Dear Editor,
Are we improving health wise by using pharmaceuticals? We do not have a million people in Guyana and it could be seen that hospitals are extending in size and the cost of medications is increasing annually. Some things do not seem right. Are we eating healthy or are we using too much fertilizers or other chemicals in growing our foods? I remember purchasing cucumber in the market and when I ate a slice it tasted bitter. I was told that too much fertilizers or other chemicals were used in the growing of the cucumbers. Is this happening to other vegetables which is causing us to get sick at an early age? I think if we eat healthy, we would need less medications. I think the government should have control over the food we plant and carry out tests on the grown food to ensure that fertilizers are not being used in excess so as to endanger the health of people.
I remember that when the British were here there were health inspections and they would test the milk my father sold to the milk vendors. They would place an instrument in the bucket of milk and depending on the level of the instrument in the milk, the inspector would determine the level of water. If the milk did not pass the test, the inspector would take legal action against the owner of the milk. Do they still have inspectors testing milk? I don’t think so since there are people in my area selling milk and I have not seen any health inspector carrying out tests on the milk being sold to customers. The government should put measures in place to ensure that people are eating healthy. Healthy eating would mean healthy people and healthy people would result in more production and productivity and longer life.
Yours faithfully,
J. Kadaru
