Opinion
Agriculture and misinformation pandemic
An Open Letter to President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Your Excellency,
Your recent endeavor to ‘rush’ the country from conventional farming to total organic farming, compelled me to write this letter to give a balanced view of the issues at stake. I should on the outset say that no well – informed agricultural scientists is against organic agriculture knowing the benefits of organic matter in the improvement of the physical, chemical and microbial properties of the soil which are critically important for sustained and productive crop production. However, the large majority of them are concerned about the possible negative consequence of substantially decreased productivity, leading even to hunger and starvation, if the mission is not based on achievable goals.
If you are driven for organic farming because of the negative aspects of conventional farming such as environmental pollution and human health; from an economic and sustainability perspectives, correcting the negative aspects of the latter and continuing with it should be far more beneficial, because organic farming is not devoid of those negatives.
Please consider the following:
1. The global organic farming scenario
Organic farming is confined to 1.5% the total global farmlands of which 66% is in pasture, and a mere 16 countries have achieved over 10% organic cover. Bhutan, for example, with access to substantial organic material such as leaf litter and farmyard manure, on account of its huge forest cover and animal population, set a target in2008 to reach 100% organic by 2020.The organic movement was supported by the royalty and the government. The country with a total area of 763,000 square kilometers has only 8% arable land. However, it was able to achieve only 10% of the target; and now the target date has been extended to 2035! It is critically important to review the global scenario before rushing into any decision.
2. The Taskforce.
A few days ago the ‘organic taskforce’ you have appointed, some 40 odd people, bulk of them politicians,, met you, but a notable omission from it appears to be the senior scientists from the agricultural research and development institutions and the leading academics from the universities in the field. Of course there were several of the die- hard ‘organic tribe’ therein! Interestingly, one of them was reported, some years ago, claiming to have discovered a ‘swayanjatha’ wee( a ‘self-generated’ rice variety ) that fed the ‘dasa maha yodayas’ (the ten warriors) of king Dutugamunu. It was later identified as a sorghum variety by the rice scientists of the Agriculture Department! And the other was reported in a Sinhala newspaper as having said that the weed killer glyphosate ‘even dissolved reservoir bunds, and what talk of kidneys’! He claimed that glyphosate was an etiolating agent of the Rajarata kidney disease but it has now been totally disproved! So the quality of some scientists you have appointed is questionable! You should, ideally have a balanced team of proven agricultural and other experts in the taskforce in the relevant fields to seek tangible views on the feasibility of achieving your objective; and accordingly an action plan within a realistic time frame should be drawn. The large majority of agricultural scientists are for promotion of organic farming as far as feasible, but is of the firm view that no country can go fully organic in the current context of population expansion and increasing demand for food from the existing farmlands. Several expert calculations reveal that without chemical fertilizers half the global population cannot exist!
3. The‘Wasa visa’pandemic
The masses have been gravely mislead by the connotation ‘wasa visa’ for any agrochemically- grown produce. The misinformation has spread like a pandemic! Apart from others, some of the key ministers are to be blamed for this fiasco and misleading the masses. For example, Hon. Chamal Rajapaksa, then Minister of Agriculture and Mahaweli Development, addressing farmers in Embilipitiya last year, had remarked that Sri Lanka is the country ‘consuming the highest quantities of ‘wasa visa’ in the world by way of agrochemical residues! Not to be undone, Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Environment recently remarked that our water bodies are highly polluted with agrochemicals. Surely, they should have sought advice and information from their officials before making faulty utterances. The evidence in the Tables attached below do not support their views. Then Dr Padeniya, a Pediatrician and strong supporter of organic farming has often claimed that agrochemicals are responsible for many of the non-communicable diseases. Can he provide evidence as to what the agrochemicals are and the associated diseases? He is also an ardent promoter of traditional rice varieties, purportedly because of some nutritional benefits. He was unaware of the fact that they yield less than half of our new improved varieties, and that some of the latter have many of the nutritional and health benefits of the old varieties! Anyway, the prime function of the staple is to provide the energy, and those nutritional and health benefits are easily obtainable from the other foods. Combining his prescription of organic farming with traditional varieties will decrease our national rice production to less than half, needless to say with dire consequences!
Sources: www.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.COM.Fert.2S; https//www.worldometers.info
As per the World Bank data in Table 1, we consume far less fertilizers and pesticides, than most countries in the region. Table 2 shows that after 2002, Sri Lanka has reduced by as much as 98%, the use of the most toxic pesticides of Classes 1, and substantially increased the use of less toxic pesticides.
