For those of you who have watched the movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, you must be familiar with the quote “I love you in every universe” which is a trending topic everywhere. The romantic sentences spoken by Doctor Stephen Strange in the film managed to become a new signature quote in the Marvel superhero films. But besides “I love you in every universe”, there is one question that is also often repeated in this first Marvel horror film, “Are you happy?”.
Are You Happy?
This may be a question that we are confused about how to answer. Are we happy with all the life choices we are currently running. Our mind might say that happiness will be found when we do things that make us happy such as travelling, a peaceful coffee morning, talking to our favorite people, or playing video games with our friends. However, happiness does not only come from the things we love, but also from the things that might hurt us. Do you believe it?
At first, when Pandawa Agri team discovered this fact, we were also surprised that human can find happiness from painful things. In biological language, when humans feel pain, our brains release endorphin, a protein which act to block pain and induce feelings of euphoria. Even more interestingly, it seems like this source of happiness is common in humans especially for those of you who like to eat spicy food!!
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Pain is Not Always Bad
Spicy is not the flavour of food. It is the burning effect that our tongue feels when we eat spicy food. The active ingredient in chillies is called capsaicin, which, when exposed to the tongue, gives the temperature receptors a painful effect. So the brain will think that our tongue is burning.
For spicy lovers, the spicier the better, right? That’s probably because we believe that spiciness has no real negative impact on our bodies. The enjoyment of chilli is akin to the enjoyment of roller coasters, bungee jumping, skydiving, crying during sad movies and similar sensations that often lead to a desire to repeat.
Spicy seems to be the world’s favourite flavour. A third of people in the world consume chillies every day. Not only that, the most delicious foods in the world are also dominated by foods with spicy flavours.
In Indonesia, food with chili as the main ingredient is spread from Sabang to Merauke. Such as rendang, fried rice, opor and other authentic sambals (the food sauce) from each place are dominated by chillies. No wonder Indonesia is so familiar with this horticultural crop.
The area in Indonesia known as the national chili buffer zone is located in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java Province. Banyuwangi Regency prepares 40 hectares of land to grow chillies. Not less surprising, Banyuwangi has also made achievements through the Pucangsari farmer group which has successfully developed chilli commodities and its seeds are marketed in Asia and Europe.
Not All Chilies Good to Consume
Have you ever thought, “Is the pain we feel when we eat spicy food worth the happiness we get?” Because there is an assumption circulating that not all chilies are safe for consumption. Really?
Pandawa Agri team discovered some reports about chillies that are not safe for consumption, which sparked this worry. These chillies cannot be consumed because they contain pesticide residues that exceed the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL). If these chillies are still consumed, it is feared that they can cause human diseases such as cancer, neurological diseases, and other dangerous diseases.
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There have been some reports of this chillies case in Kampar Regency, Riau Province. Dimethoate (an insecticide active ingredients) was identified in the red chillies at a level exceeding the MRL, which implies they are not safe to eat and should not be consumed. The insecticide residue accumulated due to improper use of the insecticide.
A similar case was also found in Mandailing Natal, North Sumatera Province. The study found that local chillies contained resudues of dimethoate and chlorpifiros (active ingredient of insecticide) that exceeded the MRL.
Not only in Indonesia, chili that contain pesticide residue exceeded the MRL also found in India. The research show that from 30 random chili samples in Haveri district, Kanataka, India, 11 samples contain pesticide residue above the MRL.
Consumption-friendly Chilies
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Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) in the cultivation of horticulture such as chillies can be applied so as not to harm cultivated plants, the environment, and humans who consume them. Today it is possible to apply GAP starting with reducing the use of insecticides. How is that possible?
Farmers may worry that if they reduce the use of insecticides, it could make them fail to protect crops from pests, but it could be a way to reduce insecticide residues contained in chillies. This is the challenge that might be the reason why Insecticide Reductant exist. Not to mention that farmers are turning to bio pesticides since pesticides are becoming increasingly expensive on the market. However, we know that bio pesticides — particularly those they formulate themselves— have formulations or efficacy that are unstable. They may be effective one day but ineffective the next.
The Pesticides Reductant is a brand-new innovation that farmers should take into consideration. Herbicide Reductants and Insecticide Reductants are two examples of Pesticide Reductants. Like its name, Insecticide Reductants are able to reduce the dose of insecticide use which is arguably not small, even in some demo plot experiments, insecticides can be reduced by up to 50% and do not leave residues in the environment because they are quickly degraded. Because it is made from 70% natural ingredients, Insecticide Reductants do not cause phytotoxicity effects on cultivated plants.
Insecticide Reducants are mixed to insecticides to make the insecticides effective in half doses. This helps farmers get rid of pests while protecting the environment and crop production. Because the Insecticide Reductant is a local Indonesian product (Banyuwangi – East Java) so the price does not make farmers yelled, therefore when mixed with insecticide, it can still have a cost-saving effect on crops upkeep.
Using insecticide reductants follows the effectiveness of the insecticide. So when farmers apply insecticide reductants, they are not only controlling pests but also protecting our environment. That is the GAP that we can apply to our horticultural crops such as chillies. When we can reduce the use of insecticides, then we have already reduced insecticide residues on our cultivated plants, so we don’t have to worry about consuming the food. Less is better than none, right?
Well, enjoying food without worry can be a happy thing. Happiness can come from both pleasure and pain, and it can come from anywhere else as long as everything is in the right amount and not too much. So, what else can we do to find the other happiness? 😉
Source :
- https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151001-why-pain-feels-good
- https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/endorphin
- https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151001-why-pain-feels-good
- https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/sep/14/chilli-hot-food#:~:text=The%20sensation%20of%20spiciness%20is,they%20%22love%20the%20burn%22
- https://phinemo.com/kuliner-terenak-di-dunia-versi-cnn/
- https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/banyuwangi-ditunjuk-sebagai-daerah-penyangga-cabai-rawit-nasional.html
- https://pandawaid.com/good-quality-cup-of-coffee/
- https://ejurnal.umri.ac.id/index.php/photon/article/download/1343/780
- https://talenta.usu.ac.id/jpt/article/view/4363
- https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/56545
About Pandawa Agri Indonesia
Pandawa Agri Indonesia is the first life science based company from Indonesia and currently the only one company that has innovation in the development of pesticide reduction products (pesticides reductant). Starting from this innovation, Pandawa Agri Indonesia is committed to helping agricultural businesses to create an agricultural practices that is sustainable, environmentally friendly, safe for users, and also cost-efficiency.
For more information visit : Pandawa Agri Indonesia
