-TheWire.in The Union government, cut off from the realities of the vast diversity of health and poverty conditions of the country, appears to have bitten the bait of corporate lobbies. Madhu Soren (12) and Bokai Soren (7) are two brothers with thalassemia in a village in Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district. Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder in which the body has lower than normal amounts of haemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein. When there is...

-Newsclick.in Experts worry that with the government aggressively promoting a "singular reductionist corporate-controlled silver bullet solution" like fortified rice, a myriad of diverse local and natural solutions will get neglected and even eroded. Synthetic fortification of rice is not proven to be effective and can be toxic to many Indians, according to a report prepared by the Right to Food Campaign. The report was released following a three-day fact-finding visit to Jharkhand...

-The Hindu Improving natural iron absorption from iron-rich grains is a better strategy than chemical iron fortification of cereals Is iron deficiency universal and profound in India? Is it due to dietary iron deficiency? With the Indian vegetarian diet, containing 8.5 mg iron/1,000 Kcal-energy, women who eat adequately (enough energy for a sedentary lifestyle), should have an iron intake of about 15 mg/day, matching their daily iron requirement (15 mg/day). Adult men...

-The Hindu Business Line Allow us to get paddy directly from farmers: millers The Union government has asked Telangana to promote the establishment of rice bran oil industry to tide over the crisis, as the recent controversy over parboiled rice procurement is set to trigger a political storm in the State. The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food has asked the State to develop capacities for the manufacture of fortified rice kernels...

-Hindustan Times Adding iron through fortification on top of existing iron tablet supplementation programmes (as an extra layer) for women and children is redundant, wasteful, and potentially dangerous. Overeating rice means even more risk of excess Large-scale, mandatory food fortification has often been thought to be a cost-effective intervention to address micronutrient inadequacy. But this is only true with rampant dietary micronutrient inadequacy in all segments of the population, including men. India...