MORE FOOD, MORE STARVATION-THE PARADOX!

How can one explain the reality to day that the global food grain yield grew by 4% while the food prices registered a staggering 22%?. The 2007 food grain production of 2.3 billion tons, mathematically speaking must satisfy the needs of the current world population and hunger should not be as critical as being experienced at present. The classical demand-supply nexus should have brought down the prices instead of showing dramatic upward swing!

According the World Bank Report of September 2, 2008, 3.14 billion people lived in 2005 with less than $ 2.50 a day of which 44% had less than $ 1.25 income per day. A larger question is whether these statistics tell the real story or it is making hunger a sensational news. When one talks about average values, there are many who may be getting much less than this amount and unless a stratification of income at different levels is done a clear picture of the extent of real destitute that live in this world cannot be correctly estimated. The value of $ 1.25 is not too low to be decried and in terms of rupees it can fetch about Rs 70 which can definitely buy foods that will keep the body and soul together. Even at to day's costs 400g of Ragi or wheat or any other grain, 200 ml of milk, 50g of dal, 200g of vegetables and 30g of oil can be purchased at Rs 20-24, at least in India. Of course this needs to be cooked before consumption for which fuel and a roof over the head are required. Expenditure on clothing and other needs also will cost money. The per capita figure indicates that in a family of 2 the income becomes Rs 140 which is not a small amount to be frowned upon.But all said and done hunger cannot be an issue at such income levels.

Mal nutrition is another thing which should not be confused with hunger. The World Bank report says 30000 people die every day because of mal nutrition, curable diseases and severe starvation of which 85% are children and in the last 40 years more than 300 million deaths that occurred were avoidable. One of the anomalies of wealth distribution is reflected by the fact that top 10% of the world own 84% of wealth while bottom half of the population barely owns 1% of the wealth. It may not be correct to point an accusing finger to more than 1000 billionaires who straddle this world as most of them became what they are to day due to their enterprising and intense efforts, though opportunities must have played a key role. The question for which a ready answer cannot be found is how such a situation can be handled globally and how such distortions set right? The millennium goals, more talked about than acted upon, give some hope as the rich nations pledged economic help to their poor counterparts. The world must change the philosophy of gifting food grains to poor countries and instead concentrate on building infrastructure and technological foundation for agriculture which only can bring about changes in the global environment and ensure social equity.

Coming back to the food grain prices, can one blame the operation of the commodity futures system for such distortions as was claimed in the recent dramatic spike in crude oil prices? More than $ 175 billion is invested in commodity futures and such a staggering flow of money may bring in price instability making mockery of any planning. Added to this, the stubborn stand of USA and Europe in stopping the current practice of doling out huge subsidies to their super rich farmers also contribute to unstable prices in the global food grain trading. It is time WTO and FAO give serious considerations as to how hunger, if it is really a serious problem as is being made out,can be banished from the face of this planet within a time frame through sustained cooperation between the rich and the poor and save humanity from self destruction.

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

NUTRITIONAL QUALITY GRADING-EMPOWERMENT OF THE CONSUMER

There was a time when consumers used to depend on the neighborhood grocery shops for ensuring supply of dependable quality of food but the emphasis was on trust and transparent communication between them with heavy emphasis on reasonableness of the price and unwritten guarantee of overall quality of items supplied by the grocer with a proviso to return if not satisfied. With the advent of modern retailing where the buying environment has lot of ambiance and consumer has the power to pick and choose whatever he likes, the sales personnel becoming highly impersonal and ignorant about the details of products displayed, there is a heavy dependence on the labels on the packages which for many are 'Greek and Latin' making little sense! Of course the super markets are supposed to create an image that would attract the customers repeatedly through ' quality and dependability'. Under Indian conditions this is not found to be happening with the customer being herded to buy only selected brands or the in-house brands which are on the shelves. It is here that consumers need a reliable tool to discriminate between products based on price, quality and the nutritional value of the products offered by the retailer.

