Good people, the month of December is here with us; and true to nature’s predictable consistency…it is winter in some places, summer in other places,  winter throughout in some places and yet in some places, it is summer all year round…that is the seasonality and diversity of Mother Nature. What lessons does  Mother Nature continue to teach us? What did we share and learn in 2019?

Here below, in a nutshell, some evidence based lessons…

• The year begun in January, 2019, with an eye opening “expose” of the scary realization that anti-microbial resistance(AMR), especially from reckless overuse of antibiotics in diary, poultry and livestock rearing, in particular, the high residues of glyphosate(and its metabolites) in the food we consume, is a public health issue of apocalyptic proportions. We proposed less use of glyphosate and other herbicides with antibiotic properties, on the one hand and more judicious use of antibiotics, on the other:  More here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/144-as-the-year-2019-starts-are-we-aware-of-the-impending-global-apocalypse-from-antimicrobial-resistance-amr-what-factors-are-fueling-increasing-bacterial-resistance-to-antibiotics-and-what-are-the-solutions.html
• In February, we discussed and shared on the “why, what, who and how” of aflatoxins, as it harms human health; More here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/145-what-are-aflatoxins-why-are-they-a-food-safety-issue-of-increasing-public-health-concern-especially-in-developing-countries.html
• In March, we discussed and shared how organic foods can be a solution to aflatoxin contamination, synthetic pesticides use and misuse of antibiotics(use of antibiotics is not allowed in organic farming) in mitigating NCDs. Find more here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/146-did-you-know-that-organic-foods-are-a-one-stop-shop-solution-to-consuming-pesticide-contaminated-foods-and-addressing-non-communicable-diseases.html
• In April, we shared evidence of the negatives of the current industrial farming approaches and their unsustainable “silos” approach and instead recommended the urgent need to adopt and scale up sustainable agroecological food systems, before it is too late: Here is more: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/147-why-we-must-shift-from-industrial-chemical-monoculture-food-systems-to-local-diverse-agro-ecological-food-systems-before-it-is-too-late.html
• In May, we shared on how GMOs and synthetic pesticides work synergistically to destroy the health of the soil microbiome and the human gut microbiome, while elaborating on how the health of the two is interlinked .More here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/148-did-you-know-that-genetically-modified-foods-gmos-and-synthetic-pesticides-work-synergistically-to-destroy-both-the-external-ecosystem-and-the-internal-ecosystem-aka-the-gut-microbiome-listen-to-the-scientific-evidence.html

• In June, we shared evidence, unknown to many, that glyphosate is not only a herbicide but also a broad spectrum antibiotic (and contributor to anti-microbial resistance). In summary, it a broad spectrum biocide: Find more here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/150-why-glyphosate-a-roundup-formulation-is-not-only-a-carcinogen-but-also-a-biocide-it-kills-all-life-forms.html
• In the month of July, we dug deep and unearthed the broad range of harmful effects of glyphosate aka Roundup…its wide toxicity to the ecosystem, especially the unnerving finding that it “kills” all life indiscriminately and can be “inherited” to injure future offspring, that it causes intergenerational damage: Here is more: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/149-new-evidence-that-glyphosate-a-key-ingredient-in-roundup-and-other-herbicides-formulations-is-more-harmful-than-previously-thought.html
• During the month of August, we gave glyphosate a break! We shared new evidence of how Wi-fi and electromagnetic fields(AMF) and related radiation is harming plant, animal and human health, at DNA level, and the need for a “precautionary approach” to 5G technology: Here is the evidence: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/151-are-wi-fis-mobile-phones-and-microwave-radiation-risk-factors-for-cancers.html
• In September, the Libra month, we returned to the dangers of synthetic pesticides and shared evidence on the link between soil contamination and increasing incidences of cancers, focusing on local evidence. For those who read, here is more: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/152-is-there-evidence-of-a-link-between-pesticide-residues-contamination-of-soil-and-water-with-the-increasing-rates-of-cancer.html
• October, the Scorpio month, when we travelled to FAO, Rome in Italy, to attend and participate in the Committee on Food Security(CFS), the apex food policy making organ, at FAO. We provided evidence and advocated for the need for global food and nutrition policies to shift from the current unsustainable food policies, applying a “systems thinking approach”, aligned to the 17 SDGs, by adopting and scaling up the sustainable agroecological food systems. More here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/153-is-there-evidence-of-local-and-international-success-stories-in-policy-advocacy-towards-removing-toxic-pesticides-from-our-food-system.html
• And in November, we shared damning evidence of the failure of the current “toxic” food system and made a clarion call for a paradigm shift to sustainable agroecological food systems…which is in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals(SDG). Here is more: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/154-damning-evidence-the-current-industrial-model-has-failed-to-achieve-food-and-nutrition-security-a-clarion-call-for-a-paradigm-shift-to-an-agro-ecogical-approach.ht