Source: Dept. of Agriculture
On the whole, the pesticide residue levels reported, are not alarming as evident from Table 3. However, there should be a strong division within the Central Environmental Authority or under the Health Ministry that regularly monitor pesticides in the food and environment, establish tolerance limits, and at the same time, be responsible for enforcing the tolerance limits in the food and environment. Such effective and regular services are sadly lacking in Sri Lanka and should be of highest priority.
This is not to say that everything is ‘hunky dory’ with conventional farming. Misuse of agrochemicals is a serious concern, and this subject will be examined later.
4. CKDu-agrochemical myth
Then there is the other widespread myth of agrochemicals causing the kidney disease of the Rajarata. Regrettably, a 2013 WHO Report on the matter stated that several pesticides were above reference levels in the urine of CKDu patients and some of them are nephrotoxic (toxic to kidneys) implicating pesticides in the causation of CKDu . Surprisingly the Report did not have the pesticide residue data of people in the non-CKDu (Hambantota) area. However, subsequent re-analysis of the data (see Table 4) revealed that their urine had more than double or treble the pesticide residue levels compared to that of CKDu subjects! So agrochemicals are most unlikely to be the cause.
Table 4
Then, the International Consultation on CKDu that was held in 2016 in Sri Lanka, in its Final Report stated that there was no evidence to implicate agrochemicals in the causation of CKDu.
The most convincing finding was that people who drank water from the reservoirs, rivers and wells in the plains did not contaminate the disease, whereas those who consumed water from dug wells on high ground did so. It was dramatically established by the finding from two adjoining villages in Girandhurukotte, namely, Ginnoruwa on high ground and the other, Sarabhumi, in the plain, the people of the latter who drank water from the river or adjoining wells did not contaminate the disease, whereas those from the former village who exclusively consumed well water did! It was subsequently established that the hard water and high fluoride contents in those wells were responsible for causation of the disease. Eventually when these people stopped drinking well water but harvested rain water, no new cases of the disease were reported! In addition, research of the Medical Faculty , Peradeniya University with rats fed water from these wells as against distilled water, contaminated the disease! So agrochemicals are not the aetiolating agent of CKDu!
4. Agrochemicals & their misuse
Hardly any chemical fertilizer is harmful to human health and to other living organisms if its quality conforms to specified safe standards and used in the correct amounts. It is excess use of fertilizer that can be harmful. Chemical fertilizer has been used successfully by all countries for almost two centuries to meet their food demand, and countries moved away from organic farming as it could not produce it. We are not aware of a single country that has banned use of chemical fertilizers or of contemplating such action at this point of time. Furthermore, if we ban chemical fertilizers to protect our people from consuming toxins, we should also ban importation of wheat flour from Canada, milk powder from New Zealand and chilli, onion and masoor dahl from India and Pakistan as these countries use chemical fertilizers liberally.
The real problem with agrochemicals is their misuse. Most farmers work on the premise that more is better! An outstanding local example of this is the rampant excessive use of fertilizers by vegetable growers, especially the potato farmers, who use 5-10 times the recommended quantities of fertilizer. The excess fertilizer via erosion and leaching ends up in the downstream lakes in the Rajarata causing algal booms which interfere with water use, and also secrete toxins which are reported to damage the liver and kidneys. Misuse of pesticides is probably a more serious problem. An FAO study conducted in Indonesia, Sweden and Canada many years ago established that 50-60 percent of the pesticide used can be cut down without loss of crop.
What is critically needed is exhaustive training of farmers and the extension workers in the judicious use of agrochemicals. Sadly, the farmers get their instructions from the agrochemical sellers in the villages and not extension workers. The extension services deteriorated following its provincilization, and strengthening this service as also the research and development systems in the country is critically needed. These are matters the government should address as a matter of highest priority rather than switching to organic farming!
5. The unsaid side of organic farming.
Some of the products used in organic farming are as toxic as conventional agrochemicals. Sodium nitrate used in organic farming as a nitrogen fertilizer is mined in South America. It carries highly toxic sodium perchlorate as an impurity, which is known to enter the soil and water bodies. Then, sulphur, copper and copper sulphate are toxins for pests allowed for use in organic farmlands and the latter is a Class 1 toxin, which can also bio-accumulate.
Further, as large amounts of farmyard manure and other organic material of the order of 20-30 tonnes/ha are added seasonally, much larger quantities of heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic and lead can enter the soil than through chemical fertilizer.
