The COVID-19 pandemic witnessed a spike in global hunger, according to a fresh report from the United Nations (UN). According to the organisation, “there was a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020…much of it likely related to the fallout of COVID-19. While the pandemic’s impact has yet to be fully mapped, a multi-agency report […]
Diet & Nutrition
Food safety: Need of the hour
Narendra Singh Tomar has issued a call for food safety on the occasion of World Food Safety Day. Tomar, the Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Union Cabinet, highlighted that “the current global pandemic has drawn our attention to issues related to food security such as sanitation, antimicrobial resistance, climate […]
Starvation continues to ravage India
India is a country of contrasts. One such contrast is the fact that it is one of the world’s largest food producers – and home to one quarter of the world’s peoples afflicted by starvation. This scenario is rooted in inequality. According to the World Food Programme, “in the last two decades, per capita income […]
AI could assist in curbing India’s NCD crisis
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are behind forty percent of all hospital stays, according to Apollo Hospitals Group chairman Prathap C. Reddy. Apollo Hospitals have, however, issued a report that predicts that artificial intelligence (AI) and so-called ‘Big Data’ could be a potential remedy to this. NCDs have been India’s top cause of death for a number […]
Salt Awareness Week 2021 draws to a close
Today, Salt Awareness Week 2021 ends. The observance is intended to promote wider knowledge of why too much salt can be harmful to your health as the effects are far-reaching. In India, salt awareness is important given how much salt Indians consume. In 2019, Down to Earth reported that Indians consume almost ten grams of […]
Healthy food: Leading authorities issues call
Leading agencies have urged commitments to ensuring the availability of healthy food in public settings. The World Health Organization (WHO), Resolve to Save Lives, and Vital Strategies issued the call. A joint release asserted that “public settings, such as schools, childcare centres, nursing homes, hospitals and correctional facilities and all other canteens of public institutions, […]
Trans fat levels: FSSAI takes stand with new rules
Trans fat levels in Indians’ food are to be reduced according to new Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) rules. The FSSAI has said that, by 2021, the amount of trans fatty acids (TFA) in oils and fats will be capped at three percent. By 2022, the amount will be capped at two […]
Food waste: Driving our climate crisis
In the battle against climate change, we need to tackle a problem with far-reaching societal ramifications: food waste. Yet a nexus including what Devex characterises as “artificially low food prices that distort markets”, citing a World Bank report, is driving the problem. Hunger is a growing crisis. Action Against Hunger tells us “around the world, […]
Could a healthy gut mean a healthy heart?
Researchers have found that the presence of a beneficial gut bacteria called Eubacterium limosum may have a preventative effect against heart disease. The results of a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry have revealed the bacteria was able to reduce the amount of trimethylamine (TMA) produced within the gut. This chemical is a […]
“Hunger will kill us before any disease does”
“Hunger will kill us before any disease does.” These were the harrowing words of Rampal, a rickshaw driver from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh who queues daily at a government-run food shelter. Rampal’s words have already rung true for some. An eight-year-old boy named Rakesh Musahar, a resident of Arrah’s Jawahar Tola’s slum area in Bhojpur […]