosulan published in The Hindu, Business Line

newspaper dated 9 February 2011, Shri Sharad Joshi, who is the Founder o Shetkari

Sanghatana and a ormer Rajya Sabha Member o Parliament, has written ... “In the



44 45

ever sprayed! Could this be the reason why the CSE study was conducted in

Kasargod? I so, the spraying o Endosulan over the cashew plantation was exactly

what these people needed to make a scapegoat out o Endosulan and link it to the

already existing health problems. What devious minds! Shame on them!

As soon as I said this to mysel, I elt a bit bad. I did not want to jump to conclusions.

The evidence was staring me in the ace, but still, I wanted to exercise caution. My eye

ell on the map. It was the map o India. I put it aside; this Parvati was too much, was

she now going to give me a geography lesson as well?!

And so I waited. It did not eel nice to have the icecream without her. But she was

taking so long! I looked at the map once again; this time I looked properly; it was a

map showing the state-wise consumption o Endosulan.

The states o Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh ranked highest in



46 47

the preexistence o health problems in Kasargod, was too much or me. I wanted to

talk to someone about all this. I packed my computer, paid the bill and I was on the

phone with the Director o the International Stewardship Centre. I requested, actually

I should say, I begged or a little more o his time. Something in my voice must have

communicated how agitated I was – the Director told me to come over right away.

The tea that the Director provided was much needed. And what is more, he was

attending to some phone call, so I could have my tea in peace.

Then, when he was back and I was somewhat restored, I told him how much respect

I had or NGOs. They do such incredible work. Our country owes so much to them.

I told him that it was a good and noble thing or CSE to be concerned about health and

the environment but all the evidence that we had gathered indicated that something

was terribly wrong.

I was ull o questions:

Why had the CSE conducted the study in Kerala, where there was so little Endosulan

consumption?

Why did they ignore the act that birth deects and other health problems already

existed in the area that was studied?

the use o Endosulan. What about Kerala? Why is it that the usage in other states was

signicantly higher? Was it used only in cashew? Could I very quickly nd out this

detail? I opened my laptop, and started the search with the Plantation Corporation

o Kerala which had used Endosulan on its cashew crop. That was how the whole

controversy had erupted. Thank God, I know my way around the internet; some would

evensayIamquiteawhizatit....Ah!Herewassomething...

Goodness gracious, once again! Do you know how much Endosulan was sprayed by

the Plantation Corporation over the cashew crop in Kasargod? 300 millilitres per acre!

Could this be correct? I checked the gure once again. Yes, it was only 300 millilitres

peracre.Thisisjustalittlebitmorethanwhatastandardsizeglasscanhold!Andthe

spraying was done only twice during the year.

In all only 550 litres were sprayed during the year in Kasargod, Kerala. Maharashtra,

AndhraPradheshandMadhyaPradeshwereannuallyusing10lakhlitres(or1000

kiloliltres)andaboveandnothingadversehaseverbeenreportedfromthosestates!

Now, I am not a scientist and I am not a researcher, but even my common sense tellsme that i I wanted to study the eects o Endosulan, I would pick a state where there

was signicant use o Endosulan; I would certainly not pick an area that has such

insignicant use o Endosulan!

This discovery, coming on top o the evidence given in the newspaper reports about



48 49

From the nancial year 1999-2000 to 2007-2008, CSE received unding close to

Rs. 56 crores.

In the period o 2000 to 2006 alone, CSE received Rs. 35.36 crores out o which more

than Rs. 33 crores were rom oreign sources.

• Inaletterdated10May2010,theHeadoftheDelegationoftheEuropean

Union has stated and I quote... “The European Union did provide unding to

CSE to implement a project on Policy Research and Awareness Creation in the

Field o Environment health Interace and Development o an Alternative Pollution

Monitoring System rom 2000 to 2006. The objective o this project was to:

1) Tosensitizethepublictolinkagesbetweenenvironmentaldegradation

and health;

2) Developpolicystrategiesintheeldofenvironmentalhealth;

3) Catalyzetheformationofapressuregroupbyprovidingscienticinformationon

the health impacts o environmental degradation.

To achieve this objective, CSE conducted various research studies, provided capacity

building, established a laboratory or monitoring air, water and pesticides pollution in

the environment and created awareness among various target groups on these issues.

