The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has estimated that an average Indian consumes 100 to 6,000 times more pesticides than levels accepted as safe worldwide.
10 January, 2004
http://ww1.mid-day.com/news/city/2004/january/73469.htm

Pesticides Affect Child Development in India
June 22, 2004
A large-scale study has found evidence that children living in regions of intensive pesticide use may be at risk for impaired mental development. . . . "Children from regions as diverse as Tamil Nadu and Punjab, who have nothing in common but their exposure to pesticides, [appear to] share an inability to perform simple play-based exercises -- such as catching a ball or assembling a jigsaw puzzle -- simply because they've been exposed to pesticides over a period of time," says Kavitha Kuruganti, of Greenpeace India.
http://www.panna.org/resources/panups/panup_20040622.dv.html

Hormone havoc: Pesticide contamination and women's health
By Laxmi Murthy
Health risks of pesticides for women may include increased risk for breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, and infertility. Pesticide residues are also found in breast milk, with potentially serious implications for child development.
http://www.infochangeindia.org/toxictours13.jsp

Path-breaking WRI study reveals hidden public health risk from exposure to common pesticides
WASHINGTON, DC, March 1, 1996 -- Drawing on previously unpublished data on worldwide pesticide use and little known human epidemiological studies from the former Soviet Union and northern Canada, a World Resources Institute study provides disturbing evidence that exposure to many common pesticides damages the human immune system, weakening the body's resistance to infectious diseases and certain cancers. http://population.wri.org/newsrelease_text.cfm?NewsReleaseID=112

Pepsi, Coke contain pesticides
August 05, 2003 15:14 IST
Close on the heels of a major health scare on finding pesticides in bottled drinking water, a non-government organisation on Tuesday claimed that the bottled soft drinks owned by two multi national companies -- PepsiCo and Coke -- also failed the same health standards testing positive for pesticides.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/aug/05pepsicoke.htm

BS Corporate Bureau in New Delhi | February 05, 2003 12:13 IST
Is packaged mineral water safe for drinking?
A study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment says that most of the brands of packaged/mineral water available in the country contain pesticides -- several of them banned -- significantly higher than permissible limits, which can cause serious physical impairment ranging from damage to the central nervous system to lung cancer.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/feb/05water.htm

Impact of Pesticides on Health: A critical and in-depth scientific analysis
*About 20% of Indian food products contain pesticide residues above tolerance level compared to only 2% globally. No detectable residues are found in only 49% Indian food products compared to 80% globally.
*40% of all pesticides used in India are organochlorines, and another 30% of the pesticides used are organophosphates. Most of these chemicals are banned in other countries, due to severe threats to the environment and health.
*Pesticides, even at low doses, are linked to an array of health problems, including endocrine disruption, infertility, women's health problems, mental retardation amonth children, and cancer.
http://www.punjabilok.com/agriculture/medicos_workshop.htm

RISKS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM)AND GENETICALLY ENGINEERED (GE) FOODS

Genetically Engineered Foods may Pose National Health Risk
By Jeffrey M.Smith
In a study in the early 1990’s rats were fed genetically modified (GM) tomatoes. Well actually, the rats refused to eat them. They were force-fed. Several of the rats developed stomach lesions and seven out of forty died within two weeks. . .
http://www.non-gm-farmers.com/news_details.asp?ID=1487

BENEFITS OF ORGANICS

Organic Farming May Help Reduce Rural Poverty
28/1/2005
Chinese and Indian farmers who have switched from synthetic fertilizers to traditional forms of organic farming have earned more and achieved a higher standard of living, even though small farmers are often excluded from supportive government reform programmes, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said this week.
http://www.europaworld.org/week209/organic28105.htm

Organic farming takes hold in Rajasthan
21 March, 2005
Large numbers of farmers have opted for a way of cultivation that does away with chemical pesticides, and most importantly, uses less water in a water-starved state. The dramatic results are nowhere more visible than in Rajasthan's Shekhawati belt, reports Deepa A.
http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/mar/agr-orgswitch.htm

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION CONTROVERSY

Another Organics is Possible A policy in favour of small producers can invigorate Indian farming
By P V Satheesh
http://www.ddsindia.com/anotherorganics.htm

LISTSERVS

Subscribe to the Environmental Justice India list india-ej@indialists.org
Subscribe to an Indian Organic Agriculture list organic_indian-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

WEB LINKS

India Together - the Agricultural Issues Homepage
http://www.indiatogether.org/agriculture/
Visit this page regularly for news about Indian farmers organic farming, and the political economy of farming in India

Making India Green
http://www.makingindiagreen.org/
This organisation has a wealth of links and resources for concerned consumers.

List of Indian Organic Certification Agencies
http://www.apeda.com/organic/agencies.html

Navdanya- Seeds of Freedom
http://www.navdanya.org/

OneWorld South Asia: Agricuture page
http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/archive/6870