Another UN Conference-Will any thing substantial come out it?

It is an irrefutable fact that we have side by side hunger as well as obesity, co-existing, with each passing day the latter cases growing at an alarming rate. This is attributed to inequitable distribution of wealth which is mostly concentrated in rich industrialized countries like the US, Europe, japan and a few others. While ways and means to tackle poverty and hunger are routinely discussed the progress towards a world free of people with starvation and near starvation is still a mirage. Global aid to ameliorate this ugly situation does bring down hunger significantly and food aid can never be the answer to banish the scourge of hunger on a permanent footing. The key to overcome this curse is enabling people in affected countries to earn more through economic development so that they can access to the food with ease. Agricultural productivity to day is more or less satisfactory growing sufficient food to meet the needs of the entire planet and new technologies are continuously emerging to help the farmers to attain higher and higher land productivity. If it is a question of generating income among not well to do population what a UN conference can achieve through a conference is a debatable point. Nonetheless if the forthcoming UN conference in Rome can continue to sensitize the governments in various countries regarding the food problem and health issues arising out of food it can keep them in focus, lest they are forgotten. Here is a take on this development which is billed as path breaking for the future of this plant  .

"An upcoming international conference on nutrition will focus on the twin evils of malnutrition and obesity.  Representatives from at least 140 governments, including 90 ministers and members of private institutions and civil societies, will gather in Rome next week to devise strategies for improving the nutritional status of hundreds of millions of people around the world. The conference, which is jointly organized by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization will address multiple issues related to nutrition.  These include the problems of under-nutrition, obesity, and chronic diseases related to poor diet. Global statistics are not encouraging.  WHO reports more than 800 million people suffer from chronic hunger.  More than 160 million children are affected by chronic malnutrition or stunting.  At the same time, it says 42 million children under age five are overweight.  These figures tell an even more dramatic story when statistics on adult under and over-nutrition are factored in. FAO and WHO agree the global food system is broken and must be fixed to provide healthy nutritional diets for those who are deprived.  They say it is possible to enact policies that can improve the quality of the food supply, provide healthy foods and intervene directly in life-saving therapy when needed. Xiangjun Yao, the director of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, says good nutrition is composed of many strands.  Therefore, she says there must be a holistic approach to cover the whole food chain. "To us, the food system, it should be something from the farm to the table, from what we call farm to fork and, that covers production, processing, storage, distribution, preparation and also consumption,"  Yao said. The U.N. agencies will be proposing a large, comprehensive list of strategies to the conference for approval.  The plan of action will call for greater focus on the nutrition of children from birth to age two to avoid malnutrition and stunting.  It also calls for greater attention to the needs of pregnant and lactating women as well as to the most neglected and socially marginalized groups in society. The centerpiece of the conference, which will run from November 19 to 21, will be a political declaration asking governments to commit themselves to eradicate hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition worldwide by 2025.  Director of the WHO's Department of Nutrition, Franceso Branca, tells VOA that the so-called SDG II or Sustainable Development Goal will go beyond the Millennium Development Goals, which have succeeded in halving hunger in at least 63 countries by 2015". 

While number of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition is coming down as per the statistics provided by FAO, it is the obesity problem that haunts many developed and developing countries which does not show any abatement in spite of a slew of measures to arrest its growth and reduce such population significantly. Though over eating is more like a disease which may need a medical approach, what is intriguing is why people indulge in gluttony knowing pretty well that it is dangerous to their health. Modern food industry is often blamed for tempting people with highly palatable but nutritionally deficient food products in most convenient formats.but personal choices are important and younger generation needs to be "intensely" educated to shun high calorie, high fat, high salt foods illustrating the dangerous consequences of opting for such foods. Industry cannot be expected to do much as it is a profit center constantly trying to ensure adequate returns to its investments and the industry will always cater to the demand from the market regarding what foods consumers want. The forthcoming conference must focus on an international commitment to upgrade the curriculum and educational practices to obviate the situation. Along with policy supports which can subtly change the product mix coming out of the industry, a new era must emerge where "conscious" eating may become a norm.      

