NGO Greenpeace's hidden agenda and how it is hurting our nation
Greenpeace is a Non Government Organization (NGO), with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It states that its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity" and it uses direct action, lobbying, and research to achieve its goals.
On the face of it, it appears as though the organization is working for the environment, however, when we dig a little below the surface, we find a whole lot of dirt underneath. Throughout its history, the policies and objectives of the non-governmental organization Greenpeace have been criticized by a number of groups,including national governments, members of industry, former Greenpeace members, scientists, and political groups. The organization's methods, such as the use of direct action, have also led to controversy. The organization has a dubious reputation world over for stalling developmental projects and hurting economies of several nations. In India, several irregularities have been found in their accounts.
Lets take a look at what the NGO is doing to Indian tea industry
Greenpeace is trying to hurt the Indian tea industry, which employs 35 lakh workers and earned USD 644 million from exports last year, by projecting abroad that homegrown leaves of the beverage have hazardous pesticides.The NGO has published a research paper titled 'Trouble Brewing on Indian Tea' where it has claimed that the beverage has hazardous pesticides in leading Indian tea brands, all of which are exported in large quantities to the US, UK and Europe," the report said.
The Tea Board of India has disagreed with the above findings and sees it as an attempt to impact Indian tea exports. The anti-tea Greenpeace campaign is similar to the one against Chinese tea companies. "In April 2012, Greenpeace had published a similar questionable report 'Hidden Ingredients in Chinese Tea' which had claimed to have found 29 different pesticides in 18 tea samples. It has also decided to target other commonly consumed goods such as rice, wheat etc. and highlight the abuse of pesticides in these sectors"
India is one of the world's leading producers of tea. The tea produced in the country is considered among the finest in the world. The main tea growing regions are the northeast, including Assam, the Darjeeling district and the Dooars region of North Bengal, and the Nilgiris in South India.Tea industry is also India's second-largest employer with over 35 lakh workers employed in over 1,500 tea estates. A total of 1,185 million kgs of tea were produced in India in 2014. India exported tea to different countries valued overall at around USD 643.75 million in 2014. Russia, the US, the UK, the UAE, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Ireland and Poland are some of the major global markets for exports of Indian tea.
The Home Ministry has already barred the NGO from receiving foreign funds by suspending its licence for six months and froze all its accounts.Greenpeace is trying to prejudicial affect India's public and economic interests. Are they really into genuine activism or have a hidden agenda ? These are things our government needs to investigate and we as a nation need to ponder over.
Greenpeace is a Non Government Organization (NGO), with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It states that its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity" and it uses direct action, lobbying, and research to achieve its goals.
On the face of it, it appears as though the organization is working for the environment, however, when we dig a little below the surface, we find a whole lot of dirt underneath. Throughout its history, the policies and objectives of the non-governmental organization Greenpeace have been criticized by a number of groups,including national governments, members of industry, former Greenpeace members, scientists, and political groups. The organization's methods, such as the use of direct action, have also led to controversy. The organization has a dubious reputation world over for stalling developmental projects and hurting economies of several nations. In India, several irregularities have been found in their accounts.
Lets take a look at what the NGO is doing to Indian tea industry
Greenpeace is trying to hurt the Indian tea industry, which employs 35 lakh workers and earned USD 644 million from exports last year, by projecting abroad that homegrown leaves of the beverage have hazardous pesticides.The NGO has published a research paper titled 'Trouble Brewing on Indian Tea' where it has claimed that the beverage has hazardous pesticides in leading Indian tea brands, all of which are exported in large quantities to the US, UK and Europe," the report said.
The Tea Board of India has disagreed with the above findings and sees it as an attempt to impact Indian tea exports. The anti-tea Greenpeace campaign is similar to the one against Chinese tea companies. "In April 2012, Greenpeace had published a similar questionable report 'Hidden Ingredients in Chinese Tea' which had claimed to have found 29 different pesticides in 18 tea samples. It has also decided to target other commonly consumed goods such as rice, wheat etc. and highlight the abuse of pesticides in these sectors"
India is one of the world's leading producers of tea. The tea produced in the country is considered among the finest in the world. The main tea growing regions are the northeast, including Assam, the Darjeeling district and the Dooars region of North Bengal, and the Nilgiris in South India.Tea industry is also India's second-largest employer with over 35 lakh workers employed in over 1,500 tea estates. A total of 1,185 million kgs of tea were produced in India in 2014. India exported tea to different countries valued overall at around USD 643.75 million in 2014. Russia, the US, the UK, the UAE, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Ireland and Poland are some of the major global markets for exports of Indian tea.
The Home Ministry has already barred the NGO from receiving foreign funds by suspending its licence for six months and froze all its accounts.Greenpeace is trying to prejudicial affect India's public and economic interests. Are they really into genuine activism or have a hidden agenda ? These are things our government needs to investigate and we as a nation need to ponder over.
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