European Union’s letter confrming unding to CSE on Page No. 64

Foreign unding: RTI inormation on Rs. 56 Crores received by CSE on Page No. 65

I it had been pointed out to them that their data was scientically incorrect, i so

many government committees had said that the health problems in Kasargod were

not linked to Endosulan – then why were they conducting such an aggressive

anti-Endosulan campaign?

What was their motivation? Was it money?

My phone had to ring just then! It was Parvati; she wanted me to talk to her riend’s

brother who ran a or armers. I told Parvati that I was going to be delayed but she

insisted that I had to meet the person that very evening, it did not matter how late

it got.

IapologizedtotheDirectorfortheinterruption.ThenIrepeatedmyquestion,“Could

money be the reason why CSE was mixed up i n all this?”

The Director looked me straight in the eye and said, “This is a question to which I don’t

know the answer. I would not even want to speculate. However what I do have are

some acts:

• AccordingtoinformationobtainedthroughtheRighttoInformationActfromthe

Ministry o Home Aairs, Government o India…



50 51

saaman(things)healsogetssammaan(respect).Wecareforourfarmers;welook

or ways and means to be o real help to them. For example, we have removed the

middleman. The armers thereore get their products at much l ower prices.”

This sounded too good to be true but I believed the manager. He was bright, he was

sincere, only one thing -- he talked a lot and that too at ull speed! And here he was

telling us some more...

“Yes, I am the manager, but rst I am a armer. Most o the time, I am in the villages,

meeting armers, trying to understand their problems. Whatever knowledge I have,

I share with them, and when I don’t know how to solve the problem, I take help rom

my proessor riends at the agricultural universities. Yes, you can say, it is a kind o

social service, no problem i prots are small; to be o help to armers, that is the best

reward. “

What an aternoon and evening this had turned out to be! From hearing about

Rs 56 crores in unding to listening to this man say that money is not everything!

I asked him i he knew anything about the Endosulan controversy. O course he had!

In act, he was ull o it...

Please be inormed that...the EU cannot be held responsible or the views expressed

by CSE, the results o the study, their correctness or the usage o those results by CSE.”

What more evidence did I need! I wanted to hang my head in shame. Do the people

at CSE and other anti-Endosulan NGOs ever think about the scope and scale o the

devastation that their actions are going to wreak on millions o our armers? My ather

and grandather lled my mind and heart as I made my way out o the Director’s ofce.

All in all, it had not been a good day. And now this meeting at the armers mall.

God knows what that was going to be like. I I could not nd the armers mall in the

next ve minutes, Parvati was going to....Ah! Here she was, waiting or me at the

entrance o a shop.

I asked her where the mall was and she pointed to the shop. This 20 t x 20 t shop is a

mall! Had Parvati lost her mind?!

A young man, not much older than me, was the manager o this shop. He immediately

set the record straight.

“Yes, we do call this shop a mall, but it really is a one-stop shop or the armers.

Wesupplyallthatafarmerneeds--seeds,fertilizerspesticides...evenordinarythings

like ropes and strings. But what makes us unique is that here, the armer not only gets



52 53

That is just not who we are and how we conduct arming. Let me tell you, without

honeybees, the armers’ eco-system is going to be destroyed and we are going to be

ruined. We might as well commit suicide!”

These were strong words. They aected me deeply.

Parvati signalled that she wanted a word in private. She had this bright idea that

I should meet this proessor-turned-armer-leader. I said I would. But that did not

satisy her.

So there I was in the night train. Ater we managed to get our berths, I thought I

would get some peace and quiet. But no, the manager wanted to tell me more about

the armer-leader who came rom a amily that has been involved in agriculture or

generations. He and many others like him were starting a grassroots movement to

make Indian armers aware o what was going on. The manager was lending his ull

support,takingontheresponsibilityofmobilizingfarmersthathewasincontactwith.

It elt good to hear this. As I closed my eyes, I thanked Parvati or insisting that I orget

everything and get into the night train. That girl was invariably right!

The proessor-turned-armer-leader was very busy man; a very ocused and

determined man. He spoke his mind and on his mind was only one thing – our Indian

armers!