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

LICKING THE MALNUTRITION SCOURGE-INEFFECTIVENESS OF GOI PROGRAMS

If any Indian citizen wants to go through a depression phase, please read the stinging criticism of GOI's program, spending billions of rupees to tackle the problem of malnourished children in the country! What a pathetic situation that exists in thousands of nutrition management centers where thousands of workers are employed on the pay role of the government! In spite of such resource allocation the country is not able to make any substantial impact on the sorry conditions under which millions of children live with no hope. Why such insensitivity? Conceded that in a democracy there can be small gap between targets and actual accomplishments but not this type of gaping hole in the program with criminals and shameless touts, siphoning of the earmarked funds through devious means. Capital punishment in this country must be reserved for such culprits who make money at the expense of poor children! Here is a report of the Controller and Auditor General about this massive financial misappropriation.

"A decade after a CAG audit revealed how a scheme to help infants and young children was failing, a fresh report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday says the number of malnourished children exceeds the 40% mark in 10 states as on March, 2011. The audit of the flagship Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) says 49% children in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar (82%), Haryana (43%), Jharkhand (40%), Odisha (50%), Rajasthan (43%), UP (41%) and Delhi (50%) are moderately to severely malnourished".

in stead of proclaiming from the house top catchy slogans like aam aadmi, gharibi hatao, food security and cash transfer, governments at the center as well as in the states must concentrate on plugging the holes in the program. It is time that a separate dedicated cadre of committed service oriented rural development personnel is created with short time training for managing children's program. The service conditions for them should be such that their performance should be measured in terms of percentage of children uplifted through their service as certified by health specialists.   

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

THE "NATIONAL SHAME" DECLARATION- THE TRUE AUTHORS!

Who ever has not listened to the "heart rendering" declaration by the venerable Prime Minister of India stating that child malnutrition and stunted growth of Indian children is a national shame? Probably every patriotic Indian must have hanged his or her head in shame at least for a "minute" after hearing the "confession" of the CEO of a country after being at the helm of affairs continuously for 7 years! An investigative journalist has now brought out the gory details of the alliance behind the fulminations of the PM. It appears that the so called charitable foundation which flashed this news was indeed backed by the muscle of food industry represented by a major bakery goods manufacturer and it is suspected that the intentions are not that honest as to be expected. Though there is nothing wrong in food industry supporting charitable activities beneficial to children, it is the impact created by such programs that will determine the quality of support extended. Here is a take on this issue on which probably the last word has not yet been spoken.

"Here is what I figured out. The report is a continuation of Naandi's malnutrition related past work for which it has had two worthy partners — India's leading biscuit maker Britannia and a high sounding outfit called Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). It is quite an intricate arrangement that links all these organisations — Britannia developed some biscuits to 'fight child malnutrition' with 'technical advice' from GAIN and partnered with Naandi to provide these biscuits to school children in Andhra Pradesh in collaboration with the state government. The success of this three or four-way partnership encouraged Britannia CEO Vinita Bali to set up Britannia Nutrition Foundation with the lofty goal of 'securing every child's right to growth and development through the right to nutrition'. New diva of nutrition? Britannia CEO Vinita Bali. For this contribution to fighting malnutrition through biscuits, cakes and breads her company makes, GAIN nominated her on its Board of Directors. GAIN website is, indeed, an eye opener. It describes Bali as a 'champion of malnutrition'. Going by the accolades showered on her I suppose it is high time the government considers shutting down its National Institute of Nutrition and other agencies and let Bali and her Nutrition Foundation take charge of India's nutrition programmes. After all, she appears to have the magic wand, or shall we say the magic cookie, to banish malnutrition from India. Britannia, according to GAIN, already reaches 176 million Indian children between 3 and 12. Britannia is not alone in the hall of fame. The list of GAIN's partners includes the who's who of the global food industry — Unilever, Pepsi Cola, Coca Cola, Mars, Kraftfood, Ajinomoto, Tetra Pack, Danone, Cargill and so on. Needless to say, they all share GAIN's philosophy of banishing malnutrition through biscuits and sugary syrups. The organisation is also one of the beneficiaries of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. GAIN has been partnering with the Indian government, particularly the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), our flagship scheme for child nutrition, bringing the 'experience' of its business partners to India. One is left wondering how keen all these convoluted alliances, partnerships and food industryled initiatives are to solve our hunger and malnutrition problems. Are factory-made, ready-to-eat products like fortified biscuits and cookies- manufactured by food giants and bought by governments at the expense of taxpayers' money — the only solution to India's malnourishment problem? Should we let food companies commercialise malnutrition? Is business in the garb of philanthropy or corporate responsibility a good idea for India's malnourished? Do we need to wait for the next report from the likes of Naandi on the solution to the problem which it has portrayed so colourfully in its just released report?"