Further, rotenone and pyrethrum being natural pesticides are used in organic farming. However, rotenone is suspected to cause Parkinson’s disease and pyrethrum is carcinogenic. In short, natural pesticides can be as toxic as synthetic ones.
A serious problem with organic agriculture is the surreptitious mixing of chemical insecticides with organic ones. Some time ago, Prof. Nioki Motoyama of the University of Tokyo, showed that eight of the so-called organic pesticides in the market, contained abemectin and other highly toxic chemical pesticides.
So, when expanded on a national scale organic farming can lead to as many problems of the same scale as conventional!
Non-agricultural environmental pollution
It is regrettable that hardly any attention has been paid to air and other non-agricultural pollution issues which can be as serious as agricultural pollution. Significant pollution with increased industrial and population growth is obvious. For example, release of toxins from coal power plants locally is substantial. About 3 tons of mercury, 2 tons of arsenic, 2.9 tons of chromium and 5.7 tons of lead are reported to be spewed out annually from them.
Waterways are getting increasingly polluted with human sewage, and air pollution within cities such as Colombo and Kandy, especially with regard to ozone gas and fine particles, is a serious problem not addressed. The quality of air we breathe not only affects the health of our lungs but also other organs!
Motor vehicles have increased 20 times over the last thirty years of which the three wheeler increase is the highest being 88 fold! Thus, the importance of overall environmental pollution control cannot be overstressed.
Dr Parakrama Waidyanatha
by Dr B.J.C.Perera
MBBS(Cey), DCH(Cey), DCH(Eng), MD(Paed), MRCP(UK), FRCP(Edin),
FRCP(Lon), FRCPCH(UK), FSLCPaed, FCCP, Hony FRCPCH(UK), Hony. FCGP(SL)
Specialist Consultant Paediatrician and Honorary Senior Fellow,
Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Joint Editor, Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health
In an age of unprecedented global development, technological advancements, universal connectivity, and improvements in living standards in many areas of the world, it is a very dark irony that child food poverty remains a pressing issue. UNICEF defines child food poverty as children’s inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in early childhood. Despite the planet Earth’s undisputed capacity to produce enough food to nourish everyone, millions of children still go hungry each day. We desperately need to explore the multifaceted deleterious effects of child food poverty, on physical health, cognitive development, emotional well-being, and societal impacts and then try to formulate a road map to alleviate its deleterious effects.
Every day, right across the world, millions of parents and families are struggling to provide nutritious and diverse foods that young children desperately need to reach their full potential. Growing inequities, conflict, and climate crises, combined with rising food prices, the overabundance of unhealthy foods, harmful food marketing strategies and poor child-feeding practices, are condemning millions of children to child food poverty.
In a communique dated 06th June 2024, UNICEF reports that globally, 1 in 4 children; approximately 181 million under the age of five, live in severe child food poverty, defined as consuming at most, two of eight food groups in early childhood. These children are up to 50 per cent more likely to suffer from life-threatening malnutrition. Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood – the third issue of UNICEF’s flagship Child Nutrition Report – highlights that millions of young children are unable to access and consume the nutritious and diverse diets that are essential for their growth and development in early childhood and beyond.
It is highlighted in the report that four out of five children experiencing severe child food poverty are fed only breastmilk or just some other milk and/or a starchy staple, such as maize, rice or wheat. Less than 10 per cent of these children are fed fruits and vegetables and less than 5 per cent are fed nutrient-dense foods such as eggs, fish, poultry, or meat. These are horrendous statistics that should pull at the heartstrings of the discerning populace of this world.
The report also identifies the drivers of child food poverty. Strikingly, though 46 per cent of all cases of severe child food poverty are among poor households where income poverty is likely to be a major driver, 54 per cent live in relatively wealthier households, among whom poor food environments and feeding practices are the main drivers of food poverty in early childhood.
One of the most immediate and visible effects of child food poverty is its detrimental impact on physical health. Malnutrition, which can result from both insufficient calorie intake and lack of essential nutrients, is a prevalent consequence. Chronic undernourishment during formative years leads to stunted growth, weakened immune systems, and increased susceptibility to infections and diseases. Children who do not receive adequate nutrition are more likely to suffer from conditions such as anaemia, rickets, and developmental delays.
Moreover, the lack of proper nutrition can have long-term health consequences. Malnourished children are at a higher risk of developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity later in life. The paradox of child food poverty is that it can lead to both undernutrition and overnutrition, with children in food-insecure households often consuming calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods due to economic constraints. This dietary pattern increases the risk of obesity, creating a vicious cycle of poor health outcomes.
