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Food pollution is described as the toxic/unwanted chemicals or pollutes that are found in food. Things that are found in food that are normally not supposed to be in it can be considered as food pollutants.
Food pollution is described as the toxic/unwanted chemicals or pollutes that are found in food. Things that are found in food that are normally not supposed to be in it can be considered as food pollutants.
“ To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art. ”
- Francois de La Rouchefoucauld
‘‘Food Pollution" means adding unwanted and toxic chemicals or substances in food on great levels. Also known as food contamination, it is considered as a demon in the making of food as it has many ill effects associated with it. It begins when the food is raw like in plants, pesticides contribute in contamination for they have numerous chemicals namely organophosphates and organoarsenicals which lead to food pollution. Pesticides may protect the plants from destruction by parasites but once sprayed they get into the soil and are taken up through the roots to the plants, thereby contaminating the plants. When these plants are now consumed by us, the added pesticides contribute in many problems like in nervous system, gastrointestinal diseases and many other medical issues. These pesticides and harmful chemicals enter water bodies and are dissolved in water. Small aquatic organisms and phytoplanktons consume this water mixed with harmful chemicals and due to this pesticides enter the aquatic food chain. As small organisms are consumed by small fish and then small fish are consumed by large fish ultimately phenomenon of biological magnification takes place. Due to this phenomenon the quantity of these harmful chemicals increase in the body of organisms at each increasing trophic level leading to maximum quantity of these harmful chemicals in organism which is placed at the highest trophic level of food chain. Due to increasing amount of harmful chemicals organisms face many harmful side effects. Sometimes human beings tend to be the most affected member on the highest trophic level if they consume big fish. For example human beings tend to get Minamata disease which is a nervous disorder due to increasing levels of mercury by consuming fish. There are many other causes of food pollution and in most of them the involvement of chemicals is invisible and our sources of nourishment are diminished. As our ‘health’ is considered ‘wealth’ we must not let this demon which causes such severe effects on health even leading to diseases like cancer ,grow. We must stop this now and help in spreading awareness against this issue ,which is often neglected . Many countries like Japan have made efforts in finding out ways to decrease food pollution. Food pollution risks are everywhere and all we can do is minimize our exposure to polluted food by informing others and taking swift actions.
‘One should learn to be a part of the solution and not pollution!’
Aseem Talwar (SMSMB)
Darshpreet Gill (SMSMB)
Food pollution is a global issue. This includes both wastage and contamination of food. Wastage of food is the root cause of many problems. According to some studies 1 in 9 people in the world sleep hungry. Meanwhile 1 in 3 experience some form of malnutrition and around one-third of the food produced is wasted (around 1.3 billion tons). Food waste is also a cause of global warming. As the food is dumped in the landfill, it releases a huge amount of methane. We can solve this problem in a lot of ways. We should never take more food than we can eat. We should donate some food to charities and N.G.Os. We can also give the excess food from the weddings, offices, restaurants etc. to the homeless and the needy. We should never waste food.
Piyush Panchal (SMSMB)
Food is essential for us to survive. We need food to produce energy for our body. But sometimes, that food consists of undesirable and sometimes, harmful substances. The presence of such substances in food is called Food Pollution. In other words, the presence of an undesirable chemical substance or biological component is called Food Pollution.
Food Pollution can be the presence of any harmful substance in food that makes food unhealthy to consume. For example, the presence of a harmful preservative, such as Sodium Nitrate in foodstuff such as meat; or the presence of microorganisms, worms or insects in foodstuff. Although harmful chemical preservatives do not change the composition of food, they can result in various health ailments, like Sodium Nitrate which can result in cancer. The presence of microbes, worms and insects can cause several bacterium and other microbes to thrive in foodstuffs. The ingestion of such food can result in food poisoning. This causes us to throw the food away which results in food wastage .
To prevent all of this and food pollution, we can follow these steps. Using food preservatives that aren’t harmful to our body, cleaning and sterilizing of food, washing cutlery and hands so they don’t contain any food pollutant, cooking food thoroughly, keeping our refrigerator below 5 degrees Celsius and many other things.
If we follow these steps to keep the food clean, it can be eaten by us or be used to fed to the poor hungry people rather than the dustbin. So, let’s pledge that we will neither pollute food nor be a catalyst for food wastage.
Devarsh Khatri (SMSMB)
Food pollution is a common term that we come across .Food pollution is generally defined as the toxic and harmful substances found in food which are not naturally present in it. Irrigating the plants or crops with polluted water causes food pollution. Increasing agricultural demand has led to our dependence on the use of industrial substances like pestisides, chemical fertilizers, chlorine water , etc. . Some serious effects are cancer, hormonal and metabolic problems.