There are industry baiters galore who suspect every action taken by the industry for some hidden agenda. Before one passes of the above comments by the critic as that of a perpetual "doubter", adequate efforts must be made to get to the real truth and this must be done by the government without further delay. Only help coming in the way with no strings attached and no hidden agenda behind the support must be accepted and the impact of such alliances with the government must be periodically assessed to defuse criticism of favoring one or the other support organizations. National Institute of Nutrition is a pioneering establishment and it must be associated with any survey or study on malnutrition and under nutrition in India.  

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

  

FOOD FOR THE MASSES-THE HARSH REAILTIES IN INDIA

Here is a well analyzed commentary on food situation in India and the unpardonable mismanagement by the country during the last few years. Probably every Indian will have to hang his head in shame when it is widely known that that the country ranks very low when it comes to looking after its hungry citizens and malnourished children. Is there no accountability in the country to pin point the crime of mismanagement on those responsible for it and bring them to books for this abysmal situation? May be  it is time for an inquisition into the past, punish those who did not do what they were supposed to do and set right the priorities. Of course with the political situation as it is to day, there is no hope that the country will ever be able to pull out of this quagmire in the foreseeable future!    

IT'S A paradox of plenty. At a time when India ranks 67th among 81 countries in the 2011 Global Hunger Index prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute, mountains of grain continue to rot in godowns while more recently, irate farmers spilled tonnes of potatoes on the streets in Punjab. A few months ago, it was tomato farmers in Jharkhand, and then it was the turn of onion growers in Rajasthan. And if you think this is a recent phenomenon, you are mistaken. I have seen this happening for nearly 25 years now across the country at regular intervals. Disgusting, isn't it? Well, the visuals of food rotting speak volumes of the criminal apathy, neglect and callousness with which we, as a nation, have failed to address the shameful scourge of hunger. For a country that has the dubious distinction of having the largest population of hungry in the world — close to 320 million — and with 42 percent of children officially clubbed as malnourished, the spectacle of massive quantities of food being allowed to go waste is an unpardonable crime. What is still worse is that hunger proliferates in a country that claims to be the world's largest democracy. For nearly five years, procurement has hovered at 50-60 million tonnes. Someone had worked it out that if we keep a bag of grain over another, and stack 60 million tonnes in a vertical row, we could actually walk to the moon and back. With so much of surplus grain, and with unmanageable quantities of fruits and vegetables rotting by the roadside, there is no justification for growing hunger. At the same time, it is baffling to find staple food being exported while the population of the hungry and malnourished continues to multiply. No wonder, hunger continues to keep pace with economic growth. Over the years, farming has become a big gamble. It is not only the worrisome vagaries of weather that more often than not plays havoc, farmers are also faced with a strange phenomenon — produce and perish. Take the case of Suryabhagwan, a farmer in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. This year, he voluntarily announced that he would rather work as a 'coolie' than undertake paddy cultivation. Already under heavy debt and knowing that another season of paddy cultivation will only add to his indebtedness, his call for a 'crop holiday' soon reverberated. Within weeks, the idea spread like wildfire, with the result that now more than 1 lakh hectares in the two irrigated districts of East and West Godavari lie barren. AP is a paddy growing area. While production has been steadily on an upswing over the years, adequate market infrastructure for procurement has not been created. The result is that despite a very high production capacity, there is little space for storage. This is not only true of AP or for that matter Punjab and Haryana, the country's food bowl, but extends to the whole country. The tragedy manifested after the initial years of the Green Revolution, when food became abundantly available. The focus then shifted away from agriculture. With public sector investment drastically falling over the past few decades, agriculture was left at the mercy of the rain gods. Protecting every single grain of food produced to feed the growing population of deprived sections never became a national priority. While production increased, the accompanying market and storage infrastructure were not created. India does not even have the capacity to handle and absorb an excess production of 5 percent, whether it is of wheat, potato or cotton. Whatever the policymakers may say, the neglect of agriculture was deliberate. It is essentially designed to open up agriculture to private investment. Farmers have been the victims of a bigger and hidden design to push them out of agriculture. The more they produce, the more they suffer. Produce and perish, and thereby make way for corporate agriculture.