 

Consumer awareness about nutrition is rather foggy with many misconceptions prevailing amongst common man especially regarding processed foods and only an authentic nutrition based guide can help him to buy products with highest nutritional quality. How can this be done when subject of nutrition is a complex one defying simplistic interpretation? Thanks to the innovative approach by Yale University in USA a new 'algorithm' has been developed to generate a simple summative score for the overall nutritional quality of a food based on its micro nutrient and macro nutrient composition and several other nutritional properties. The spark for evolving such a tool came from the Department of Health of US government, National Institute of Health and 15 academic centers in 2003 to counteract the deteriorating health scenario amongst its population and improve dietary intake pattern with emphasis on curtailing spread of obesity. The Griffith Hospital of Yale University started the project in late 2005 and a working version for Overall Nutritional Quality Index(ONQI) was made available for more than 1000 foods being retailed in that country. Most of the major food retailing chains are expected to introduce ONQI during this year across USA.

 

ONQI is designed to grade the foods on a scale of 1-100 giving a definitive ranking to each food and thus indicate the relative nutritional quality of foods across all food category or within specific food categories like bread, cereals, frozen desserts etc. It is bound to have applications at point of purchase in retail super markets, on food packaging, in restaurants, in print materials and on-line. On this scale items like mustard greens, raw broccoli, orange, fresh strawberries, raw spinach and several others, mostly fresh, will have a score of 100. The ONQI score goes down with processing to varying extent depending on the contents of natural components. While fresh orange enjoys a score of 100. orange juice slides down on the scale to just 39. 1% fat milk hos a score of 81.

 

Though no scheme can be 100% perfect, the ONQI is a welcome beginning for bringing some relief to the much harried consumer, especially those with least awareness about food and its nutritional implications.

 

 
 

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

LAND IS YOURS, PRODUCE IS OURS! THE NEW PARADIGM IN AFRICA

How about handing over your land to some body for cultivation for a consideration though you are starving because of shortage of food and your inability to buy the minimum food required to keep body and soul together? If the leasing is for a limited period, lease amounts are attractive and you are trained on modern farming technology, probably the deal may be worth while in the long run. The days of land tenancy and share cropping have gone long ago as far as India is concerned, at least on paper. Contract growing is becoming the norm now with large players providing some critical inputs to the growers in return for an assured price pre-negotiated. APMC Acts at the state levels are amended to allow private market yards to come up hoping that growers will get better returns under such a system besides assuring the food processors to ensure regular supply of raw materials for their manufacturing operations.

The African governments are learning that leasing land to foreign companies can be beneficial in many ways though in the short term they face starvation situation with no financial or technological means to raise agricultural productivity. Ethically it may be wrong for any country to allow foreign companies to use their land to raise economic crops for export to the global markets while a segment of the population is starving for want of foods and many of them surviving on donated foods from out side. Africa is invariably described as the epicenter of malnutrition and under nutrition and the exhausted land devoid of nutrients due to years of cultivation without replenishment is just not able to produce enough to feed the growing population.

As is said aptly, hunger is a life and death question for starving population but a golden opportunity to make money for those having the wherewithal to invest. History is replete with instances when rich nations from other continents stripped Africa of its gold and diamonds for generations, then its oil and rubber and even people were imported from Africa as slaves to do menial work under bondage. Now comes the new development where the vast land, some highly fertile, in Africa is being walloped by some of the richest countries on earth for raising food crops using the cheap labor so easily available there to meet the food needs of the people of those countries. Sudan and Saudi Arabia are striking a deal worth $ 95 million to lease out 25000 acres near Nile River, north of the capital Khartoum. UAE is going for 70000 acres of land in Sudan, south of Khartoum. Sudan seems to be the leader in this new game as it has already leased out more than 2 million acres to foreign investors since June 2008. Qatar investors are using Sudan for fattening sheep for export back to their country. Egypt and Ethiopia are offering agricultural land to prospective foreign investors to earn foreign exchange. Kuwait is reported to be eying South Asia as possible destination for investment in agriculture. Pakistan is supposed to be in line to get $500 million for similar deals. Libya, not to be left behind, is planning to get land in Ukraine

To their defense it can be said that the money earned by leasing land, if properly utilized to feed those facing starvation, strengthening technological base and building infrastructure, can go ma long way to bring these countries out of poverty and destitution. The deals will have to be fashioned in such a way that at the end of the lease period there should be self sufficiency as far as agricultural technology is concerned. Other wise it can end up as a mockery of the fundamental rights of the unfortunate people who inhabit this hapless continent.and whose land is mortgaged for the benefit of a few at the helm of affairs. Can an international agency like FAO or WTO step in to help these countries to negotiate with prospective investors on an equitable basis? Other wise such developments will only lead to restoration of colonialism of yesteryears in some form with all its accompanying consequences.

