Unfit for eating

The indiscriminate use of pesticides in vegetables could lead to a public health crisis.

The vegetables we consume come laden with harmful pesticides—and dangerous amounts of them. Following reports of pesticide residue (95.27 percent) in long yard beans and bitter gourds (75 percent) published recently, government lab tests flagged broccoli for hazardous levels (93.91 percent) of organophosphate pesticide, a banned chemical that can damage the nervous system. Moreover, this January alone, 600 kilograms of excessively chemical-laced leafy greens were thrown away from Kalimati, the country’s largest wholesale vegetable market in Kathmandu. As per the country’s Rapid Bioassay of Pesticide Residue Analysis Unit, veggies that exceed 45 percent residue level are dangerous to consume; and anything between 35 and 45 percent may be edible only after a specific period. Yet the trend of using chemicals has not stopped, nor has efforts to control their use been satisfactory, suggesting the state’s apathy to protecting public health.