Is there is a link between Organic food producers - consumers - the environment and Covid19?

Good people, the month of May is here with us and with it the “plague” of Covid19 continues unabated… causing untold misery and unprecedented deaths, everywhere.  There is an increasing sense of confusion and despondency.  But one thing is clear; Covid19 attacks the immune system and causes it to dysfunction.

• Is there anything we can do to strengthen the immune system, which is the first line of defense? At individual, household, community, sub-national and national level?
• Yes, there is. “Grow and consume organic foods or purchase from your trusted local farmer or from certified organic outlets and consume organic produce rather than the conventional types.” There is emerging evidence that synthetic chemical free foods, grown locally, consisting of a rich diversity IS “medicine” for Covid19.
• Indeed, as early as 431 BC Hippocrates admonished as such:”Let food be thy medicine..”
• Is there evidence that the pesticide residues in non-organic foods can weaken the immune system and increase vulnerability to Covid19? Yes, there is: for the example, the commonly used Roundup herbicide is not only a broad spectrum anti;iotic that kills good bacteria in the gut which helps in building your immunity but it also binds useful trace elements, like Zinc and Selenium which are useful in fighting infections, including Corona viruses.
• Do we have evidence of Roundup residues harming the body? Here: https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416 ; for Zinc and its benefits here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21079686 and for Selenium here: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa095/5826147?rss=1

This month, our article is done a little differently: We take a detour from the usual links and evidence packaged format of previous blog articles and instead share an interview reprint, from the Standard Newspaper, a local daily, for Saturday May 2, 2020.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have developed nutrition guidelines for adults during theCOVID-19 outbreak.

Although food cannot cure or prevent infection with COVID-19, proper nutrition is important to overall health and well-being. People who eat healthy foods tend to have stronger immune systems and are therefore at lower risk of developing illnesses and contracting infectious diseases than those who consume unhealthy food.

Eating fresh wholesome and unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes such as lentils and beans, nuts and whole grains such as unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice, or starchy tubers or roots such as potatoes, pumpkins, yams or cassava and foods from animal sources like meat, fish, eggs, and milk can be of great benefit to our health. The foods are safer and more nutritious, if they are grown (for plants) or reared(for animals) without use of chemical fertilizers and not sprayed with synthetic pesticides and use of antibiotics to fasten growth, in the case of animals.

In our continuing series of interviews with the movers and shakers in the sustainable agriculture sector also known as agroecological agriculture, Charles Kimani speaks to Dr. Peter O. Mokaya, popularly known as Dr. Organic. Dr. Mokaya is the Director and CEO of Organic Consumers Alliance (OCA). He is a Johns Hopkins University and University of Nairobi Medical School trained Public Health Physician and Health Development practitioner with over 30 years of experience in practice and management of healthcare with a focus on preventive Health care, Health Systems Strengthening, Community Health Development among others. More recently he is involved in pan-African leadership, through evidence based policy advocacy, aimed at shifting policies to embrace agroecological and eco-friendly approaches to development, using a systems thinking approach, which emphasizes a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary approach which puts nutrition and food security at the centre in order to achieve of the Sustainable Development goals whose ultimate objective is achieving the highest quality of life , leaving no one behind.

Tell us about Organic Consumers Alliance (OCA)

This is an Alliance of people who believe in consuming organic or agro ecologically grown food because it is healthier, free of chemicals and grown in tandem or in harmony with the cycles and patterns of nature.

What are the trends in consumption of organic foods especially here in Kenya?

Thank you for asking that question. The younger people in our society have now realized that organic food is synonymous with food that is free from toxins, chemicals and is grown in ways that don’t harm or destroy the environment. Organic produce is safer and healthier, more nutritious, trendy and adds value not just to the consumers but also to those who produce the food in a manner that sustains the soil, ecosystem and the environment. There is a continuum of care between the plants, animals, human beings and the environment. This sense of holistic wellness is what appeals to many organic produce consumers. Many people are now realizing that if they want to be healthy, they need to be eating foods that are agroecologically grown and sold as organic foods, in various outlets, including some supermarkets.

What efforts are being made globally and locally to sensitize consumers on the importance of eating organic foods?