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

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, LESS IS HANDSOME!

The term 'small' is not referring to the scale of operation. Neither it is about the turnover of the business. The focus here is to the pack size that is becoming smaller and smaller every day as the business finds it much more profitable to introduce single use packs instead of larger packs in the retail market. To day, go to any small vendor in your town and you will be greeted by a plethora of products hanging in front of the shop with the shop owner literally trying to peer through the maze of hanging packets to attend to your needs. This trend first introduced by tobacco products like pan parag, gutka etc has taken root in the country and other industries are following this trend mainly to expand their consumer base. One of the major reasons for down sizing the pack size is to offer the products at rates varying from Re 1 to Rs 10 and thereby enticing the low income consumers to buy them with their limited purchasing power. According to market pundits this strategy also serves to meet the aspirational goals of economically weaker populations by making such products affordable to them. It is amazing how 'one- time' use products are to day in the market in foods, candies, biscuits, cosmetics, spices, pickles, personal hygiene products, beverages etc at prices as low as 50 paise to a more decent Rs five per packet.

What are the logic and logistics in such a strategy? Why it has taken such a long time for the industry to embrace this concept? Is it unique to India or such 'innovative' marketing practices exist in other countries also? Is it a consumer friendly practice? All these questions must have been considered by the management Gurus who are constantly working for the business to maximize the profit through physical as well as psychological techniques.

There was a time in India when packaging cost accounted for almost 40% of the consumer price due to heavy imposts of taxes by the government and the consequent cascading effect. But over the years the packaging material costs to the industry dropped dramatically while improved technology helped to effectively reduce the quantity of packing materials used in a pack significantly, without adversely affecting their functional performance. Packing equipment capacity and cost also came down to affordable levels, due to small fabricators taking up their manufacture and FFS machines costing less than a lakh of rupees became a reality, making small size packing a viable operation. The classical concept of lowering of prices per unit as the pack size increases still holds true to day though the difference might not be high but still small sized packing configurations do generate more profits besides increasing the volume of business. Consumer may find it difficult to calculate the economic impact of such practices since declaration of unit prize on the label is not mandatory in India.

The current international trend seems to be to reduce the content size to cope up with the rising cost of manufacture due to all round inflation and increased fuel costs. Big players like Krafts invested in package re-design without decreasing the content and maintaining the price line, so that their profitability is maintained through savings in input costs. Many others are subtly reducing the contents without the consumer perceiving about it to protect their margins. Such examples include Tropicana's orange juice pack changing the volume from from 96 ounce(oz) to 89 oz, Kellogg reducing the contents of its breakfast packets from 19-24.3 oz to 18-24 oz, Unilever packing 1.7 oz less in Breyers ice-cream packs, Peanut butter packs bringing down the contents from 18 oz to 16.3 oz or 32 oz to 30 oz while prices are kept same levels. On an average 10% of the products in the market change their packing configurations primarily to reduce the contents without appearing to do so, giving the impression that prices are not increased to keep with rising input costs. Though it may sound unethical, industry considers it a painless process for the consumers as the marginal reduction in the contents may be less painful than paying a higher price.



V.H.POTTY
httpf://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN-A NEW TBT STRATEGY?

In the 2008 Farm Bill, the US Government included a measure that mandates the retailers to declare prominently on the label of some of the food materials the name of the country from where these have been procured. The items covered include meat, chicken, poultry, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, ginseng, macadamia nuts, pecans and peanuts. One fails to understand the logic of this law especially in a world trade regime supposed to be working with no trade barriers. If the imports of food products into USA are governed by strict protocols of quality and safety, why should there be another barrier such as this which will penalize exports from many countries in Asia and Africa in the form of consumer discrimination as these countries cannot compete with US products even if the quality and safety standards are same. The in-built prejudice in the minds of consumers against developing countries is based on the surmise that they are technically inferior to USA in terms of maintaining cleanliness and ensuring freedom from disease causing vectors.