Food pollution is also caused due to wastage of food also. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food waste is responsible for 8 percent of global human-made greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, some steps should be taken to avoid the wastage of food . 1) Food should be prepared in required quantity . 2) Leftover food should be refrigerated or preserved . 3) We can also give the leftover food to the people who cannot afford it.
So, these simple steps should be taken to avoid food wastage.
Madhav Gupta (SMS)
Basically, food pollution is the presence of toxic chemicals or contaminants which are not naturally present in food. It is very risky and can affect us by causing the development of health problems like hormonal problems , respiratory problems and many more. At times when highly polluted food is consumed by us, it could lead to serious food poisoning and could also lead to death in some cases.
Do you know what are the causes of food pollution?
Do you know what are the causes of food pollution?
Actually, there are a number of causes for it. Toxic chemicals can enter food in a number of situations like at the time of growing of food in polluted soils, or areas with polluted groundwater which may lead to toxic chemicals entering the food leading to food pollution. Food pollution is risky even for a healthy person.
Food pollution risks are everywhere across the globe and to control this ,we need to create awareness among the people and take precautions like washing food before consuming them and preferring organically grown food items .
Laveesha Arora (SMS)
Dhruv Singhal (SMSMB)
Jasraj Singh Bagga (SMSMB)
Food adulteration is also a type of food pollution. It is the act of intentionally reducing the quality of food either by adding adulterants or by the removal of some valuable ingredient/ingredients. The main reason for food adulteration is the increased food demand for a rapidly growing population. Examples of adulteration are: addition of unhygienic water, chalk powder, soap powder, hydrogen peroxide and urea in milk; addition of papaya seeds in black pepper; addition of brick powder and saw dust in chili powder, etc.
Certain chemicals are added for faster ripening of fruits. Ethylene gas is used for ripening of fruits.
Decomposed fruits and vegetables are mixed with good ones. Certain natural and chemical dyes are added to food to attract consumers. Cheaper and inferior substances are added wholly or partially with the good ones to increase the weight or nature of the product. Brick powder and saw dust are often added to chilly powder. Papaya seeds are often added to black pepper. To avoid eating adulterated products we should wash the grains, fruits and vegetables before eating and buying only that products which have a validated label.
Mannat Gogia (SMSMB)
Food gives us energy. It's essential for our survival and we all love it. We all are taught that junk food harms our health. We should eat good home-cooked food. But before eating, do we take a pause and think whether our home-cooked food is as nutritious and good as it is regarded to be?
What is Food Pollution? Food pollution is the presence of toxic chemicals in food or anything else which is not present naturally in it. Food pollution not only affects us but the animals around us as well.
It has become very common nowadays. It is caused when a farmer cultivates crops in an environment that has polluted air and water. The application of fertilizers and pesticides also leads to food pollution. The most common sources of food pollution include mercury and other pollutants in seafood, hormones, and antibiotics in dairy, and lastly pesticides in fruits and vegetables.
Mercury when ingested causes fatal effects on the nervous, digestive, and immune systems. By the year 2050, it is expected that the inappropriate use of antibiotics will cause 10 million deaths per year, becoming the highest cause of mortality. Pesticides can cause both acute and chronic diseases, including cancer.
Also, our water bodies have less water, but more plastic, which means fish, the staple diet of many states in India, is no longer safe to eat. More than 330 million metric tonnes of plastic are being produced every year and only 14% is recycled. Plastic is everywhere- on the land, in water, in air, and even on your plate. Microplastics have been found in our natural ecosystems and seafood.
But we can’t just sit and let it harm us. Here are a few solutions which look very usual but have a big impact on our daily life: -
Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly before use.
Avoid purchasing meat with antibiotics in them.
Go green: eat less non-veg.
Food pollution is a major concern: but the biggest problem is that most of us are not aware of it. It is rightly said that- “Awareness is the first step towards any change.” So, let us throw light on this issue and spread awareness.
Yash Khanwani (SMSMB)
Chemicals on the Farm
Chemicals on the Farm
The effects that Farming has on food can be caused by certain chemicals they use, such as fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers are used to help plants grow but when the plant is fully grown, the fertilizers mess up with the plant and make it not so good to eat. And, if fertilizer falls off the plant then it ends up somewhere else and hurt the environment badly. Pesticides are put on plants to keep bugs off them but just like fertilizers , they are toxic and dangerous to the environment.
Max Osborne (TMS)
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