Ultimate Health 1: The Crisis

All of us are inter-connected in one way or another. In this interrelated world, to be healthy is not a personal matter but a matter of concern to the family, society, nation and world community. Our health does not only have effects on our personal life but on the lives of all living things, plants and animals, as well as all life forms in the universe.

It is necessary for us to learn to care for ourselves and others. Why do we live? How can we be healthy? Can’t we enjoy good health until our last breath? Can’t we help our loved ones to have good health? How much suffering did we assist to alleviate? How much love did we share, give and receive? To what extent are we friendly to the social and physical environment? Can’t we leave something beneficial for the future generations?

The world is facing a health and environmental crisis. The sea, river, water, air and the food we eat are polluted. The world’s natural forest is depleting while reforestation has not been able to keep up with the pace of deforestation.

The last century witnessed a tremendous change in both human population and forest areas. The world’s human population increased from 1,550 million in 1900 to 6,080 million in 2000, while forest area declined from 3,963 million ha in 1990 to 3,869 million ha in 2000. During the 1981‒1990 period, about 150 million ha of tropical forest or 9% of the world’s tropical forest was estimated to have been lost to various forces of deforestation, with 85% of this area being tropical moist forest (Brown & Lugo 1990, Laurance & Bierregaard 1997, Whitmore 1997). Furthermore, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), during the 1990–2000 period, the world lost about 146 million ha of natural forest due to deforestation and 15 million ha of natural forest converted to forest plantation. There was a net gain of 36 million from natural expansion during this period. The net loss in natural forest was 125 million ha. See Brown, S. & Lugo, A. E. (1990). Tropical secondary forests. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6: 1‒32.; Laurance, W. F. & Bierregaard, R. O., Jr. (Eds.). (1997). Tropical Forest Remnants: Ecology, Management and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.



When forest is destroyed, the result is the emission of green house gases (GHG) and reduction of the environment’s ability to mitigate GHG. Climate change and global warming take the central seat in international development fora. The world’s temperature is expected to increase 1.4 to 5.8° C during the 21st Century.
This change is expected to bring about new challenges threatening the survival of humanity. Global warming, rising sea level, climatic change, flora and fauna species extinction, survival of the forest-dependent communities have become major concerns.

Global warming has adverse effects on food production. In Africa, areas that are arid or semi-arid are experiencing extended drought while wet zones are having excessive rainfall. Malawi (a south-eastern African nation) used to be the food producer for Europe (its main produce being maize) now depends on aid from the United Nations to sustain itself (Sangeetha 2007). See Sangeetha, A. (2007). “No one escapes climate change effects but many refuse to do anything”, Utusan Konsumer, January-February 2007.


New diseases and epidemics have emerged, affecting the health of the human and animal population. SARS, AIDS, mad cow disease, bird flu and other new epidemics are connected with a decline in natural immune function as a result of modern way of eating and overmedicalization (Kushi & Jack 2003). Scientists have observed the mysterious disappearance of millions of bees and since 1989, frogs were disappearing around the globe (Montague 2007). See Kushi, M. & Jack, A. (2003). The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health. New York: Ballantine Books; Montague, P. 2007. “Tread with caution when dealing with nature: human ignorance is growing”, Utusan Konsumer, July-August 2007.

More chemicals are used in food production and processing. It is alarming to learn that the world is flooded with untested toxic chemicals. Chemicals may be added to food for preservation and to give flavour or colour, or are a result of common agriculture practices such as the use of pesticides or veterinary drugs. The residues of these substances used in food production require a careful safety assessment (International Programme on Chemical Safety, www.who.int/ipcs/food). About 100,000 chemicals (out of 10 million chemicals known) are used in commercial products and every year an estimated 1,000 new chemicals enter the world market. Our concern is some of the chemicals are not tested. Of the 100,000 chemicals registered for commercial use in the European Union in 1981 and 80,000 in the US, fewer than half had been subjected to even the most basic testing (The Lancet, 8 November 2006 cited in Utusan Konsumer Jan–February 2007). In the US, roughly 1,800 new chemicals were introduced into commerce each year (Montague 2007).

The use of these chemicals in food production and processing may cause negative health effects. In poultry farming and agriculture production activities, growth hormones and pesticides are used. In the industrial sector, food production uses artificial colouring, preservatives, stabilizers and addictives. Ultimately, the vegetable, meat and a chain of food produced could be generally considered acidic in nature. When we eat these acidic foods, our body too becomes acidic, causing diseases and illnesses and affect learning and behavioural disabilities among children. In the US, one in two people will get cancer in their lifetime. In Malaysia, the figure is one in four. What happens in Malaysia is likely to occur in many other countries which have similar food consumption patterns. What is happening in the US may happen to Malaysia, if we are copying the western way of eating and living. A leading suspect of cancer is exposure to environmental pollutants and unhealthy food.

How many toxic chemicals are in our body? It has been pointed out that
“The average person today has about 300 toxic chemicals in his or her blood. These chemicals, which can cause anything from liver damage to cancer, come from the air we breathe, the food we eat, water, buildings, pesticides and from the millions of consumer products that we use each day.” (Utusan Konsumer, January-February 2007).

The health crisis should be of serious concern to all. Over the last century, some diseases have become killers. The percentage of cardiovascular disease, which accounted for the most number of deaths in the world, increased from 15% in 1900 to 44% in 1990. In 1900, cancer killed 3% of the world’s population and this increased to 23% in 1990 (Erasmus 1993).

In Malaysia, the Ministry of Health has cautioned that Malaysians are faced with eight major diseases, including heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, lung problems and diabetes. It was estimated that in 2005, every Malaysian was sick for 41 days in a year on the average (The China Press, 17 March 2005). This has become a burden to the nation both in terms of the medical expenditures and reduced productive working days.