“Let me tell you this is not the rst time they have orchestrated a ban. These

Europeans have done the same thing earlier with other pesticides. And they always do

this with generic pesticides. I have never heard o a pesticide that was banned while

it was patented. That would not suit their interests. It is the low cost generic that gets

banned and is then replaced with an expensive patented product.

But not anymore! Many armer leaders have taken up the cause o the small and

marginal armer. Some academics and proessors o agricultural universities are also

joining in. I am meeting one such proessor-turned-armer-leader tomorrow. Actually,

I am catching the night train, but don’t worry, I still have some time to talk to you...

Let me tell you what this proessor told me. The alternative products are destroying

honeybees and other benecials. In France and Germany where Endosulan has

been substituted by neo-nicotinoids, it has resulted in entire colonies o honeybees

getting wiped out. In countries where honeybees have been destroyed, armers are

now buying boxes o bees, and they are letting these bees loose in their arms so that

pollination can take place.

But what about us Indian armers? In addition to dealing with power cuts, rising uel

prices, non-availability o water, shortage o labour, how will we cope with the tragedy

o paying or very expensive replacement products and on top o that seeing our

honeybees destroyed? Our armers will never buy bees.



54 55

Reason 3: The decision to recommend Endosulan as a POP was made despite

signicant data gaps.

Reason 4: All POPRC decisions relating to Endosulan have not been taken by

consensus. This is not in the true spirit o the Stockholm Convention.

The nal decision o the Stockholm Convention is due in April 2011.

We have to act ast. Now is our last chance!

I we don’t,farmerswillbetherstcasualties.

We will lose our ri ght to choose aordable crop protection solutions. We will be orced

to pay ve to ten times more or alternatives which may not even be as eective

as Endosulan. Our arm eco-system will be endangered as many o the suggested

alternatives are not sae to honeybees and benecial insects. We depend on these

precious insects. I they are destroyed, we will be ruined.

There will also be other major consequences.

Food security will be threatened. Vegetable and ruit production will decrease.

Food prices will escalate.

His words really charged me up. This is what he said...

“So ar, we have heard NGO voices and other voices. But the armers have not spoken.

This is going to change.

We need to organise rallies in diferent states – Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal,

Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar...

One, two, even ten armers speaking out against the injustice may not be enough.

Thousands o armers need to congregate, stand as one and tell the world to listen to

the voice o 250 million armers o India!

The voice o the armers o India is loud and clear. It says: We cannot accept any

move to ban Endosulan. Here are our reasons why...

Reason 1: There is no evidence linking Endosulan to health problems in

Kasargod, Kerala.

Reason 2: The Indian armers’ experience o handling Endosulan or 40 years has not

been accounted or. Our testimony has not been heard.



56 57

• Thesestudieswhichposedasbeingscienticwereinfactscienticallyinaccurate

and contained untenable data.

• EnvironmentalgroupslinkedtoEuropeaninterestshadskillfullyorchestratedaglobal ear campaign to malign Endosulan.

• ThishadmisledthegeneralpublicintobelievingthatEndosulfancausedahost

o health problems. Adverse public opinion had also orced some countries to

ban the product.

• Thestudies,thefearcampaignandthenegativepublicperceptionofEndosulfan

– all this was the ammunition that Europe had used to push or a ban in many

countries and also to push or a recommendation or listing Endosulan as a POP

at the Stockholm Convention.

The ban would kill two birds with the same stone:

The ban would wipe out the generic Endosulan and with it, the Indian competition.

The ban would open up a huge market or expensive alternatives rom Europe-based

pesticide manuacturers.

The sovereignty o our nation will be undermined. I we allow a vested oreign

interest to decide how we should conduct our trade and commerce, or what we can

andcannotproduceinourowncountry,thenweruntheseriousriskofjeopardizing

our reedom and independence. So ar, it was only our pharmaceutical industry

which was ghting the patented versus generic war; now, our agro-chemical

industryisunderre;tomorrow,itcouldbeanotherindustry...Wemustrealizethat

the Endosulan episode is just one example o how European countries want to

undermine India’s economic growth so that they can continue to dominate the world

stage in the area o business and commerce.

We cannot and must not let our independence, our right to choose be taken away

rom us.

That is why we have to stand up as one and let our voices be heard.

Now is indeed our last chance.

I had learnt enough. I understood what was going on vis-à-vis Endosulan within India

and at the international level. I had acts and gures to back up my ndings which

were...

