WATER CONSERVATION-INDUSTRY EFFORTS

Water is the elixir of life and though it is abundantly available in this planet, accessibility is becoming increasingly difficult because of mindless over exploitation of this precious natural resource. If a country like India is facing acute water scarcity, it is due to short sight on the part of the planners who failed to put in place a realistic and practical water policy to prevent over exploitation. There are thousands of house holds in rural as well as urban India having limited accessibility to safe drinking water while rain water is allowed to flow into the sea without harnessing. On the other hand food processing industry is one of the most water intensive sectors with the safety of end products closely linked to optimum use of water. While the minimum water needs of this sector must be ensured, unnecessary wastage due to inadequate management oversight must be prevented at all cost. Rain water harvesting and waste water recycling must be an integral part of any planned industry as water crisis is likely to assume monstrous proportion in the coming years. Recent acclamation of an international food company for its yeomen contribution to water conservation must set a lesson for other food industry players to emulate the same for the good of "Mother Earth"

"Nestle has been named the winner of the Stockholm Industry Water Award for its leadership and performance to improve water management in its internal operations and throughout its supply chain. The Award Committee also recognised Nestle's work to improve the water management of its suppliers, which includes over 25 million people who are involved in its entire value chain. Nestle employs 1,000 agronomists and water experts, who work directly with farmers to help them reduce their water requirements, increase crop yields, and minimise pollution. In 2009-2010, Nestle provided expert training and technical support for 300,000 farmers and the company continues to collaborate with other food industry leaders to establish best practice and guidelines for sustainable water use at a farm level. Nestle also has a leading role in the 2030 Water Resources Group. Award Committee Member and Director of Water Projects at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Joppe Cramwinckel, said: "Through its unwavering commitment, Nestle has established itself as a leader in smart water management and is deserving of this prestigious award. It is providing an example for other food producers and distributors to follow. With agriculture accounting for nearly 70% of global water use, and food demand expected to double by 2050, companies have an increasing responsibility to improve food chain resource efficiency." The honourary award will be presented to the chairman of Nestle SA, P. Brabeck-Letmathe, at a ceremony on August 24 during the 2011 World Water Week in Stockholm. When receiving the news, he said: "I am most grateful for this recognition. We have identified water as the biggest challenge for future food security, and beyond that, for economic growth. This is probably the most prestigious award in this area for a company - and it will be a strong encouragement for us to continue with our efforts." Nestle is the largest food and nutrition company in the world, employing around 280 000 people in over 100 countries. Over the past decade, Nestle has reduced the total water withdrawals by over 30 percent, more than doubled the water efficiency of their internal operations and made significant reductions in the quantity of wastewater discharged into the environment".

It is surprising that this company which has its operations in India does not propagate its good deeds done in India, if any and an informed public is much more valuable than investment in saturated advertisements about their consumer products, blared across millions of house holds in the country through electronic media. With their portfolio including some of the most water demanding products like dairy, tea, coffee etc Indian public would like to know about their efforts in India in the area of water conservation. It is not easy to forget the bad experience of Coca Cola company in Kerala which was accused of destroying the water resources in the area of its beverage plant operations by over drawing ground water. It must be remembered that this incidence had tarred the very image of trans national companies which may take many more years to restore.

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

GUERRILLA GARDEN!-WHAT IS THAT?

Whether it is a fad, curiosity or dedication, urban farming or gardening is increasingly being promoted in the US as well as Canada and people involved seem to be excited about joining such a movement in large numbers. It is not sure whether such type of initiatives would solve the food problems and overcome the pessimism of people about the safety of foods delivered to them by the organized sector of food trade. However what is to be admired is the enthusiasm with which people are queuing up before urban administrations in many cities to allot plots to them for farming. Here is an example from Vancouver in Canada where urban gardening has become literally a craze!

"Five years ago, there were only 780 community garden plots in Vancouver. Now there are 3,400. City planners faced with unrelenting clamour for more spots are striving to boost the number to 5,000 in the next decade, says Mary-Clare Zak, the city's social-policy director. With waits as long as three years for the city-serviced community garden plots, many people are turning to unauthorized "guerrilla gardens," one of the most impressive of which was started by a wheelchair-bound man along unused railroad tracks by Granville Island. "He was surprised that nobody stole his tomatoes," Tracey says. "Now all along the tracks you can see, the neighbours have taken it on." Throughout the city, green-minded property owners are also contributing to the urban agriculture boom, letting small-scale farmers and neighbours use their yards to grow food, often in exchange for a share of the produce, Tracey says".