The impacts of child food poverty extend beyond physical health, severely affecting cognitive development and educational attainment. Adequate nutrition is crucial for brain development, particularly in the early years of life. Malnutrition can impair cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Studies have consistently shown that malnourished children perform worse academically compared to their well-nourished peers. Inadequate nutrition during early childhood can lead to reduced school readiness and lower IQ scores. These children often struggle to concentrate in school, miss more days due to illness, and have lower overall academic performance. This educational disadvantage perpetuates the cycle of poverty, as lower educational attainment reduces future employment opportunities and earning potential.
The emotional and psychological effects of child food poverty are profound and are often overlooked. Food insecurity creates a constant state of stress and anxiety for both children and their families. The uncertainty of not knowing when or where the next meal will come from can lead to feelings of helplessness and despair. Children in food-insecure households are more likely to experience behavioural problems, including hyperactivity, aggression, and withdrawal. The stigma associated with poverty and hunger can further exacerbate these emotional challenges. Children who experience food poverty may feel shame and embarrassment, leading to social isolation and reduced self-esteem. This psychological toll can have lasting effects, contributing to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety in adolescence and adulthood.
Child food poverty also perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality. Children who grow up in food-insecure households are more likely to remain in poverty as adults, continuing the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. This cycle of poverty exacerbates social disparities, contributing to increased crime rates, reduced social cohesion, and greater reliance on social welfare programmes. The repercussions of child food poverty ripple through society, creating economic and social challenges that affect everyone. The healthcare costs associated with treating malnutrition-related illnesses and chronic diseases are substantial. Additionally, the educational deficits linked to child food poverty result in a less skilled workforce, which hampers economic growth and productivity.
Addressing child food poverty requires a multi-faceted approach that tackles both immediate needs and underlying causes. Policy interventions are crucial in ensuring that all children have access to adequate nutrition. This can include expanding social safety nets, such as food assistance programmes and school meal initiatives, as well as targeted manoeuvres to reach more vulnerable families. Ensuring that these programmes are adequately funded and effectively implemented is essential for their success.
In addition to direct food assistance, broader economic and social policies are needed to address the root causes of poverty. This includes efforts to increase household incomes through living wage policies, job training programs, and economic development initiatives. Supporting families with affordable childcare, healthcare, and housing can also alleviate some of the financial pressures that contribute to food insecurity.
Community-based initiatives play a vital role in combating child food poverty. Local food banks, community gardens, and nutrition education programmes can help provide immediate relief and promote long-term food security. Collaborative efforts between government, non-profits, and the private sector are necessary to create sustainable solutions.
Child food poverty is a profound and inescapable issue with far-reaching consequences. Its deleterious effects on physical health, cognitive development, emotional well-being, and societal stability underscore the urgent need for comprehensive action. As we strive for a more equitable and just world, addressing child food poverty must be a priority. By ensuring that all children have access to adequate nutrition, we can lay the foundation for a healthier, more prosperous future for individuals and society as a whole. The fight against child food poverty is not just a moral imperative but an investment in our collective future. Healthy, well-nourished children are more likely to grow into productive, contributing members of society. The benefits of addressing this issue extend beyond individual well-being, enhancing economic stability and social harmony. It is incumbent upon us all to recognize and act upon the understanding that every child deserves the right to adequate nutrition and the opportunity to thrive.
Despite all of these existent challenges, it is very definitely possible to end child food poverty. The world needs targeted interventions to transform food, health, and social protection systems, and also take steps to strengthen data systems to track progress in reducing child food poverty. All these manoeuvres must comprise a concerted effort towards making nutritious and diverse diets accessible and affordable to all. We need to call for child food poverty reduction to be recognized as a metric of success towards achieving global and national nutrition and development goals.
Material from UNICEF reports and AI assistance are acknowledged.
By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
The colossal failure of not a single opinion poll predicting accurately the result of the Indian parliamentary election, the greatest exercise in democracy in the world, raises the question whether the importance of opinion polls is vastly exaggerated. During elections two types of opinion polls are conducted; one based on intentions to vote, published during or before the campaign, often being not very accurate as these are subject to many variables but exit polls, done after the voting where a sample tally of how the voters actually voted, are mostly accurate. However, of the 15 exit polls published soon after all the votes were cast in the massive Indian election, 13 vastly overpredicted the number of seats Modi’s BJP led coalition NDA would obtain, some giving a figure as high as 400, the number Modi claimed he is aiming for. The other two polls grossly underestimated predicting a hung parliament. The actual result is that NDA passed the threshold of 272 comfortably, there being no landslide. BJP by itself was not able to cross the threshold, a significant setback for an overconfident Mody! Whether this would result in less excesses on the part of Modi, like Muslim-bashing, remains to be seen. Anyway, the statement issued by BJP that they would be investigating the reasons for failure rather than blaming the process speaks very highly of the maturity of the democratic process in India.