Finally, as we celebrate and make merry during this festive season, let us be mindful of what we eat (and drink!)…we need a paradigm shift from consuming food produced in “firms” for “Power, Politics and Trade(PPT) to, consuming food

The month of October is here with us and with it a time of reflection and introspection..a time to take stock of some key policy advocacy wins….evidence of gradual policy shifts towards agro-ecology as a sustainable food system which is the pathway to food security and nutrition.

• During this month of October, a broad range of stakeholders come together in Rome, Italy, from the 12^th to 18^th, as the Civil Society Mechanism(CSM) to lobby for inclusion of their ideas into the Committee on World Food Security(CFS), framework, which informs global policy on food security and nutrition. http://www.fao.org/cfs/en/
• We take note that, while there is convergence and consensus on the definition of food securityhttp://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/faoitaly/documents/pdf/pdf_Food_Security_Cocept_Note.pdf there is growing discontent with the current focus on productivity per acreage, as means of achieving food security, as opposed to “nutrition per acre” which takes into consideration the human and environmental safety concerns of food production. file:///D:/User%20Documents/Downloads/sustainability-10-00272.pdf
• In view of the above food safety concerns, is there evidence that fossil fuel based synthetic pesticides, including those pesticides banned in Europe, are increasingly used locally, despite their harmful health consequences? Yes, there is damning evidence of “double standards” https://routetofood.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/RTFI-White-Paper-Pesticides-in-Kenya.pdf
• Is there evidence, that with the introduction of GMO crop varieties, the use of synthetic pesticides has increased and will continue toincrease? Yes. The case of USA is prove enough: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292944439_Trends_in_glyphosate_herbicide_use_in_the_United_States_and_globally
• Is there evidence of increased policy level awareness of the dangers of fossil fuel based synthetic pesticides, as exemplified by the most commonly used herbicide; glyphosate containing Roundup? Locally, policymakers representing health interests "clash" with their counterparts in agriculture: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/Health--agriculture-officials-clash-on-safety-of-herbicide/3946234-5288368-1451rc9z/index.html
• Evidence that local media and the public are increasingly aware that Europe and China, among others, are deliberately “dumping” toxic pesticides, for profit, in African countries, including Kenya: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/article/2001343823/how-europe-china-are-killing-kenyans
• Do we have evidence that, while the agrochemical industry is busy proclaiming the “safety” of toxic pesticides, especially the popularly and most globally used Roundup “Weed killer”, it is instead, a broad spectrum “biocide”? https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/150-why-glyphosate-a-roundup-formulation-is-not-only-a-carcinogen-but-also-a-biocide-it-kills-all-life-forms.html
• Do we have, more recent evidence that glyphosate, as contained in Roundup and similar formulations, is causing “intergenerational harm” to human beings, particularly through toxic reduction of sperm quantity and viability across generations? Here is the evidence, as published in Nature, a most reputable scientific journal: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42860-0
• Finally, is there evidence of glyphosate’s increasing cancer risk? Of course, yes. Here: https://www.wakingtimes.com/2019/02/15/glyphosate-exposure-increases-cancer-risk-up-to-41-study-finds/ and here: https://gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/19156

In view of the increasing evidence on failure of the current food system, what is the way forward?