The move in USA will hit badly Indian processors who make products under contract for US retailers under third party labeling and this will tell on the export of the products covered under the new labeling law. With more and more intrusive regimes and protocols like ISO, Organic Food Certification systems and SAP management being used these days in many food processing units, it is not justifiable to insist on declaring the country of origin in the label which has adverse implications on the trade portfolios of many countries. Already the hope for a universally acceptable barrier free trade regime, being negotiated under WTO is fading and the developing countries will have to evolve new strategies to counter such trends in putting unnecessary road blocks for unhindered trade in foods under one pretext or the other. Even in India, the consumer if given a choice, may naturally opt for a 'Made in USA' labeled product in preference to the desi one provided the there is no undue price distortion.

One of the reasons for the above move could be frequent incidences of food poisoning and epidemics reported in many developing countries which have created an image of unreliable safety regimes operating in such countries. Again what justification is there to treat a good processor in India, run by an American company, using American technology and using resources raised as per American standards differently and be categorized as 'Made in India' ? What is the meaning of calling the world a global village if such discriminatory practices are followed by rich nations depriving the poor countries of their export earnings? Is this practice an exercise to flex the muscles of rich nations through their superiority in technology and infrastructure built during colonial days? What is wrong if a country like India demands abolition of the obnoxious and obscene practice of agricultural subsidies to rich grower families, widely prevalent in USA and Europe for obtaining a level playing ground?

The claim that such labeling would help tracing future food safety problems is hollow because even other wise it could fix responsibility on the exporter and the importer having recognizable identities. Even within USA, the recent Salmonella and E.Coli poisoning episodes remain unresolved in spite of their enormous expertise, experience and infrastructure, proving how futile it is to pretend that other countries are inferior and irresponsible in food safety related matters. In stead of declaring on the label, the onus should have been on the importers to keep documentation regarding the origin of the food and it would be his responsibility to provide information regarding the source of imports for taking action whenever necessary. This is a typical example of the so called 'Technical Barrier to Trade' (TBT), the WTO is supposed to eradicate and protect the interests of developing countries!

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

"GREEN" PAPER-RESCUING THE FORESTS AND SAVING OUR PLANET

World consumes 300 million tons of paper annually, all coming from the green forests straddling the world and about 30 million forest acres are lost per year for satisfying this ever increasing hunger for paper. Imagine 2-4 tons of trees are required to produce a ton of paper and 40% of the trees felled end up in the paper mills to make papers and boards to meet the needs from different sectors. Each ton of paper produced generates 20 kg of water borne waste, 75 kg of solid waste, requires 30000 liters of water and 25 million BTU energy besides emitting 100 kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Per capita consumption of paper is generally proportional to the income levels of the population and higher the income more will be the consumption. While in USA the paper consumption is very high estimated at 350 kg per capita per year, in India and China combined with a population of more than 2.5 billion the corresponding figure is just 27 kg. Fortunately Indians do not come any where near the toppers in this category of 'performers' as an average citizen consumes hardly 6.4 kg of paper per year which is good considering that the forests are not denuded at least for making papers though the pull from the fuel sector is high especially by human settlements near the forests. What is alarming is that the paper consumption is expected to double from the present level of 7 million tons by the year 2015 demanding more and more clearance of the green cover, affecting the global weather adversely. World-wide the paper consumption increased six fold during the last 50 years. Is there any way mankind can save itself by stopping the indiscriminate felling of trees for paper?

Many alternate sources have been suggested from time to time to save trees and papers from kenaf, bamboo, hemp are all considered suitable but how far such alternatives will be practical remains to be seen. Recycling of used paper does provide some relief but the progressive reduction in the strength of recycled paper and limitations of quality achievable pose some problems in universal adoption of recycling. Depending on the country, extent of recycling may vary from nil in some countries to as high as 52% in the US.