One of the advantages of urban gardening is that the greenery created inside the city premises provides some relief from carbon pollution as they act as C02 sinks. Besides who does not like the refreshing environment provided by the greenery amidst concrete cement structures that distinguish urban areas from agricultural lands. Involvement of whole families in such efforts expose them to the intricacies involved in agriculture. Why are they called "guerrilla gardens" in stead of the well known terminology "urban gardens"?. Probably many gardens are created on plots sanctioned by the city authorities, considered legal but a significant number have come up in public places, abandoned city land and other non-decrepit places not frequented by people and since they are not legal they are being called guerrilla gardens. While authorities are lenient on such "farmers" because of the benefit society derives from such endeavors, it is a tribute to the honesty of citizens in these places that the produce raised in unauthorized lands are rarely stolen!

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

FLOATING ENERGY SOURCES-NEW APPROACH FOR SOLAR POWER

Energy crisis that is haunting the world seems to be becoming worse with the crude oil prices in the global market reaching stratospheric heights putting the economic conditions of many developing countries under great stress. Though efforts are under way for finding out that elusive alternate energy source to replace the dwindling fossil fuel supplies, no single strategy appears to be commercially viable yet. Solar energy research has been able to make remarkable strides during the last three decades but the peak utilization of sun's abundant energy is yet to be achieved. One of the constrains is availability of adequate land that can accommodate vast solar energy arrays in many countries where land prices are exorbitantly high affecting the cost of generation significantly. Water bodies, wherever they exist in abundance, can become centers for establishing huge solar energy production and this strategy is now being propounded, considered suitable for many countries including India. Here is an expose on this new development.   

Sunengy, for example, is courting markets in developing countries that are plagued by electricity shortages but have abundant water resources and intense sunshine, according to Philip Connor, the company's co-founder and chief technology officer. Chris Robine, SPG Solar's chief executive, said he had heard from potential customers as far away as India, Australia and the Middle East. When your land is precious, he said, "There's a great benefit in that you have clean power coming from solar, and it doesn't take up resources for farming or mining." Sunengy, based in Sydney, said it had signed a deal with Tata Power, India's largest private utility, to build a small pilot project on a hydroelectric reservoir near Mumbai. Solaris Synergy, meanwhile, said it planned to float a solar array on a reservoir in the south of France in a trial with the French utility EDF. MDU Resources Group, a $4.3 billion mining and energy infrastructure conglomerate based in Bismarck, N.D., has been in talks with SPG Solar about installing floating photovoltaic arrays on settling ponds at one of its California gravel mines, according to Bill Connors, MDU's vice president of renewable resources. "We don't want to put a renewable resource project in the middle of our operations that would disrupt mining," Mr. Connors said. "The settling ponds are land we're not utilizing right now except for discharge and if we can put that unproductive land into productive use while reducing our electric costs and our carbon foot footprint, that's something we're interested in."

The move by Tata Powers to experiment with this new approach is laudable. Establishing such generating facilities in hydro-electric reservoirs makes sense because the solar energy power generated can be integrated with the hydro-electric power nearby. Probably it may take at least a decade for this strategy to take hold and establish its viability. 

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

THE BANANA "STORY"-NICARAGUAN EXPERIENCE

Use of pesticides for crop protection is an inevitable step adopted during the last one century and to day's food production has reached a level that is in pace with population growth, largely due to application of these chemical protectants. What is being criticized is their indiscriminate use causing havoc to all those exposed to them. If there is a successful organic food movement to day that meets the needs of consumers who want "clean" foods, it is largely due to the "scare" factor on account of pesticide and insecticide residues on agricultural crops. It is true that crops can be raised without using any chemical but whether such a practice can be adopted universally is debatable. If 100% of the world population is to be fed on organic foods, it is doubtful whether it is technically and logistically feasible. This is where one has to consider judicious use of chemical food protectants with least possible risk to human health. Here is an example of a multinational company using a deadly pesticide recklessly on its Banana plantations in a developing country in South America causing untold misery to thousands of its employees working in the field without caring about the consequences.

"We see them in piles at the grocery store, on our kitchen counters, atop our cereal, but for many plantation workers in Nicaragua, daily exposure to bananas has had a much more profound impact on their lives. Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten's Bananas! artfully relates the true stories of a handful of these plantation workers as they battle the Dole Food Co. in court.Represented by famed Los Angeles lawyer Juan "Accidentes" Dominguez, the workers sued Dole for using a pesticide known as Nemagon on its bananas in Nicaragua during the 1970s, even after the chemical was banned in other countries across the world. Though the chemical has been proven to cause a wide range of health issues, Dominguez chose to focus on the cases in which exposure to the chemical caused sterility.As the film follows Dominguez's journey through Nicaragua to talk to some of the affected Dole workers first-hand and subsequently fight for their rights, it also provides a very intimate look at the heart-wrenching circumstances and stories of the employees that were unknowingly exposed to the harmful chemicals. By piecing together recent interviews with Nicaraguan men, women and children and footage of what went on at the country's banana plantations more than 30 years ago, Gertten is able to shed light on a side of the global food industry that many do not know exists".