• There is need for urgent global and local food policy shifts to remove these toxic agrochemicals, especially pesticides, out of our food systems by banning them and shifting to safer and more sustainable agro-ecological food systems as pathways to achieve food security and nutrition.
• Need for concerted evidence based policy advocacy towards food sovereignty. https://www.globaljustice.org.uk/what-food-sovereignty

Good people, the month of November is here. It is a time of retrospection and introspection. ..a key question on the minds of concerned food policy makers and policy advisors, across the world  is; “how well have we done in reducing hunger, malnutrition and achieving food and nutrition security?”

• Some of us have had the privilege of attending and participating in the just concluded 2019 Committee on Food Security(CFS) http://www.fao.org/cfs/home/plenary/cfs46/en/ in FAO, Rome, Italy. The CFS is the apex food and nutrition making policy body, globally,  comes right after Civil Society Mechanism meeting(CSM) meeting, which highlighted the challenges and proposed policy solutions to the current failing industrial model food system. Find a link to one of the critical side events that highlighted the failures of the current food system and proposed alternative food policies which embrace agro-ecological approaches, using a systems approach: http://www.fao.org/cfs/home/plenary/cfs46/cfs46se/se054/vn/
• Do we have evidence that the current food system has failed and that there is need to shift the policy paradigm to a sustainable food system?

YES, as outlined below and the crux of this article.

• UNICEF’s latest report;The State of the World’s Children 2019: Children, food and nutrition: Growing well in a changing world<https://unicef.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=868bc193d9fcfe837d3fb7bc3&id=460dbea345&e=a08a75f4c0>, examines the issue of children, food and nutrition and provides a fresh perspective on this rapidly evolving challenge. Read the report here: https://unicef.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=868bc193d9fcfe837d3fb7bc3&id=aa094df503&e=a08a75f4c0>
• Summary facts from the Unicef report that should worry us(the readers) include the following: 149 million children are stunted, or too short for their age; 50 million children are wasted or too thin for their height;340 million children – or 1 in 2 – suffer from deficiencies in essential vitamins and nutrients, such as vitamin A and iron; 40 million children are overweight or obese: At the centre of this profound triple burden of malnutrition – undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight – is a broken food system that fails to provide children with the diets they need to grow healthily.
• The above facts are further validated by the 2019, World Food Security and Nutrition Report: http://www.fao.org/3/ca5162en/ca5162en.pdf which provides similar factual statistics indicating increasing hunger(not reducing hunger!) and food insecurity which is an indictment of the failed current food system, propped up by deceptive misinformation rhetoric by Big Agric and Biotechnology claiming that use of more synthetic agrochemicals(including using more toxic pesticides!) and transgenic seeds, coupled with bio-fortification, as the  “solution to food security”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some worrying findings from that report include:
• Hunger is on the rise in almost all African subregions, making Africa the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, at almost 20 percent. Hunger is also slowly rising in Latin America and the Caribbean, although its prevalence is still below 7 percent. In Asia, Western Asia shows a continuous increase since 2010, with more than 12 percent of its population undernourished today.
• Considering all people in the world affected by moderate levels of food insecurity together with those who suffer from hunger, it is estimated that over 2 billion people do not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food, including 8 percent of the population in Northern America and Europe
• Overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions, particularly among school-age children and adults. In 2018, an estimated 40 million children under five were overweight. In 2016, 131 million children 5–9 years old, 207 million adolescents and 2 billion adults were overweight. About a third of overweight adolescents and adults, and 44 percent of overweight children aged 5–9 were obese. The economic costs of malnutrition are staggering.
• Let me add that, overweight and obesity are key risk factors for non-commmunicable diseases(NCDs)…NCDs are on the increase!

What is the way forward for food and nutrition policies to ensure sustainable food and nutrition security?

• In theory, it is simple: A concerted and radical shift from conventional food and nutrition policies to agro-ecological and related food systems policies. This was reiterated and strongly argued, by the CSM, at the just concluded CSM/CFS meeting in FAO, Rome, Italy.
• For those of us in Africa, we are meeting this week, in Addis Ababa, to deliberate on and articulate a “Road Map on Food and Nutrition Security Policies” for Africa, informed by the latest evidence on the state of food and nutrition situation in Africa and the need for proactive and responsive food and nutrition policies, anchored on agroecological food production systems, while leveraging a systems thinking approach.

