Mr Sadanand Shetty......

Mr Sadanand Shetty......
Sadanand Shetty...Founder OIOP

Tuesday, May 3, 2011


There are two ‘Indias’ within the country - an observation that has been made often to highlight the dichotomy between the rich and poor. While we want the world to view us as emerging superpower, it is ironic that millions living live in stark poverty. On one hand we have tones of food being wasted due to lack of storage facilities and on the other there are millions who cannot afford one meal a day. The different topics on the theme ‘Food’ in the May issue of One India One People bring out this contrast. The issue also brings into focus the growing demand for convenience food and subsequent growth of the food industry in India. There are also topics that show the way to good health. In sum, there is plenty of food for thought.   
May 2011- Food For Thought
In the lead article ‘Corporatisation of India’s agriculture: A ticking time bomb’, Sachin Jain, development journalist and social researcher, warns us of large corporations that have taken control of every facet of agriculture, even consumer behaviour and consumption patterns. As a result, he says, farmers can no longer decide what they want to grow and it is becoming increasingly unclear what kind of protection the government policies will provide them.      
 Sachin Jain
    
Siddharth Shankar, 
In ‘Inflating prices, deflating stomachs’, well-known economist Siddharth Shankar, notes that food inflation is a serious cause for concern and is here to stay for a long time. But taking effective measures such as increasing production and productivity, and reducing wastage and consumption can contain inflation to a certain extent.

It is a shame that every fifth hungry person on this planet is an Indian. Bhaskar Goswami, agriculture and trade policy analyst, writes that the reason why people go hungry in India is not scarcity of food but an ineffective public distribution system. Adding to the problem is food inflation. Only an honest and effective PDS can prevent malnutrition and death due to hunger.

Bhaskar Goswami

Loveleen De
                                                          
Though convenience food has received flak from environmentalists and nutritionists it is being lapped up like never before. While it is important that the ultimate user is aware of the nutritional content of the food and makes a choice to have or reject it, Loveleen De, freelance writer, says it would do good for consumers to pause and think at what cost is this convenience.

Noted nutritionist, health activist and founder of THAC (The Health Awareness Centre, Mumbai) Dr. Vijaya Venkat emphasizes that eating fresh, wholesome, natural, organic food is the key to good health. She urges people to keep off fast foods, as they are full of chemicals, unhealthy and offer no real nourishment.
Dr. Vijaya Venkat
Piyush Mehta
    
Piyush Mehta, G. M., Corporate Communications, Morarka Foundation, highlights the many health benefits of Organic food, which is fast gaining popularity as it is free of toxic chemicals and adulteration, which ensures a healthy life.

Ummeayman Rangwala, nutritionist with Protein Foods & Nutrition Development Association of India (PFNDAI), Mumbai, says that the boom in the packaged food industry has been largely due to consumer demand for convenience food, change in lifestyle of the middle income group and the shift from need-based to indulgence-based consumption.


In Women go carting, Soma Mitra tells us about Project Sukanya, a unique retail venture started in Kolkata by a social entrepreneur, where goods are sold on roadside mobile kiosks called ‘bou carts’ that are run by women.   
In Face to Face, Disha Shetty has a tete-a-tete with young entrepreneur-farmer Ubei Husein from Mumbai, who is trying to get farmers and consumers closer with his unique venture ‘Hari-bhari tokri’.                                              
Dr. Sukant Khurana
In the general section, Austin, Texas based researcher Dr. Sukant Khurana and his junior collaborator Brooks Robinson, raise concern about binge drinking in India, but say “Prohibition will not end the party”. Rather than banning alcohol they advocate spreading information on alcohol abuse to make a difference.     
Breathtaking Ladakh
                                                    
Know India Better features breathtaking Ladakh. Quirky, feisty, impish, feral and ridiculously photogenic. Savage roads etched across a lunar emptiness; a soulless desert where rocks bleed colour. Brittle stone walls which in its lazy folds hide unending valleys; brilliant blue skies capering beyond the grasp of earth’s snow-clad fingers. Akul Tripathi rides to this difficult terrain across the mountains -- Ladakh and agrees that it is Worth Every Gasp!
 Akul Tripathi
                                                 
                                                         Great Indians profiles
Swami Keshwanand - an educationist, social-reformer and nationalist (1883-1972) 

Swami Keshwanand
Swami Keshwanand was a renowned social reformer and a leading freedom fighter of the Gandhian era of freedom movement, who along with making people conscious of the consequences of social evils, worked for mass awakening, rural upliftment and propagation of nationalism and national language.

Prof. N. G. Ranga - A great parliamentarian and peasant leader (1909-1995)
Prof. N. G. Ranga
           Prof. N. G. Ranga was one of those few prominent leaders of India who in the Gandhian era of Indian freedom movement (1917-47) and many decades after the independence, could well understand the basic problems of peasants of India. He was a real and top-ranking farmer leader of South India.   

Major Laishram Jyotin Singh AC- Courage unfathomed (1972-2010)    
Major Laishram Jyotin Singh AC
He could have easily saved himself but as an army man, he did not. Major Laishram Jyotin Singh, though unarmed, charged at the terrorist and was killed in the process. His brave act saved the lives of ten people.