One of the world’s leading trade fair for organic food is the Biofach exhibition in Germany. The food exhibition presents consumers with the perfect opportunity to meet organic producers from the organic market and be inspired by the sector’s latest trends. This is really about alignment with sustainable development goals for enhancing the health of the people, the health of the planet and sustainable profits for the producers. Biofach is the embodiment of the realization of the process of achieving sustainable development goals and its uniqueness is in showcasing ways of growing food without destroying the soil and microorganisms therein, without contaminating the waterways, or polluting the air from use of unnecessary fossil energy. These conventional non-organic food production methods result in more green house gas emissions which contribute to global warming, climate change among other negative manifestations, including harm to human health. Going forward, we are working towards the African region, especially in Kenya, to have a replica of something like Biofach where young people can experience food that is good for health and wellness and not just for consumption, but also as trade and livelihood improvement opportunities. By consuming organically produced foods, we achieve the triple benefits of achieving better health, wealth and protecting the environment. For more information, Dr. Mokaya can reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or check their website here:www.organicconsumers.co.ke

What do you see as the future of organic food production and consumption?

We used to say before that the future is organic. But the future is here with us now. As more and more people especially the young people realize the value of organic foods and benefit from the experience of more wellness, farmers will have more business.  Dr. Mokaya aka “Dr. Organic”  strongly recommends that part of the prevention strategy to mitigate the current pandemic of Covid19 is to strengthen your immunity by consuming safe and diverse organic foods, especially those rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc-Selenium. As much as possible consume organic foods since they don’t have harmful residues as those found in chemically grown and sprayed foods, which may weaken the immune system.

This interview was conducted by Musdalafa Lyaga is the producer of Kilimo Hai, a farmer radio program on organic farming broadcasted every Thursday at 7.30 PM on Radio Maisha while Charles Kimani is the farmer feedback officer at Biovision Africa

The month of March 2020 is here; the coronavirus, a “flu virus”, is threatening to disrupt, not only the health and well being of humanity, but also that of the entire ecosystem.  Assuming this is a naturally mutated virus, is Mother Nature passing a “message” that perhaps we, humans, have done enough harm to the ecosystem and that nature is responding to “re-balance”?

 This month’s article seeks to outline some pertinent issues and makes some recommendations, as part of the solution, with a focus on food systems. The current food system is the problem - conventional agriculture, while the solution is agroecological regenerative agriculture.

• There is increasing evidence that the current food system has failed to achieve food and nutrition security and therefore the need for a radical transformation:…”to wake up before it is too late” https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditcted2012d3_en.pdf
• The UN systems, through WHO and FAO have noted that despite the increase in food production and productivity, global malnutrition, both under nutrition and over nutrition, also called obesity, have continued to rise. Here as reported in the 2019 State of Food Security and Nutrition. http://www.fao.org/3/ca5162en/ca5162en.pdf
• As part of an effort to mitigate this dismal statistics, the FAO developed policies and strategies to promote Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture (NSA). NSA is an approach to address malnutrition by providing safe and diversified foods that are accessible to all, including rural and marginalized communities.
• To ensure standardized measurement and monitoring of FAO-WHO have recently developed key recommendations and indicators to incorporate nutrition sensitive aspects to food productions systems; Find summary here: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4922e.pdf
• Nutrition sensitive agriculture is a food-based approach to agricultural development that puts dietary diversity and nutritionally rich foods, produced respecting the principles of agroecology and organic farming, at the heart of overcoming malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.
• Increasingly, more and more scientists, from multi-disciplinary backgrounds are demonstrating that reclaiming soil health is the solution to ecosystem health, including diminishing biodiversity and climate disruptions. Here below the evidence.
• Emerging systems thinkers and scientists, exemplified by Dr. Elaine Ingham, are highlighting the need to “fix the soil micro-organisms” and increase their diversity and viability in order to fix both the soil and human gut ecosystem and related microorganisms imbalances resulting in a myriad of metabolic disorders and chronic diseases, including cancers.
• Dr. Christine Jones, a leading soil ecologist, provides even more powerful evidence on how working with nature as opposed to working against nature, using a terminology called “quorum sensing” that soil micro-organisms can regenerate and create “new soil with nutrient rich organic matter” from soils that were previously almost “dead dirt”. Watch the video here:
• Few physicians turned ecosystem activist have captured this existential threat to humanity better than Dr. Zack Bush. Zack, explains how the widespread use of glyphosate and its various Roundup formulations, among  other toxic organophosphates, used alongside synthetic fertilizers has created a problem of monumental proportions that poses an existential threat to humanity and the entire ecosystem. He brilliantly also explains the “solution”: Watch the video here:
• Is there more local evidence that, increasing environmental contamination, from reckless profit motivated human activities, are causing an existential threat? Yes. The locust invasion in East Africa, a natural cyclic manifestation of locust behavior, has caught conventional entomologists, ecologists and other scientists “napping” and using toxic organophosphates to try and “kill” the locusts without consideration of other insects and human health. Reckless spraying, with Sumithion, an organophosphorous pyrethroid is a concern in some parts of Kenya. Here is evidence of the toxicity of Sumithion: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317225308_Toxicity_effects_of_sumithion_on_the_breeding_performance_and_viability_of_eggs_embryos_and_subsequent_growth_indices_of_Heteropneustes_fossilis_larvae and http://jifro.ir/article-1-3849-en.html

