How can Dr Ramadoss protect our children from this legalised chemical warfare?

Firstly by making it unreachable. Today a small packet of MSG-laden chips costs barely five rupees, well within the grasp of the poorest of the poor. Imposing a prohibitive tax will at least ensure that those who can least afford health care are less likely to need it.

Secondly, by monitoring the ‘pester power’ advertising of these products, enthusiastically endorsed by movie stars and popular cartoon characters. In fact, Consumer International, a global consumer rights organisation, has urged the WHO to ban aggressive marketing of junk food to children, and enforce a code of conduct for manufacturers on the lines of the Infant Formula Rules.

Thirdly, by insisting on clear labelling. This means mandatory listing of calorie value, fat, sugar and salt content, as well as additives and preservatives on every package. Thanks to virtually non-existent labelling laws, lethal chemicals are often passed off as ‘enhancers’ and ‘flavours’, that make them sound harmless, if not outright salubrious. (Incidentally, ‘enhancers’ can make your young Einstein dull and lethargic, while artificial flavours are well documented neurotoxins. Meanwhile, hidden sugars in ‘natural’ juices or breakfast cereals are often not mentioned at all).

Lastly, by educating both adults and children about the potential health hazards of so called ‘convenience snacks.’ Ironically, the term ‘junk food’ itself is a misnomer. Coined by Michael Jacobson, director of the US Centre for Science in the Public Interest in 1972, edible junk is not just passively disagreeable as its name implies, but actively toxic — injurious enough to merit a statutory warning by a public health authority. If we still choose to poison our children, let it, at least, be an informed choice.

... contd.