I was intrigued by this failure of opinion polls as this differs dramatically from opinion polls in the UK. I never failed to watch ‘Election night specials’ on BBC; as the Big Ben strikes ‘ten’ (In the UK polls close at 10pm} the anchor comes out with “Exit polls predict that …” and the actual outcome is often almost as predicted. However, many a time opinion polls conducted during the campaign have got the predictions wrong. There are many explanations for this.
An opinion poll is defined as a research survey of public opinion from a particular sample, the origin of which can be traced back to the 1824 US presidential election, when two local newspapers in North Carolina and Delaware predicted the victory of Andrew Jackson but the sample was local. First national survey was done in 1916 by the magazine, Literary Digest, partly for circulation-raising, by mailing millions of postcards and counting the returns. Of course, this was not very scientific though it accurately predicted the election of Woodrow Wilson.
Since then, opinion polls have grown in extent and complexity with scientific methodology improving the outcome of predictions not only in elections but also in market research. As a result, some of these organisations have become big businesses. For instance, YouGov, an internet-based organisation co-founded by the Iraqi-born British politician Nadim Zahawi, based in London had a revenue of 258 million GBP in 2023.
In Sri Lanka, opinion polls seem to be conducted by only one organisation which, by itself, is a disadvantage, as pooled data from surveys conducted by many are more likely to reflect the true situation. Irrespective of the degree of accuracy, politicians seem to be dependent on the available data which lend explanations to the behaviour of some.
The Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey has been tracking the voting intentions for the likely candidates for the Presidential election. At one stage the NPP/JVP leader AKD was getting a figure over 50%. This together with some degree of international acceptance made the JVP behave as if they are already in power, leading to some incidents where their true colour was showing.
The comments made by a prominent member of the JVP who claimed that the JVP killed only the riff-raff, raised many questions, in addition to being a total insult to many innocents killed by them including my uncle. Do they have the authority to do so? Do extra-judicial killings continue to be JVP policy? Do they consider anyone who disagrees with them riff-raff? Will they kill them simply because they do not comply like one of my admired teachers, Dr Gladys Jayawardena who was considered riff-raff because she, as the Chairman of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation, arranged to buy drugs cheaper from India? Is it not the height of hypocrisy that AKD is now boasting of his ties to India?
Another big-wig comes with the grand idea of devolving law and order to village level. As stated very strongly, in the editorial “Pledges and reality” (The Island, 20 May) is this what they intend to do: Have JVP kangaroo-courts!
Perhaps, as a result of these incidents AKD’s ratings has dropped to 39%, according to the IHP survey done in April, and Sajith Premadasa’s ratings have increased gradually to match that. Whilst they are level pegging Ranil is far behind at 13%. Is this the reason why Ranil is getting his acolytes to propagate the idea that the best for the country is to extend his tenure by a referendum? He forced the postponement of Local Governments elections by refusing to release funds but he cannot do so for the presidential election for constitutional reasons. He is now looking for loopholes. Has he considered the distinct possibility that the referendum to extend the life of the presidency and the parliament if lost, would double the expenditure?
Unfortunately, this has been an exercise in futility and it would not be surprising if the next survey shows Ranil’s chances dropping even further! Perhaps, the best option available to Ranil is to retire gracefully, taking credit for steadying the economy and saving the country from an anarchic invasion of the parliament, rather than to leave politics in disgrace by coming third in the presidential election. Unless, of course, he is convinced that opinion polls do not matter and what matters is the ballots in the box!
By Prof. Kirthi Tennakone
ktenna@yahoo.co.uk
Thoughtfulness is the quality of being conscious of issues that arise and considering action while seeking explanations. It facilitates finding solutions to problems and judging experiences.
Almost all human accomplishments are consequences of thoughtfulness.
Can you perform day-to-day work efficiently and effectively without being thoughtful? Obviously, no. Are there any major advancements attained without thought and contemplation? Not a single example!
Science and technology, art, music and literary compositions and religion stand conspicuously as products of thought.
Thought could have sinister motives and the only way to eliminate them is through thought itself. Thought could distinguish right from wrong.
