August 21, 2008: Vegetables, rice and other cereals in at least 53 cities in Asia,Africa and Latin America may someday come with warning labels thatread “this is a byproduct of raw sewage”.Against the backdrop of rising food prices and a shortage ofdrinking water worldwide, urban farmers are being forced to useeither untreated Waste water or polluted river water both for theiragricultural needs and for their economic survival.A 53-city survey finds the practice most common in some of theworld’s poorest nations where waste water use is criticalboth to farmer’s incomes and urban food security whilesimultaneously raising critical health risks.The study conducted by the Sri Lanka-based International WaterManagement Institute (IWMI) — and released to coincide withWorld Water Week in the Swedish capital of Stockholm —indicates that about 80 per cent of the cities surveyed are usinguntreated or partially treated waste-water for agriculture.In over 70 per cent of the cities studied, more than half of urbanagricultural land is irrigated with waste water that is either rawor diluted in streams.From www.chinatopsupplier.com
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