“The food that we eat to live, may now be the very thing that is slowly killing us.”

There was a time, not so long ago, when the vibrant green color of kontombire (cocoyam leaves), ayoyo (jute leaves) or the earthy red of a ripe tomato was a symbol of pure, unadulterated nourishment.

Our people spoke of farms as sanctuaries, places where the soil, rich and dark, yielded good food, the very essence of a healthy life. We were taught to wash our vegetables, not out of fear, but as a simple ritual of respect for the land that fuels our existence. The crisp snap of a carrot, pulled straight from the earth, was a taste of nature’s honest bounty, a promise of vitality.

But a shadow has fallen over these once-sacred patches of earth. A greed, relentless and insatiable has seeped into the very ground beneath our feet. The gentle clinking of a trowel against a stone has been replaced by the roar of excavators, turning our sources of water opaque and our green forest bare, just to tear the earth’s flesh for a fleeting glimmer of gold.

This reckless and illegal pursuit of gold (galamsey) has poisoned the very womb from which our food is born. The water that once moistened the roots of our crops, a life-giving stream now carries heavy and deadly metallic toxins. The soil— a source of life, now holds a toxic secret and the vegetables we see as a symbol of health now carry a hidden toxic burden.

We eat, and with every bite, a piece of our trust in the earth and the food that sustains us is slowly fading.

Our farms are no longer sources of trusted nourishment. The food that should sustain us has become a grim reminder of the damage we have done to our soil.

This illegal mining(galamsey) is not only poising our plates but also depleting the resources the next generation will need to survive.

The author, Hawa Mutawakilu, is a food Journalist and a sustainable lifestyle advocate.

Email: greencornish13@gmail.com