A MIRROR TO INDIANS TO REFLECT WHAT THEY ARE!

The media, whether journalistic or electronic, invariably project India as an emerging economic power in competition with China though in the final analysis the country always comes a distand second compared to its giant neighbor. But if one of the senior Ministers in GOI is to be believed there is one area where Chinese are beaten hollow by Indians. That is practicing open defecation! Read more about the self criticism leveled by the Minister and introspect:

"Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today described India as the "dirtiest and filthiest" country in the world where people with mobile phones go out to answer the "call of nature". The comment was the latest addition to the minister's repertoire of controversial statements on a gamut of subjects ranging from education and research to sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and sanitation. Ramesh, who last month said open defecation was a "blot" and a "shame", returned to the topic as he highlighted what he called a "paradox". "In one area in which India can claim success in the social sector is education. We can't say the same thing in health, we can't say the same thing in nutrition, we certainly can't say the same thing in sanitation because we do remain the dirtiest and filthiest country," he said. He said around 65 per cent of rural houses had been provided with toilets but didn't use them. "Today, if you go to many parts of India, you have women with a mobile phone going out to answer the call of nature. I mean it is paradoxical," the minister, who also holds charge of sanitation, said at an event here. "You have a mobile phone and you don't have a toilet. When you have a toilet, you don't use the toilet... (but) use it as a godown." Last month he had said it was a "blot" on India and a "shame" on everyone that the country had the highest rate of open defecation in the world. According to a WHO survey, Indians account for 58 per cent of the world's population practising open defecation. China is a distant second, accounting for about 7 per cent".

There are two ways of looking at this startling statement from the Minister. One is his desperation that being the Minister heading the Rural Development portfolio he is not able to do much to improve the situation. The other interpretation can be that he is appealing to the collective conscience of the country with the anticipation that people will reform themselves. The million dollar question is who should be blamed for this sad situation? Government cannot shirk its responsibility for the continued practice of open defecation even after 67 years of independence because one of the prerequisites for using a toilet is plenty of water. Where is the water which poor villagers, most of them situated in drought and dry land areas, can access easily? Even drinking water is at a premium, let alone water for cleaning after defecation! The lamenting Minister must do more than talking in improving the village infrastructure and realize that use of cell phone does not need water!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

CELL PHONE APPLICATION FOR FOOD CHECKING FOOD QUALITY!

Consumers these days are really concerned about the food products available in the market, especially with regard to the impact of these products from the industry on their health. While countries like the US are in the grip of the so called obesity epidemic due to consumption of commercial foods, most of them calorie dense and nutrient light, the potential for this danger in many developing countries like India is increasing day by day due to high economic growth and expansion of food processing industry. Fortunately the proportion of such industrial foods in the diet in these countries is still relatively low, about 20-30% compared to 70-80% among the population in some of the wealthy countries. If this trend is to be arrested or reversed, better "front of the label" information will have to be provided to the consumer. The traffic light system that categorizes the food into three distinct groups is a good idea but industry seems to be opposing such a system to be made mandatory. The mobile phone application has now emerged that can distinguish foods on the retail shelves and help consumers to pick those which are good for the health. Here is a take on this new development.

'The Obesity Policy Coalition says the new Traffic Light Food Tracker will allow shoppers to bypass the food industry's reluctance to support traffic light labelling. Traffic light labelling puts red warnings on foods high in fat, sugar and salt, and green labels on healthy options. Users can enter the fat, sugar and sodium quantities in their food items and save each item in their "pantry" within the phone app. Earlier this year, a review of Australia's food labelling laws failed to recommend a mandatory traffic light system for unhealthy foods, saying the system should only be implemented on a voluntary basis. The Federal Government is due to respond to the recommendations for compulsory traffic light labelling later this year. Obesity Policy Coalition spokeswoman Jane Martin says the system has been shown to improve people's eating habits. "We believe if traffic lights were mandatory on all packaged foods it would guide and empower consumers to make healthier choices for themselves and their families - that's certainly what the evidence shows," she said. "It has been used in a voluntary capacity in the UK. For a category like ready meals with the traffic lights, sales of the healthy ready meals went up and sales of the unhealthy ready meals went down. "Our research shows consumers want to know how much salt, sugar, saturated fat and total fat, is in the products they buy. "Traffic light labels provide this information at a glance, and help shoppers sort the fat from the fiction." Melanie McGrice from the Dietitians Association of Australia says there should be mandatory front-of-pack food labelling that covers all food products. But she says legislation, as well as the Traffic Light Food Tracker, needs to show both the nutritional benefits and unhealthy content of each food item".

Of course it may take some time before such innovative applications become practical but the cell phone manufacturers can be expected to push such developments as they have great potential to increase their business. Of course if and when the food industry is forced to adopt the traffic light system as an industry standard, the cell phone application may become redundant. Traffic light system for evaluating food products may not be perfect since they are based on criteria like calories, sugar, fat and sodium as has been pointed out by its critics who feel that a product like Coca Cola with no sodium, fat and low calories is graded as green though every one knows the damage soft drinks can do to health. Still with proper checks and balances this system can still be of great help to the unwary consumers.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

CELL PHONES AND BRAIN TUMOUR

Cell phones have to day become an essential part of modern living and very few can live comfortably without a mobile phone. Though these wireless communication system work on electromagnetic radiations, no one believes yet that continued use of cell phones can cause any harm. But some evidence has recently surfaced questioning the safety of these devices when used for long periods. Through indirect deductions some types of brain tumors have been identified as consequences of cell phone use, probably based on the increased incidences of brain tumor, prevalent in Scandinavian countries where cell phones have been in use since 1990s.

"Some countries have taken action. Norway, Britain and Israel have issued public statements cautioning that cell phones pose a potential health risk, particularly to children and pregnant women. Proposals have been circulated in Europe and the United States to label cell phones and other wireless devices with warnings similar to those on tobacco and alcohol products. France is considering banning cell phone advertising targeted at children younger than 12, and it may outlaw sales of mobile phones that lack earphones. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which doesn't review cell phone safety but can order recalls for them, said current scientific evidence doesn't merit intervention. It does recommend using cell phones sparingly, and always with earphones or a hands-free device. Without doubt, some forms of electromagnetic radiation are harmful. Ultraviolet rays from the sun, X-rays from machines and gamma rays from space contain enough ionizing energy to break strands of DNA, causing mutations that can lead to cancer. Cell phones operate well below such frequencies. They produce non-ionizing radiation that physicists say is too weak to sever the chemical bonds of life. The energy generated by a cell phone is weaker than visible light by a factor of about 1 million, said S.T. Lakshmikumar, a researcher at the National Physical Laboratory in India".

Whether it is true or not, taking precaution is always wiser and international guidelines must be evolved regarding the best way on the usage of cell phones with minimum damage to the users. It makes sense to exclude children and pregnant women from the use of cell phones, as is being followed in many countries, till adequate clarity emerges on the issue.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com