In stark contrast look at India's neighbor on the northern side which has systematically tackled its hunger problem through sustained and purposeful agricultural policies in the past to become a major food producer with sizable surplus for export. The argument that a democratic country like India does not have the same elbow room to emulate China is a lot of Hogwash! If really there is a concern all around regarding the grave situation existing in India and about its bleak future, let there be a National Government with required mandate to evolve a tangible work plan to tackle some of the major problems on a mission mode within a time frame. Probably this may be a cry in the wilderness!

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

A PRIME MINISTER'S MUSINGS! KNOWN PROBLEMS, NO SOLUTION!

Rising food prices in almost all countries have focused on the nutrition and health of people who are most vulnerable because of poor economic conditions. According to the FAO there are at least 30 poor countries in the world where food riots can happen if global food inflation surges further. It appears many knowledgeable people believe that there is a link between climate change and food security, especially in some of the developing countries. Probably agriculture and land productivity are key factors that can influence nutrition and health and adequate attention has not been bestowed on these issues. it is not often realized that agriculture is the mainstay of a very large number of people and in a country like India more than half the labor population depend heavily on agriculture for the bulk of their incomes. Some studies in India do point out that some correlation exists between agricultural performance of a state and the nutritional status of its people. Those having high agricultural productivity invariably have lower malnutrition rates for both adults and children. Malnutrition and under nutrition are also influenced by ingrained eating habits and feeding practices involving new born babies, maternal and child health care and to some extent the safety of water available to some communities. Against this background Prime Minister of India recently opened his mind to place on record what perspectives he has regarding these issues..

The prime minister said malnutrition remained a serious problem in India and many developing countries. Globally, nearly 1 billion people still went hungry. Nearly one in four children under age of five was underweight. The problem of hidden hunger—deficiencies of essential vitamins and minerals, such as iron, Vitamin A and iodine — was also severe. Nutrition was therefore a serious challenge that had not received the attention it truly deserved. In India, rapid growth in agriculture with particular emphasis on the sub sectors growing food and on the poorer regions would help address issues of availability and access. But, experience had also shown that rapid growth in the GDP in general and, even agriculture in particular, though necessary, was not sufficient to produce desirable nutritional and health outcomes among the socially and economically disadvantaged groups of the community. There were other causes that needed to be addressed. "We need to address the issues of absorption of nutrition, health and hygiene, which in turn depend on many other factors such as the availability of clean drinking water, sanitation and also on the education and status of women in society. We do not see agricultural development as the only element in our strategy but it is nonetheless a key part of any viable strategy."

Of course no one should have any quarrel with him regarding the problems as illustrated by him but what is missing is the palliative he has in mind to overcome this complex problem. Having headed the government at the center for more than 7 years one expects clear cut answers for dealing with these issues of food, nutrition and health, in stead of long sermons. The record of GOI does not inspire confidence that any thing tangible will happen during the next 3 years when another election is on the people. Providing huge subsidies to the farming sector did not prevent them from committing suicide. The much mismanaged PDS and the grandiose scheme of providing food grains at throw away prices did not improve the conditions of the poor a wee bit. A honest citizen, paying his taxes and living by the rule book has become a silent spectator to financial scams, occurring under the very nose of the Prime Minister and the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor. How can this country hope to become a super economic power with almost half its population languishing in poverty and hunger? Development seems to be only for the privileged ones while the majority is slipping more and more into perpetual misery! Probably with deep faith in God they may be willing to wait for a savior who can redeem them from the abysmal depth of desperation.

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