• Endosulfan,thelow-cost,genericpesticidewasbeingtargetedasharmfulonthe

basis o studies initiated by some NGOs which were unded by oreign sources

including Europe.



58 59

Grandather was still on the phone. His voice reached us on the verandah...

“I the health or lie o even one child in India or anywhere else in the world was being

endangered, I would be the rst one to give up Endosulan.

But you know and I know that Endosulan is not harmul. And yet this pesticide is

made out to be the culprit. We are the ones who will have to pay the price o this

alsehood...”

Grandather was in ull orm. Knowing him, he was going to work day and night on this

cause. And ather would have the tough job o ensuring that he did not overdo things.

I asked my ather i I should stay over or a couple o days. It was only our days to ull

moon. The look o utter relie on his ace was all the answer I needed.

Grandfather’svoicewasgettinglouder...“Dothehonourabledecision-makersrealize

theimportanceoflowcostsolutionsforsmallandmarginalfarmers?Dotheyrealize

that these solutions not only have to be low-cost but also sae or our honeybees?

Do such alternatives exist right now? No, they do not! Then why ban a pesticide that

has been such a trusted riend o the armer or over 40 years? Despite the hallu-ballu

at Kasargod, Endosulan has not been linked to any health problems. So how can they

justiy the ban?”

In conclusion:

European business interests and not health concerns were at the root o the ban.

Health concerns were a clever smokescreen to hide European business interests.

I should have been elated that I had conducted a successul investigation. But I was

returning home to grandather and ather with a heavy heart.

I told them everything. Grandather asked a lot o questions. So much o what I shared

was outside his realm o experience but he was so eager to learn and grasp the acts;

suddenly I had become the teacher and he, my ardent student.

Then he paced the long verandah. Up and down. It was the end o the day, but he did

notlookatallfatigued.Infact,itfeltasifnewenergy,newzesthadsuddenlyentered

his being.

He started making phone calls let, right and centre. Father dialled the numbers,

he did the talking. What was the talk about? A armers’ meeting. Soon, the date and

the venue also got settled. The rst meeting would be held in the neighbouring

village in the primary school compound on purnima, ull moon night.

Father handed over the dialling to my uncle, took me aside, asked me to write down

all the main points that I had shared with them. Grandather was capable o waking

him up in the middle o the night to seek clarication on some point or the other.



60 61

The moon was ull; the primary school compound was overowing. Three hundred

armers were already seated and still more were arriving. A makeshit dias had been

made, two microphones were in place, it was all very orderly and impressive.

There was even a master o ceremonies who at that very moment was introducing my

grandather. And when this grand old man rose, there was a thunderous applause.

Grandather began with a call that rang out loud and clear ... Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Bhagwan Balram ki Jai! Gau Mata ki Jai! Three hundred voices repeated the call.

It was a moment out o time. I ound mysel participating with a ervour that was new

to me. All the ear and worry, all the admiration and respect that I elt or these men

and women who silently go about their work o eeding the world – all these emotions

rose to the ore as I called out ... Bharat Mata ki Jai!! Bhagwan Balram ki Jai!! Gau Mata

ki Jai!!

Then, the hush as grandfather began...We, the farmers of India...

Parvati also thought that it was a good idea that I stay back in the village. I wanted to

tell her that we made a good team, that without her, this investigation would not have

been so rock solid. But this kind o talk does not come easy to me. So many times I

have argued with her... “Does everything always have to be spelt out in words?”

And her answer, “Yes it does! At least till we develop supernatural powers and are able

to read each other’s minds!”

I heard grandather shout out or me. With a hurried goodbye to Parvati, I went

inside. Grandather was still on the phone... “We have to speak up! We have to let

our government know that in the interest o the small and marginal armers, they

must continue to oppose the ban. Let every panchayat o every village write to

our Honourable Prime Minister about this injustice. Prime Ministerji can urge other

countries to deend the rights o small and marginal armers.

Grandather was out o breath when he nally got of the phone. But it rang again

almost immediately. I told grandather that I would answer. That’s when it struck me:

however much I had rebelled, however hard I had ought against it, I was and always

would be a armer’s son and grandson.

Yes, I would be there with grandather on purnima night. And i he wanted,

I would also speak at the meeting.