What are some of the agroecologically aligned solutions to address the existential threat to humanity?

• There is an urgent need for a transformational shift from the current external synthetic chemical based food and nutrition systems to nature aligned agroecological and organic food and nutrition systems. Here is evidence that they work and can sustainably not only improve community nutritional levels but can also improve incomes and livelihoods: https://www.organicwithoutboundaries.bio/2019/05/15/nutrition-mountain-agroecosystems/
• There is need to find safe and ecosystem friendly strategies to address the locust invasion, for example, instead of using toxic soil microorganism destroying chemicals, like Sumithion, a toxic biocide. A good example of an accessible, safe biological intervention is the use of the fungi, metahizium acridum which specifically attacks locusts and grasshoppers, while sparing other beneficial insects: Here for more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5715920/can be used to biologically to kill the locusts without killing non-target insects.
• Another solution is to innovate and use simple and affordable technologies that are accessible to millions of poor populations, including small scale family farming communities. Three examples are presented in addressing clean water and biofertilizers, addressing the corona virus and addressing malnutrition.
• Use of innovative eco-friendly technologies that provide access to clean water to large rural populations, solar electricity and re-newable and regenerative agriculture using biofertilizers and soil micro-organisms. Here is an example of how it works by billionaire Manoj: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChsHrEgI8qb0dBa4UF791SQ
• Sayer Ji has documented evidence confirming that the “germ theory” is not aligned to nature… killing “bugs” by using a “killing approach” rather than a balanced co-existence. He presents scientific evidence of plant based solutions to viruses similar to coronavirus: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/studies-find-natural-treatments-coronavirus and here: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/disease/coronavirus-infectional
• And finally, what are we doing at Organic Consumers Alliance(OCA), in partnership with Sylvia’s Baskets and ISD/IFOAM?
• As part of the global Mountainous Agroecosystem Action Network(MAAN) https://maan.ifoam.bio/ that promotes sustainable agroecological organic nutrition sensitive agriculture and food systems., we are doing as two cents , as change agents and advocates ofchange at both policy and community level; https://www.organicwithoutboundaries.bio/2020/02/06/organic-delivers-health-in-a-holistic-sense/
• As key partners of the Kenya Chapter of the East Africa Highlands, a First Face to Face ToT Training on Organic Nutritive Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) is scheduled for the 3^rd of March to the 5^th of March, 2020. OCA and partner,s are playing their role as agents of change towards achieving a healthier and more sustainable ecosystem for all and contributing to mitigating the existential threat to humanity.
• The training concludes with an organic farm visit to the farm of one of the trainer’s farm, Sylvia’s Organic Farm. Here being interviewed by IFOAM Biofach reporter. https://www.organicwithoutboundaries.bio/2020/02/06/organic-delivers-health-in-a-holistic-sense/

The month of April is here and with it the Corona virus pandemic is spreading fear and anxiety, globally: This is unprecedented; a pandemic of monumental proportions unfolding right before our eyes.

In recent months Covid 19 has forced us to pose and press the “re-set” button…to ask fundamental questions regarding how humanity may have, inadvertently, caused the emergence of new infections, including the Corona virus.  Here below, pertinent questions and evidence based answers.