Millions of people world over eat these nicely presented and branded banana without ever knowing the story behind the dangerous cultivation practices followed by the company in search of higher and higher profits and the documentary film "Bananas!" deserves applause for graphically detailing the woes of the banana plantation workers. Of course lawyers are bound to smell money in pursuing legal cases against the company for financial compensation and ultimately the workers may get some consolation. But such financial hand outs will never be able to restore their health, consigning them to a life of eternal misery! In India the tragic story of Endosulfan in Kerala highlights the fact that it is not only multinational companies who are callous and even governments can be criminally negligent in protecting the health of their citizens by not taking timely action in banning dangerous pesticides. Consumers who eat Dole brand banana must remember the sacrifices of the Nicaraguan plantation workers when and if they eat these "misery" fruits again after reading this story!

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

ANOTHER G8 MEETING-WILL SOME THING CONCRETE HAPPEN?

In a world sharply divided by economic power, most countries coming under the "poor nation' status find them selves in dire straights to meet the minimum food needs of their population. Most of them are located in Africa, Asia and South American continents but those in Africa are considered most impoverished, measured by any yardstick. Colonial countries like France and England, which controlled most of these countries for many years, did not do much to improve the lot of people under their yolk but exploited their wealth to enrich themselves. Though pious declarations are made from time to time by rich countries regarding their intention to economically help these countries through financial aid and soft loans, very little has happened at the ground level. The G8 countries, the rich man's club of the world, meeting in Italy in 2009 pledged assistance to the tune of $ 22 billion for improving the economic conditions of population in Africa but this has not been fulfilled undermining their credibility. The recent meeting in May 2011 in France was anticipated to address this issue and further reaffirm their commitment to the welfare of poor and downtrodden people of the African continent. It is unfortunate that this issue was by-passed and in stead focus was only on two countries, Egypt and Tunisia where political upheavals have taken place.

Fan said, "When the G8 met in Italy, they committed $22 billion to support smallholder agriculture in developing countries, particularly Africa. Today, that commitment is still there [but] they have not met much of the commitment yet." He warned the world is poised to have another food crisis, unless the pledge is paid in full. "I think it's already coming. In the last 10 months, the wheat price has increased by a hundred percent. Maize price has also increased by 100%. In addition, prices for meat, dairy products have also increased," he said. When food prices increase many poor, not only just the consumers, but also even producers, suffer," he said, and added, "If it happens again, we will probably lose the progress we have made in the last decade or so." He warned women and children are the most vulnerable to volatile prices and markets. Hunger and malnutrition, he said, can permanently damage a child's brain development. "We need to fix this problem." He rejected the idea of spending cutbacks on agriculture because of the global recession. "Agriculture is so critical in terms of hunger reduction, poverty reduction and also in terms of future growth. If we do not invest in agriculture…more people will suffer from hunger and poverty," he said.

The thinking to cut down on agricultural aid is fraught with danger because food riots, as they have happened in 2008, will become a regular feature due to recurring food shortages and high prices of staples. Besides, attempts by transnational agricultural giants with unshakable monopoly on new technologies see Africa as a "fertile field" to establish their seed "hegemony". Added to this, neo-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, China and others are "usurping" millions of hectares of land in Africa and South America for cultivating food crops for use in their own countries for insulating their population from food shortages. Unless the small and marginal farmers in poor countries are "enabled" to derive maximum benefits from their small holdings through new, innovative and efficient farming technologies, there will not be any peace on earth, with food riots spreading all around. It is high time that G8 countries realize this truth and honestly try to diffuse the situation through massive commitment to agriculture in these countries.

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

FOOD SECURITY BILL-WILL IT CHANGE THE PRESENT GROUND REALITIES?

Here is a take on the line of thinking of GOI regarding food security assurance to its people as enunciated in the proposed food security bill. While on paper it looks impressive one cannot be sure about the strategy and practical steps that are needed to implement it at the ground level and ensure that the targeted beneficiaries are really benefited