E li h t l ti th It li dIt li d itti d l t it b i E



62 63

English translation o the Italian order Italian order permitting re-use o endosulan ater its ban in Europe

European Union’s letter confrming to unding the CSE study Foreign unding: RTI inormation on Rs 56 Crores received by CSE



64 65

European Union s letter confrming to unding the CSE study Foreign unding: RTI inormation on Rs. 56 Crores received by CSE

Scientifcally incorrect CSE study unded by EU



66 67

Scientifcally incorrect CSE study unded by EU

Sample Detected Max imum Number of Site/source of samplevalue of residue limit times valueendosulfan1 (MRL)1 exceeds MRL

The maximum residue limits or the pesticide endosulan in soil, water and vegetables rom Padrehave been breached several times over. But human blood! We couldn’t fnd any maximum residuelimit or that. The tests conducted at the CSE laboratory show that each resident o Padre whose

blood sample was tested has endosulan residues several hundred times the residue limit or water

SCIENCE FOR ECOLOGICAL SECURITY

OMNIPRESENT POISON

SPECIAL REPORT

Water 1.18 0.18* 7 Small stream in Kumbdaje village near Padre

Water 6.87 0.18* 38 Tank near the cashew plantation, K ajampady, Padre

Water 9.19 0.18* 51 The Kodenkiri stream near Vaninagar, Padre

Butter 14.00 NA1 NA From the milk o a cow o Saletadka, Padre

Cow’s skin/fat tissue 49.99 0.1 500 From the abdominal region o a cow rom Padre

Cow’s Milk 31.80 0.5 64 From a cow that grasses around Kajampady, Padre

Cow’s Milk 57.20 0.5 114 From a stall-ed cow in Kumbdaje village

Coconut Oil 17.00 NA NA Extracted rom produce o trees in Vaninagar, Padre

Cashew 54.11 NA NA From a tree in the plantation near Kumbdaje village

Vegetables 31.24 0.4-2.0 78-16 Basale , leay, spinach-like vegetable rom Kajampady

Human Milk 22.40 NA NA Lalitha, 35, resident o Kumbdaje village

Human Blood 108.90 NA NA Vishnu Kulkarni, 16 has epilepsy & mental retardation

Human Blood 114.13 NA NA Prabhawati Shastri, 35 has asthma & skin allergies

Human Blood 115.19 NA NA Mohana Kumar, 40 has chronic throat inection

Human Blood 109.50 NA NA Kittanna Shetty, 21 has cerebral palsy

Human Blood 196.47 NA NA Muthakka Shetty, 50, Kittanna Shetty’s Mother

Human Blood 176.90 NA NA Lalitha 35, resident o Kumbdaje village

Live Frog 10.35 NA NA From a small stream in Kumbdaje village

Cashew 3.74 NA NA From the plantation near Kajampady, Padre

Spices 212.28 NA NA Pepper bunch rom Kajampady, Padre

Fish 28.24 NA NA From a tank in Kajampady, Padre

Soil 35.16 0.09* 391 FromLalitha’s house in Kumbdaje village

Soil 3.17 0.09* 35 From a ew meters inside the plantation at Kajampady

Soil 6.40 0.09* 71 From plantation area on a hilltop Periyal, Padre

Cashew leaves 6.52 NA NA From the heart o the plantation at Periyal, Padre

34

February 28, 2001 Down To Earth

The Centre or Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, has recently set up alaboratory to monitor pollution. Its aim is to conduct scienifc studies and generatepublic awareness about pesticides and heavy metal contamination o ood, water andsoil. It provides scientifc services at aordable prices to communities that do not haveaccess to obtain scientifc evidence o pollution. This is crucial in, say, a court case thata rural community might be fghting against a polluter. Given the state o scientifcresearch in India – most o it is restricted to national deence and ood security – thisis an eort to use science to achieve ecological security. The laboratory provides paidservices or fnancially sel-sufciency. The Deutsche Gesellschat ur TechnischeZusammenaabeit (GTZ) Gmbh, based in Bonn, and the Europian Union have providedthe unds or setting up the laboratory.



“A Book every Indian must read”

KRISHI HITRAKSHAK SAMITI

Mandvi - Kachchh

Gujarat, Indiaemail: [email protected]

Last Chance e Book

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