The other day I was
talking to a senior doctor friend about the growing incidents of cancer among
people of all age groups. He mentioned
that the food that we eat today is one of the major causes for the devastating
spread of the ‘crab’ disease. Not just the
junk food that both young and old consume but also the common vegetables that
we eat as a part of our daily food habit.
It seems the chemical pesticides used for the healthy growth of plants
become the deadly poison we consume every day, even if it is in small doses.
The junk food
culture that we have inherited from the Western world is spreading like wild
fire among the younger generation. The office going couple who do not have time to cook have no qualms about
buying ready to eat foods from
restaurants and malls for their three meals a day. Since both the husband and wife are working, money
is no problem. Convenience is the key consideration. And that is what
most of the marketers of instant foods advertise.
Recently,I was
having a conversation with my son around dinner time. Talking about his visit to a newly opened
Italian vegetarian restaurant near our house, he said, “the restaurant is very
good and very reasonable, appa. It cost
only Rs.650/- per head for the two of us.
Good value for money!” I was aghast! Rs.650/- per meal per head is considered
reasonable by a representative of the upwardly mobile mid-level executive of a
company. Is it a sign of extravagance or prosperity? My middle class mindset refused to accept it
as a reasonable price.
Both my son and
daughter-in-law love to have a ‘chatdinner’ ( bhelpuris & paanipuris etc.) at least once a week. Another friend has the habit of having just
ice creams for dinner, once a month. In many homes with growing kids it is not
unusual to order for Pizzas or snacks
for dinner from well-known outlets nearer home.
And when a family visits a restaurant, the number of short eats they
order as starters is mind boggling.
Starters, most of them deep fried items, are not only filling but also
could be the cause of all kinds of stomach and other ailments, early in life.
The NRIs living in
the West have found an interesting
solution to the problem of eating out which not not only saves on costs but is
also safer. They cook meals at home consisting of some vegetables, dhal, rice
etc. for the whole week during the weekends and pack them in foil packs, mark
them day-wise and store them in deep freezers.
Every evening, when they return from office, the item earmarked for
dinner that day (eg.) Monday-Dhal and
some vegetable, will be taken out
and heated in the micro oven and served.
This idea will not work out in our country as the concept of big deep
freezers at homes is non existent.
But what is the
solution to the problem created by eating poisonous cancer causing vegetables
even if it is home cooked. Apart from washing the vegetables
thoroughly before use or alternatively going for organic vegetables I don’t see
any other option except to pray God and hope that you and your family will be spared
by the deadly crab or any other species of bacterias!
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