• Is the corona virus a message from nature for humanity to slow down and re-think his relationships with other living things and the natural environment?
• Is there evidence that humanity’s extractive model, which does not factor in co-existence with other life forms, may have triggered the emergence of new infections?
• It is becoming evident that it is not only animal species, like the rhino, which is an endangered species,  but perhaps humanity as well. The use of such terminology as the 6^th anthropocene aka  the 6^th mass extinction to describe the impending human extinction. This is largely caused by humanities disconnection from other living things and nature:  Read more here: https://www.fairplanet.org/developing-stories/saving-rhinoceros/the-anthropocene-age-of-genocide/
• Narrowing down to current agricultural food systems, do we have evidence that the current nutrition and food systems are not only unsustainable but also contributing to the emergence of new diseases, including new viruses, like the corona virus? Yes, we do!
• Here is what the UN Environmental Chief observes:https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-26-coronavirus-message-from-nature-says-un-chief.html
• Biologist Robert Wallace in his book “Big Farms, Big Flu” shows how industrial farming, with feedlots and concentrated animal feeding operations(CAFOs), are creating toxic environments which are epicenters for the spread of new infections: Watch his video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=290&v=vSIHpwWWvLY&feature=emb_logo
• The current coronavirus imposed “lockdown” which has brought many cities and communities to a standstill, may be a blessing in disguise for other forms of life on earth. The case of dolphins appearing in Italy’ water’s has gone viral, shared here, is a powerfully demonstrates the new reality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=cm7Py-PsXV4&feature=emb_logo
• Shining a light on the current industrial chemical food production system, how might this food system contributed to the re-emergence of new infections, including the corona virus? Some explanations, as below.
• The African Centre for Biodiversity(ACB) makes an argument for a correlation with the emergence of Covid19. Here: https://www.acbio.org.za/en/monoculture-effect-and-covid-19
• To quote the article “The COVID-19 outbreak illustrates the complex interactions between deforestation, reduced biological diversity, ecosystem destruction, and human health and safety, in large part driven by the globalised agricultural and food system. Further, with the threats posed by climate change, we can expect greater exposure to existing and emerging pathogens.”
• More evidence that the current food systems is continuously dumping dangerous organophosphates(like Roundup Weed Killer) into soils which chelates(binds with them) and making the trace elements unavailable to plant root systems, which in turn, has been associated with many chronic diseases as explained here by Dr. Charles Benbrooke . He explains how the US and other farmers are trapped into using more and more glyphosate, a well established toxic organophosphate: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/use-controversial-weed-killer-glyphosate-skyrockets-midwest-fields
• For those who wish to have a detailed technical understanding of how glyphosate impacts human health and triggers chronic diseases,  Dr. Steffanie Seneff , explains in this article and subsequent ones: https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

What is the co-existence alternative food system and what foods boost immunity, especially during this corona virus pandemic?

• A watershed UN backed scientific report advised, more than two decades ago, that the current food system is unsustainable and if left unchanged may pose an existential threat to humanity.
• Among other recommendations, the IAASTD report recommends a shift from the current industrial chemical food system that promotes conditions for the emergence of corona-like viruses, to a more co-existence with nature and agro-ecologically aligned nutrition and food system. Here is the summary report: https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416
• Accumulating evidence suggests that low levels of trace elements in soil and specifically Zinc deficiencies in soil is manifesting as deficient levels of zinc in humans, in turn manifesting as increased susceptibility to the corona virus. Published studies confirm this association: Here as reported in the British Medical Journal: https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/29/zinc-ions-and-fight-against-sars
• More evidence that dietary Zinc (and in supplements) triggers a supportive immune boosting response that supports the respiratory system to fight and destroy the family of corona virus and by extension should confer some protection against Covid 19. Read the article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2973827/
• Watch this short video as Dr. Neal Bernard, a plant based nutritional physician, explains what foods boost immunity:
• More here, on foods that one should consume to boost the body’s immune system, as the first line of defense  against diseases,  including corona virus:  https://www.brighteon.com/f5d9ca7a-263d-4830-b63b-8e1b0ce5f1ee
• The next logical question is what foods contain adequate amounts of Zinc which should be consumed to boost the immune systems and that contain high amounts of Zinc?
• Foods with high amounts of Zinc include the following; pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, seafood, grass-fed beef and of course, green leafy vegetables. Find more information, here: https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-31-these-high-zinc-foods-could-help-stop-coronavirus.html
• Where can these foods be found? It depends on your location and “lockdown” circumstances. You can start here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/organic-markets/farmers.html
• Finally, in tandem with the information shared in this article, stay safe and healthy by consuming agroecologically grown foods which are sold as certified organic(or bio) in  supermarkets, local farmers markets, local food outlets and of course, directly from organic farmers.

