Advice for traveling in India + Biography

[Guest guest]

Perhaps you're right Doug. I'll try splashing some on my face next

time i'm in Calcutta

 

Here's my bio:

 

I graduated from Middlesex University with a BSc (Hons) in

Traditional and from Beijing University of TCM with

a Bachelor of Medicine in 2004. This was a full time, five year

course.

 

I then undertook extended study in Beijing with a renowned

acupuncturist Dr Yu Lan Bai, a stroke specialist, in the art of

abdominal acupuncture (Fu Zhen).

 

I'm a regular columnist for Positive Health Magazine and have several

academic articles published in medical journals, healthcare magazines

and medical web sites. I'm also the editor of an online Chinese

medicine journal, titled Times. Apart from that i

also run two online shops selling a wide range of herbal products.

 

Attilio

www.chinesemedicinetimes.com

 

, " "

wrote:

>

> Actually, it's being used as a pesticide... Perhaps more because of

the type of insect it

> attracts than actually killing any.

> I believe this is a rather common usage around the world for many

decades.

> doug

>

> , " "

<attiliodalberto@>

> wrote:

> >

>

> > I read that farmers in India use Coca Cola to fertilise their

crops.

> > It's cheaper and more effective than regular fertiliser, so God

knows

> > what's in it.

> >

> > Attilio

> > www.chinesemedicinetimes.com

> Things grow better with Coke

>

>

> John Vidal

> Tuesday November 2, 2004

> The Guardian

>

> Indian farmers have come up with what they think is the real thing

to keep crops free of

> bugs.

> Instead of paying hefty fees to international chemical companies

for patented pesticides,

> they are reportedly spraying their cotton and chilli fields with

Coca-Cola.

>

> In the past month there have been reports of hundreds of farmers

turning to Coke in

> Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh states.

>

> But as word gets out that soft drinks may be bad for bugs and a lot

cheaper than anything

> that Messrs Monsanto, Shell and Dow can offer, thousands of others

are expected to

> switch.

>

> Gotu Laxmaiah, a farmer from Ramakrishnapuram in Andra Pradesh,

said he was delighted

> with his new cola spray, which he applied this year to several

hectares of cotton. " I

> observed that the pests began to die after the soft drink was

sprayed on my cotton, " he

> told the Deccan Herald newspaper.

> Coca-Cola has had a bad year in India.

>

> Other farmers in Andra Pradesh state accused the company of over-

extracting

> underground water for its bottling plants and a government

committee upheld findings

> that drinks made in India by itself and PepsiCo contained

unacceptable amounts of

> pesticide residue.

>

> But Mr Laxmaiah and others say their cola sprays are invaluable

because they are safe to

> handle, do not need to be diluted and, mainly, are cheap.

>

> One litre of highly concentrated Avant, Tracer and Nuvocron, three

popular Indian

> pesticides, costs around 10,000 rupees (¡ê120), but one-and-a-half

litres of locally made

> Coca-Cola is 30 rupees. To spray an acre would be a mere 270 rupees.

>

> It is clearly not Coke's legendary " secret " ingredient that is

upsetting the bugs. The

> farmers also swear by Pepsi, Thums Up, and other local soft drinks.

>

> The main ingredients of all colas are water and sugar but some

manufacturers add citric

> and phosphoric acids to give that extra bite to human taste buds.

>

> Yesterday a leading Indian agriculture analyst, Devinder Sharma,

said: " I think Coke has

> found its right use. Farmers have traditionally used sugary

solutions to attract red ants to

> feed on insect larvae.

>

> " I think the colas are also performing the same role. "

>

> The properties of Coke have been discussed for years. It has been

reported that it is a fine

> lavatory cleaner, a good windscreen wipe and an efficient rust spot

remover.

>

> Uncorroborated reports from China claimed that the ill-fated New

Coke was widely used in

> China as a spermicide.

>

> Yesterday a spokesman for Coca-Cola in Atlanta said: " We are aware

of one isolated case

> where a farmer may have used a soft drink as part of his crop

management routine.

>

> " Soft drinks do not act in a similar way to pesticides when applied

to the ground or crops.

> There is no scientific basis for this and the use of soft drinks

for this purpose would be

> totally ineffective " .

>