probing eyes
The influence of lobbyists

Mahmudur Rahman

Somewhere in between the balance between saving the earth, saving human beings and saving business seems to have been lost.

Following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster millions of tonnes of milk, apparently contaminated had to be dumped-well most of it. There is a general feeling that the resilient Bangladeshi consumed it in good cheer and there was no diplomatic fallout. The eternal arguments between whether butter or margarine is better for health and whether or not coffee is good or bad continues but in more muted forms.

The world climate conference ended in fairly abject failure with the business agenda shadowing proceedings. Now there's a new proposition on the horizon; whether going vegetable over protein is feasible given the apparent impact on the environment.

Europe, the apparent bastion of safe food habits has rejected a major move to vegetarian life styles over that of protein. The argument is that if the requirements of the European Union (EU) are to be met, there would be a major need for mainly developing countries to up their production of agriculture. Given that most countries are struggling to produce crops to feed their citizens and depending more and more on artificial fertilisers, pesticides and seed production, the impact would be massive on the already delicate eco-sensitivity of soil and environment.

As it is, environmentalists and scientists are decrying the lack of balanced fertiliser usage resulting in erosion of the fertility and capability of the soil. It has also been stated that the devastating floods that periodically sweep over countries such as Bangladesh bring one blessing with them; that of naturally rejuvenating the soil and cleansing it of all the ills human beings leave in it following the unbridled use of artificial inputs. Genetically modified food (GMF) continues to stir up controversy and there are some, especially in the western world that simply fork out the extra cash for naturally produced items. The reality is that crop land is shrinking in the wake of development of habitat and infrastructure. Less is available while more is needed from the land.

Why doesn't it sort itself out is due mainly to a group of people whose job is to convince the decision-makers otherwise. And there come in to the picture qualified personnel known as lobbyists who have the most persuasive of arguments in their favour. So for the entire mad-cow disease scare, there's a lot of beef in the producers to stave off a ban. Where there's smoke there is fire but for all the effect on the environment, factories and cars are needed by the developing world-because of the life styles so carefully painted by creative agencies. For those conscious there are always the more expensive alternatives of recycling plants, effluent treatment plants and the eco-friendly cars. And when it comes to listening to the voices of true reason-well what's the point? Money is what makes the world go round and silence voices-even when it comes to environmental destruction.

Prince Philip once said "look after this planet; it's the only one we have". True as that may be we now have the moon to look forward to and if reports in the media are anything to go buy an Indian politician has already been offered a plot-with a fantastic view of the earth! The reader is left to guess which country the plots are being allotted from! (The writer is a former Head of Corporate & Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco Bangladesh, former CEO of Bangladesh Cricket Board and specializes in corporate affairs, communications and CSR. e-mail: mahmudrahman@gmail.com)