A public uproar erupted in early August after a Delhi-based NGO found that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo soft drinks manufactured in India bore significant levels of pesticide. Following up on a similar report released in 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment alleged that these products, gathered from 12 Indian states, contained pesticide levels up to 50 times higher than what is allowed by official limits. Amidst the noise, it was forgotten that the deeper problem is with the water that the local bottlers use to make their colas. Therein lies the real — and alarming — story: the release and persistence of synthetic pesticides, which contaminate water, food and the entire environment.
As such, reports of pesticide residues in soft drinks should not be particularly surprising. Indeed, Rachel Carson's 1962 Silent Spring warned of the looming crisis that would result due to the widespread use of 'chlorinated' pesticides. Nonetheless, after decades of alarm bells, the rampant use of these chemicals continues. Worldwide, about one million people die or face chronic illnesses every year due to pesticide poisoning.
Synthetic pesticides began to be used in India in 1948, when DDT (Dichloro diphenyl trichioro ethane) was imported for malaria control and HCH (Hexa chloro cyclo hexane) for locust control. These two now account for two-thirds of the total consumption of pesticides in the country. DDT and HCH became so popular that India began to produce them as early as 1952.
By 1958, the country's pesticide production capacity had reached 5000 metric tonnes. In that same year the first incident of pesticide poisoning took place, claiming the lives of over 100 people in Kerala who had consumed contaminated wheat flour. Since the advent of India's Green Revolution, the annual use of pesticides has increased dramatically — from 154 metric tonnes in 1954 to 88,000 metric tonnes in 2001. Though the Indian government did ban the use of DDT for agricultural use in 1989, up to 10,000 metric tonnes can still be used annually for health-related purposes, including spraying for disease-carrying insects.