One-third of Food produced globally every year does not reach human mouths - it is either lost in transit or wasted by consumers themselves. This amounts to a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes every year. These chilling figures are contained in a report called 'Avoiding Future Famines' released by the United Nations Environment Programme at the recently held Rio+20 summit on sustainable development.  Consumers throw away 222 million tonnes of Food in...

IRONY RUNS its play every year in India as Food grains rot in godowns while 23 crore people go hungry every day. GOI Monitor talks to Food and trade policy analyst Devinder Sharma on the issues stalking agriculture and public distribution    One of the reasons for surplus Food not reaching the needy is that states are not picking up the grain. Why is this happening? Food grain procurement and distribution is...

I personally feel we have no option but to move gradually towards organic farming. I am not someone who usually goes shopping for vegetables or even other Food stuff. My present professional requirements don’t allow me this luxury. But I remember when I was a child I would often accompany my mother or my aunt when they went shopping for vegetables, fruits and other Food stuff. I remember being thoroughly bored...

-The Hindustan Times There is a widespread perception of policy paralysis in the corridors of power. The two remaining years of the UPA's term is still not too short to reverse the current drift, but time is rapidly running out. The damaged economy needs urgent fixing as does restoring the credibility of an executive racked by scandals and the absence of a sense of direction. The people of the country long...

No place to store seven million tonnes of procured foodgrains As the monsoons advance, the Food ministry is desperately looking for shelters. On June 21, KV Thomas, the Union Food minister, admitted what many feared the past two months. Nearly seven million tonnes of foodgrains procured by the government in the current season may perish due to non-availability of storage space. This is 50 per cent more than Uttar Pradesh's total...