If the claims by a Chicago company, the GPA, reputed for its paper products globally, are real, time is not too far away when treeless paper will emerge as a suitable and desirable alternative to the conventional paper. As the technology has been patented, there is real hope that there could be a way out of the dilemma world is facing vis-a-vis paper. The product touted as ultra green paper, denoting non-use of organic materials like pulp fibers, is made from lime powder and calcium carbonate as the main base and small quantities of non-toxic resins and HDPE are used as binding materials. The paper so made has same quality as conventional product in terms of printability and does not require any special inks for printing. Use of HDPE imparts the quality of plastics while the product does not age or weather with time, the yellowing phenomenon being a non-issue. The product is supposed to be resistant to sunlight, scuffing, water, grease and oils with no risk of decomposing, especially by microbial action. Added to this FDA is reported to have given clearance for its use in food contact applications making it a good packaging materials for a number of food products. Cost-wise it is expected o be 30-40% cheaper than conventional paper but one will know the truth only when commercial production starts and the product is in the market.

One critical issue is whether Mother Earth has so much lime deposits and enough Calcium carbonate can be generated to meet the demand from the paper sector when the possibility of treeless paper becomes a reality.

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

'SCARY' GENE AND 'FATALISTIC' HEART-DON'T BLAME THE FOOD!

Indians, 1.1 billion in number, are yearning for international glory through trail blazing achievements, be in sports or science or any other fields where giants like USA, China, Russia and EU have established near monopoly. Nobel Prize is one award the scientific community considers as the ultimate reward for high quality research and development. Probably this coveted award may yet come to India if some of the recent scientific endeavors confirm what is claimed to have been achieved as reported in the media.

 

Food has always been cited as the major culprit in many epidemic health disorders like myocardial infarction, type II diabetes, hyper tension and even some types of cancers. Almost like an astrological prediction, the findings by a group of scientists in Hyderabad, claim that 5% of Indians are susceptible to die out of cardiac arrest between the age of 45 and 60 years, not because of their fault but due to the genes they inherited from their parents. More painful is the possibility that one can predict one's own death by just analyzing a particular gene and currently there is no way to stop the catastrophic event through any known medical intervention. It is not much of a relief to know that food is not the culprit in such types of cardiac failures

 

According to the scientists of the only 5-star R & D Laboratory in the country, Centre for Chemical and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad depending on whether the embryo inherits homozygous or heterozygous chromosomes,the fate of the offspring born will be decided. Their findings that missing of a part of a particular gene, the myosin-binding protein C3 (myBPC3) is responsible for 45% of cardiac arrests reported in India, could revolutionize the understanding about this phenomenon and gear up for potential palliative measures. This defective gene causes formation of disorganized cardiac muscles eventually leading to cardiac arrests over a period of time. More alarming is the finding that 5% of Indian population suffer from this type of gene deficiency, with more concentration in southern India. If the embryo inherits such defective genes through the chromosomes from both the parents, called homozygous conditions, the offspring cannot be expected to survive the birth. But if one of the parents only has the defective gene which is passed on to the offspring, causing the heterozygous condition, the life expectancy is in the 45-60 years range, death occurring suddenly due to unpredictable cardiac arrest.   

 

Though there is no way one can prevent such deaths, even if the genomic study reveals the danger, the ever expanding knowledge about genetics and molecular biology may eventually find out a solution to this historical tragedy. The current hope is that if the gene defect is diagnosed at the fetus level, the parents have the choice of abortion in case of homozygous situation and if heterozygous condition is detected, the chord blood can be saved at birth for use in gene therapy to extend the life beyond 60 years, as and when such treatments become reliable in future. A social consequence of this startling discovery is the possibility of brides and bridegrooms in future asking for gene profiling to see whether they have the defective myBPC3 genes in them before agreeing for marriage and whether an HIV epidemic like situation is going to emerge where people with this particular defective gene are shunned by the society.  

 

If the above trail blazing research is truly original, the scientists deserve full credits and a Nobel Prize may not be too high a 'Prize' for this stellar achievement. The only lingering reservation is whether what has been reported is a replication of studies conducted with other populations else where in the world with research tools being same but subjects different. Even if this is a replicated study, as far as India is concerned the findings have sterling value and still deserves applause. 
 

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