The month of September is here and with it the Libras are in their element…doing a balancing act…and avoiding closed places…they need fresh air…

 There is palpable fear and consternation…people are asking what is causing this sudden increase in cancer deaths? The causes are multi-factorial and associated with long term exposure to a myriad of causative factors which include environmental toxins, in general and specifically, toxic agrochemicals; these include organochoride(OCP) and organophosphate pesticides(OPP).

• An example of an OCP pesticide is DDT, which although banned is, still in use in Kenya, while an example of an OPP pesticide is Roundup, the common Weed Killer.
• Do we have any local evidence of soil contamination with these harmful pesticides which have been directly linked to cancers? Yes we do, as highlighted below.
• The latest study showing evidence of toxic organochorides, including DDT and Lindane, in our soils was just published in August, 2019 and shows presence of these toxic pesticides: The Daily Nation News story: https://news-af.dailyactive.info/news/detail/2a5db0ac8b2485b6362690a2b7c9ea00?features and next link is the original scientific paper as published by Teresa Mungai et al in collaboration with partners from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335198819_Occurrence_and_Toxicological_Risk_Evaluation_of_Organochlorine_Pesticides_from_Suburban_Soils_of_Kenya
• These studies show a higher than acceptable levels of soils contamination with these harmful pesticides in areas around Kapsabet(with high levels of DDT), Nyeri and Voi(with high levels of Lindane). Concurrent with these high levels, based on hospital records, epidemiological study findings and anecdotal findings, these locations have reported higher incidences and prevalence of cancers.
• Is there any further evidence of soil and water contamination? Yes: In 2001, Shem Wandiga(UoN) published findings of pesticide contamination of the OCP category. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Use-and-distribution-of-organochlorine-pesticides.-Wandiga/94a0c0147ae2a66e0320036580006a1f4392ca79
• In 2002; Gitahi et al published similar OCP pesticide contamination in the greater Lake Naivasha : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5959953/ and
• In 2016, Osoro et al also published similar findings of soil and water contamination with these cancer causing pesticides, in the Rusinga Islands of Lake Victoria: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313064465_Organochlorine_Pesticides_Residues_in_Water_and_Sediment_from_Rusinga_Island_Lake_Victoria_Kenya
• Most recently, Daniel Maingi, of Kenya Food Alliance, in collaboration with other partners, including the University of Nairobi School of Public Health, has featured in a documentary film which demonstrates the presence of these toxic chemicals not only in the soils and water but also in commonly consumed vegetables, like kale. Here is the youtube link to the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=yyjPsY6yCnQ

 What is the way forward towards addressing this public health and environmental menace?

• Firstly, we need to ensure that policy makers, the legislators and regulatory and enforcement agencies are made aware of these linkages and the dangers that toxic pesticides, especially those banned in countries where they are manufactured: These pose grave danger and harm to the health of our soils, plants, and the citizenry.
• Secondly, leadership, at the highest political level, needs to make the connection between these harmful pesticides and their INCREASED use, in African countries, Kenya included. Use of these pesticides will increase if GMO seed technology is adopted. Towards that end, we applaud President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for his decision to reject the GMO technology push and instead advise a precautionary approach which recognizes the inherent risks and dangers of these biotechnologies to our environment, including our soils and our health. As part of regional advocacy, find AFSA’s letter of appreciation on the same: http://www.pmldaily.com/oped/2019/09/afsa-open-letter-of-appreciation-to-president-of-the-republic-of-uganda.html
• As world citizens, who care for the future of humanity and the environment and who subscribe to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), we are obligated to continue with evidence based advocacy to create awareness among the policymakers and other stakeholders, including consumers, on the inherent dangers of reckless and increased use of these toxic agrochemicals and their links to increasing cancers.
• Here is a link to concerned farmers demanding that some of these toxic pesticides, like glyphosate aka Roundup, be banned: https://www.nation.co.ke/counties/nakuru/Firm-wants-herbicide-linked-to-cancer-banned/1183314-5230224-v7bo9/index.html

And finally, here is a link to on-going efforts being made by the author of this article to ‘add his voice” to the advocacy agenda for a safer and healthier world for all,…”leaving no one behind”. http://epaper.peopledaily.co.ke/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=2d11dca3-13c2-4add-9dc1-cee781ba2925