The month of February, 2020, is here and with it an increased manifestation of existential threats… from “old” to “new” diseases, like diabetes and the coronavirus, respectively.

• The question(and answers) that this month’s article seeks to address is; how much are modern foods, consisting of highly processed and devoid of essential nutrients are contributing to an increase in “old” and “new” diseases, as exemplified by diabetes and the coronavirus?
• To set the stage and capture your attention, here is a video presentation from Dr. Hans Diehl, a holistic public health researcher who has, using time trend analysis, graphically, demonstrated that current lifestyles, including “toxic foods” are key risk factors for diabetes and almost all other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). He goes further to provide on-going research evidence, demonstrating that diabetes can be reversed using dietary approaches. In addition, the evidence proves that diabetes is not a genetic disease!
• Dr. Hans Diehl is not alone in this “revolutionary discovery” of what Hippocrates, the Father of Modern medicine, taught from way back in 431BC: “Let food be your medicine…” Dr. Dean Ornish, in his new book, Undo it, has proven and written in peer reviewed journals, that almost all chronic diseases, including heart diseases, can be reversed with the right foods.
• Dr. Eva Njenga, a leading Kenyan Endocrinologist, as way back as 2016, sounded an alarm on the rapid rise of diabetes, in Kenya and other developing countries. Among other interventions, she recommended lifestyle modifications, including dietary changes, as the part of the continuum of care: https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Experts-sound-warning-diabetes-rise-/1056-3937362-pdd15uz/index.html
• So much for evidence linking safe and healthy diets, including organic foods, to preventing and reversing chronic diseases, starting with diabetes, which is referred to as the “Mother of all chronic diseases”.
• The second part of this article addresses the “hot” issue of the new flu virus, from China, now declared a global threat by WHO. The DG declares: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-triggers-damage-control-from-governments-companies-11580396657
• What is coronavirus? What causes it? How can it be prevented and treated? How can “alternative medicine” and herbal remedies be used to manage this viral infection, now declared a “Health Emergency” by WHO?
• To answer all these questions and provide evidence based examples of the efficacy and benefits of chemical free aka organic herbal and dietary based remedies, we make reference to past evidence of efficacy and effective remedies; previous pandemics of flu viruses, like swine flu, SARS and others have been managed successfully applying integrative medicine approaches: There couldn’t be better and more informed person than, my colleague, Sayer Ji. https://sayerji.com/ to provide the requisite evidence.
• Here is scientific evidence that Vitamin C in lemons https://www.emedihealth.com/lemon-benefits.html and garlic have antiviral properties: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/topic/18523/focus/5219/page
• Quote “The SARS-like coronavirus that appears to have originated in Wuhan, China has now infected thousands of people. As of January 28, 2020, Chinese officials have confirmed over 6,000 cases. These have occurred in every province of China with the exception of Tibet. As of the 28th, 132 people have died from the virus.” Read on more here for history, biochemistry and physiology, pathology and alternative remedies: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/can-herbal-medicines-fight-wuhan-coronavirus?
• What is the nCoV-2019 aka Coronavirus? For more open and read here:https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/can-herbal-medicines-fight-wuhan-coronavirus?
• What herbal remedies can work for managing this new viruse aka Coronavirus? https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/can-herbal-medicines-fight-wuhan-coronavirus?
• What is the scientific evidence demonstrating that these herbal non-drug remedies work against viral infections? Take the example of curcumin in turmeric and its antiviral properties outlined in this 2019 publication with over 180 peer reviewed references, on its antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. More here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6509173/

What is the way forward?

• There is need to boost peoples immunity by consuming safe and healthy organic foods especially those loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, as a preventive strategy against viral infections, including the coronavirus.
• There is need to access and consume safe and fresh organic Vit C loaded lemons and other vitamin C rich foods, including herbs and tubers, like garlic and turmeric: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/topic/18523/focus/5219/page
• Kalimon Greens, if one such a place you can find the “organic treatments” for coronavirus. More here: https://kalimonigreens.com/
• Finally, as part of our efforts to increase access to safe and healthy foods, we have started an organic farmer certification program. For more information, get in touch with us here: https://www.organicconsumers.co.ke/organic-guarantee/certification.html