Not only water but bush meat too is poisoned

 There is a theory in management studies known as Tipping Point Theory and it is that which triggers decisive action. The rate at which illegal mining popularly known as ‘galamsey’ has devastated our arable lands, destroyed our water bodies and is creating health problems in our country has triggered a national move­ment against it.

This ‘galamsey’ issue has brought with it both a grave and humourous twist to this menace to a section of our society. A typical Akan per­son cannot do without bush meat in his soup especially in combination with his or her fufu. The animals in the wild drink water from our streams and rivers and so their system becomes poisoned by these polluted water bodies.

Those living in cities like Ac­cra, Kumasi etc. and may feel that the pollution of water bodies may not affect them, they ought to realise that if they eat bush neat, they are at risk of heavy metal poi­soning just like the village dwellers close to the poisoned water bodies.

It has become a cultural thing for Ghanaians to trav­el to attend funerals during week-ends. On their way back home, people buy food items especially bush meat and they have no idea what the animal fed on up to the point it was captured.

Given the rampant destruc­tion of our forest through ‘galamsey’, the likelihood of the animal having been polluted is quite high. On a Sunday after church, having prepared a delicious soup with fufu and enjoying it, hardly would it occur to you that you are poisoning your own self.

Apart from the cancer that can result from eating this ap­parently healthy but in reality contaminated meat, there is another dangerous aspect for our health implications we need to consider.

Reports indicate that stud­ies have shown that children born by people living in areas where ‘galamsey’ is rife, have deformities of various parts of their bodies. Right from the get go, such children are going to face challenges in life which are not natural but man made. Why should we do this to the future leaders of this country?

The alarming thing about ‘galamsey’ is that apart from the pollution of our water bodies, it also pollutes our farming lands and eventually the food stuffs we purchase from our markets.

A person living in Accra goes to buy food items at say Agbogbloshie market not imagining for an instant that the items are polluted. Over a period of time, the person realises that all is not well with his body and goes to the hospital for a checkup, only to be diagnosed with cancer.

The psychological impact and therefore cost to the individual and the nation as a whole is quite substantial. The shock of learning that you have a health condition that can possibly lead to your de­mise could be quite devastat­ing and has the potential to change the mood of a person on a permanent basis.

We must urgently make the fight against ‘galamsey’ a national priority so the entire nation benefits in the long run. It must be devoid of political games so everybody will come on board for it to become successful.

Water is a very important natural resource and every­thing must be done to protect it from being destroyed or becoming extinct.

Climate change is already coming hard against water bodies so the citizenry should not do anything or be allowed to do anything that will exac­erbate the already precarious situation.

What I am worried about as an individual is my loss of appetite for bush meat which has come about as a result of the fear of inadvertently poisoning myself by eating bush meat.

By Laud Kissi-Mensah