Empathy, love, amusement, and expression of sorrow are reflections of thought.
Thought relieves worries by understanding or taking decisive action.
Despite the universal virtue of thoughtfulness, some advocate an idea termed mindfulness, claiming the benefits of nurturing this quality to shape mental wellbeing. The concept is defined as focusing attention to the present moment without judgment. A way of forgetting the worries and calming the mind – a form of meditation. A definition coined in the West to decouple the concept from religion. The attitude could have a temporary advantage as a method of softening negative feelings such as sorrow and anger. However, no man or woman can afford to be non-judgmental all the time. It is incompatible with indispensable thoughtfulness! What is the advantage of diverting attention to one thing without discernment during a few tens of minute’s meditation? The instructors of mindfulness meditation tell you to focus attention on trivial things. Whereas in thoughtfulness, you concentrate the mind on challenging issues. Sometimes arriving at groundbreaking scientific discoveries, solution of mathematical problems or the creation of masterpieces in engineering, art, or literature.
The concept of meditation and mindfulness originated in ancient India around 1000 BCE. Vedic ascetics believed the practice would lead to supernatural powers enabling disclosure of the truth. Failing to meet the said aspiration, notwithstanding so many stories in scripture, is discernable. Otherwise, the world would have been awakened to advancement by ancient Indians before the Greeks. The latter culture emphasized thoughtfulness!
In India, Buddha was the first to deviate from the Vedic philosophy. His teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra, were adherents of meditation. Unconvinced of their approach, Buddha concluded a thoughtful analysis of the actualities of life should be the path to realisation. However, in an environment dominated by Vedic tradition, meditation residually persisted when Buddha’s teachings transformed into a religion.
In the early 1970s, a few in the West picked up meditation and mindfulness. We Easterners, who criticize Western ideas all the time, got exalted after seeing something Eastern accepted in the Western circles. Thereafter, Easterners took up the subject more seriously, in the spirit of its definition in the West.
Today, mindfulness has become a marketable commodity – a thriving business spreading worldwide, fueled largely by advertising. There are practice centres, lessons onsite and online, and apps for purchase. Articles written by gurus of the field appear on the web.
What attracts people to mindfulness programmes? Many assume them being stressed and depressed needs to improve their mental capacity. In most instances, these are minor complaints and for understandable reasons, they do not seek mainstream medical interventions but go for exaggeratedly advertised alternatives. Mainstream medical treatments are based on rigorous science and spell out both the pros and cons of the procedure, avoiding overstatement. Whereas the alternative sector makes unsubstantiated claims about the efficacy and effectiveness of the treatment.
Advocates of mindfulness claim the benefits of their prescriptions have been proven scientifically. There are reports (mostly in open-access journals which charge a fee for publication) indicating that authors have found positive aspects of mindfulness or identified reasons correlating the efficacy of such activities. However, they rarely meet standards normally required for unequivocal acceptance. The gold standard of scientific scrutiny is the statistically significant reproducibility of claims.
If a mindfulness guru claims his prescription of meditation cures hypertension, he must record the blood pressure of participants before and after completion of the activity and show the blood pressure of a large percentage has stably dropped and repeat the experiment with different clients. He must also conduct sessions where he adopts another prescription (a placebo) under the same conditions and compares the results. This is not enough, he must request someone else to conduct sessions following his prescription, to rule out the influence of the personality of the instructor.
The laity unaware of the above rigid requirements, accede to purported claims of mindfulness proponents.
A few years ago, an article published and widely cited stated that the practice of mindfulness increases the gray matter density of the brain. A more recent study found there is no such correlation. Popular expositions on the subject do not refer to the latter report. Most mindfulness research published seems to have been conducted intending to prove the benefits of the practice. The hard science demands doing the opposite as well-experiments carried out intending to disprove the claims. You need to be skeptical until things are firmly established.
Despite many efforts diverted to disprove Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, no contradictions have been found in vain to date, strengthening the validity of the theory. Regarding mindfulness, as it stands, benefits can neither be proved nor disproved, to the gold standard of scientific scrutiny.
Some schools in foreign lands have accommodated mindfulness training programs hoping to develop the mental facility of students and Sri Lanka plans to follow. However, studies also reveal these exercises are ineffective or do more harm than good. Have we investigated this issue before imitation?
Should we force our children to focus attention on one single goal without judgment, even for a moment?
Why not allow young minds to roam wild in their deepest imagination and build castles in the air and encourage them to turn these fantasies into realities by nurturing their thoughtfulness?
Be more thoughtful than mindful?
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