"The draft Food Security Bill makes it compulsory for state governments to pay a food security allowance to targeted sections in case of failure to supply food grain through a sweeping welfare scheme targeted at nearly three-fourths of the population. The amount will be decided by the central government. The draft bill also presses for a radical overhaul of the food distribution system by giving incentives to independent agencies that procure food grain, according to a the draft, viewed by ET. The bill calls for improved "modern and scientific" storage and doorstep delivery of grain to targeted public distribution system outlets. The National Food Security Act 2011 is the most expansive - politicians have called it showpiece-legislation of the UPA government in its second term in office. It covers all India, except Jammu and Kashmir. The priority households, the main beneficiaries of this bill, will be selected from the poorest 46% in rural areas and 26% in urban areas. Another 29% and 22% of the population from rural and urban areas, respectively will be treated as general category". "The bill also guarantees 7 kgs of grain to every person belonging to priority households and 3 kgs to individuals from general households every month at subsidised prices. The draft has cast the so-called National Food Security Bill 2011 into the mother of all welfare schemes by providing free food to children and pregnant women and encompassing swathes of people such as the destitute, the homeless and migrant workers, as ET had reported on Sunday. The draft bill also envisions a radical change in welfare schemes by making women of 18 years and above as head of selected households that can access rice, wheat and nutri-cereals with ration cards. The draft bill is that it pushes for the creation of an advisory body called the National Food Security Commission to help the central government implement the landmark welfare scheme. The commission will advise the central government on "synergising existing schemes and framing news ones for entitlements". It will also recommend steps for effective implementation of schemes through greater government oversight by dramatically overhauling the nation's food distribution system, says the draft". "Under the food commission's watch, guidelines will be issued for the training, capacity building and performance management of people involved in the implementation of welfare schemes, says the draft. The commission will also prepare annual reports on implementation of the Act. The commission will be headquartered in Delhi and comprise a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and five other members, provided that there at least two women and at least one person each from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The centre will pay the salaries of the commission's bosses, support staff and administrative expenses, says the draft. The emphasis on women and 'vulnerable' groups is a common thread running through the draft bill, which largely follows a script laid out by the National Advisory Council (NAC) led by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. For example, the draft bill's guidelines to identify the so-called priority and general households sharply resemble an NAC explanatory note on the bill". "The draft bill says that the centre must periodically prescribe guidelines to identify households selected for the food schemes, including exclusion criteria. It also says these households must be reviewed and updated through periodic surveys, which happens to be another key NAC recommendation to the food ministry, which has prepared the draft and is tasked with the Act's implementation. The draft bill also fixes responsibilities on the central and state governments. The centre must allocate "required quantity" of food grain to state governments under targeted PDS from a central pool of stocks. This allocation must be revised annually based on actual or estimated population counts. And in case of short supply of food grain, the centre must give states funds equivalent to the deficit at prices it fixes, says the draft. States must implement and monitor schemes to ensure "actual delivery and supply of grain to entitled persons". States are to also establish food security commissions under the ambit of the national advisory body, says the draft. State governments are to support breastfeeding for six months from birth through "counselling and related assistance".

How far the new policy will alleviate the hunger and poverty in a country, notorious for corruption and misuse of public resources, remains to be seen. While the thinking behind the Bill is laudable, logistical problems and hang over from the past can derail the new approach. Another imponderable thing is whether this Bill will remain on paper or be implemented. With the food subsidy expected to go up from the present Rs 60,000 crore to 100,000 crore a year if and when the new policy is implemented, the country can ill-afford to waste such a huge public money through mismanagement and inefficiency.

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

GRAPE EXTRACT-A NEW WEAPON AGAINST DIABETES?

Drinking red wine in moderate amounts is considered healthy because of the presence of desirable antioxidant chemicals which are derived from the grapes used for making these products. Resveratrol, a chemical present in grapes is supposed to be both cardio-protective as well as chemo-protective, though these findings are based on animal studies. Indirectly, the relatively low incidence of cardiac disease amongst French population which consumes high levels of red wines has been attributed to the beneficial effect of chemicals present in wines which include Resveratrol, antioxidants, polyphenols, flavonoids, etc. Recent reports finding evidence for the beneficial effect of consuming just the grape extract further supports the already known facts about health impact of grape products. The findings that grape extracts can change the profile of fats in the muscle cell membranes to resist insulin resistance contribute to the understanding of the role played by chemicals derived from grapes

"Researchers from the University of Montpellier in the South of France report that rats fed a high-fat and high-sugar diet but supplemented with grape polyphenols displayed a lower accumulation of fat in muscle tissues. Diets high in saturated fats are reported to worsen Insulin resistance, whereby cells do not respond adequately to the normal levels of insulin produced by the body – a marker of the onset of Diabetes, explained the researchers in the British Journal of Nutrition. The affect of fat on insulin sensitivity is said to occur via changes to the compositions of cell membranes, and particularly the phospholipids in the membrane. The new study sought to identify if consumption of a polyphenol-rich extract from grapes could change the composition of fat in muscle cell membranes, with a particular focus on phospholipids and triglycerides".

There are hundreds of publications singing the virtues of wine consumption but almost all the studies were made using animals like rats, raising the inevitable question regarding their applicability in humans. What is lacking is hard data based on clinical studies using human subjects which may be difficult to organize due to practical problems in getting critical size of population needed to scientifically establish the truth. Nonetheless broad indications emerging from animal studies on products, can still serve as a practical guide for humans as long as they are safe for consumption.

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