Comments on: Knee-jerk responses http://varnam.org/blog/2006/08/knee_jerk_responses/ History, Current Affairs & Books Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:39:01 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Chandra http://varnam.org/blog/2006/08/knee_jerk_responses/comment-page-1/#comment-2276 Chandra Sun, 20 Aug 2006 19:35:33 +0000 http://varnam.org/blog/?p=1126#comment-2276 Etlamately, I don't think your analogy to a cameraman is valid. Chemical testing, especially when looking for contaminants at parts per billion (ppb), is not easy. One not only has to be qualified to do the test, but the equipment has to be high quality and the procedures including sampling and calibration have to follow established procedures. It is not a laymen job. 1 ppb is equivalent to 1ml pesticide in 10,00,000 liters cola – if one were using 5ml sample of cola to test the contamination, imagine what the contamination has to be. Measuring environmental samples, while done routinely, is not an inexact science. If they want to kill the 1000 crore cool drink industry, destroying thousands of jobs, because of ideology, they better be clear what they did and how they did it - not just showing some data and asking us believe it because they said so. A more adept analogy would be creating a fake sting just to prove a point. Credibility of test, including methodology, matters. Etlamately, I don’t think your analogy to a cameraman is valid. Chemical testing, especially when looking for contaminants at parts per billion (ppb), is not easy. One not only has to be qualified to do the test, but the equipment has to be high quality and the procedures including sampling and calibration have to follow established procedures. It is not a laymen job.

1 ppb is equivalent to 1ml pesticide in 10,00,000 liters cola – if one were using 5ml sample of cola to test the contamination, imagine what the contamination has to be. Measuring environmental samples, while done routinely, is not an inexact science.

If they want to kill the 1000 crore cool drink industry, destroying thousands of jobs, because of ideology, they better be clear what they did and how they did it – not just showing some data and asking us believe it because they said so.

A more adept analogy would be creating a fake sting just to prove a point. Credibility of test, including methodology, matters.

]]> By: etlamatey http://varnam.org/blog/2006/08/knee_jerk_responses/comment-page-1/#comment-2275 etlamatey Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:06:02 +0000 http://varnam.org/blog/?p=1126#comment-2275 I dont understand this whole thing about "Is CSE qualified to conduct these tests"? CSE is a advocacy and dissemination organisation and they never pretend to be anything but that. Their stated job is to whistle-blow on environmental matters and that is what they are doing. When they give you their test results, they fully well expect you to run your own tests. CSE's lab has has only as much legitimacy in such matters as Zee TV's meteorologist has in matters of weather. To question if CSE's lab is qualified is like asking if as extraneous as asking if Tehelka.com's cameraman in sting operations was certified. CSE's message is clear. There are pesticides in your Coke, and it is more than likely that these pesticides are all over your food chain. Useless bickering about CSE's legitimacy undermines this message. I dont understand this whole thing about “Is CSE qualified to conduct these tests”? CSE is a advocacy and dissemination organisation and they never pretend to be anything but that.

Their stated job is to whistle-blow on environmental matters and that is what they are doing. When they give you their test results, they fully well expect you to run your own tests.

CSE’s lab has has only as much legitimacy in such matters as Zee TV’s meteorologist has in matters of weather. To question if CSE’s lab is qualified is like asking if as extraneous as asking if Tehelka.com’s cameraman in sting operations was certified.

CSE’s message is clear. There are pesticides in your Coke, and it is more than likely that these pesticides are all over your food chain. Useless bickering about CSE’s legitimacy undermines this message.

]]>