-The Times of India Hooked to organic food for its supposed health benefits? Here's some food for thought. In the largest analysis of studies till date on organic food, researchers from Stanford University have said there is "little evidence of healthier benefits from organic food over those grown conventionally". The researchers found no difference in protein or fat content between organic and conventional milk. No consistent differences were also seen in the...

-The Economic Times India's rice exports are likely to jump as much as 15% this year after the government scrapped the minimum export price (MEP) of $700 per tonne. "India's annual basmati exports will surpass last year's figure in the current fiscal," said Sumeet Saluja, managing director, Whitefields Overseas, which markets basmati under the brand name India Crown. Total rice shipments, including basmati and non-basmati, were 7.3 million tonne in 2011-12. Of this,...

-LIve Mint A day ahead of a crucial ministerial meeting to review India’s severe rainfall deficiency, the agriculture ministry has unveiled a district-level plan of action that primarily consists of advisories on the kind of seeds to be sown, altered sowing plans and the conservative use of water. According to the department’s website, advisories have been issued to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West...

Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution KV Thomas tells Nitin Sethi that it makes better sense to distribute stocked foodgrain to people of the country than subsidise exports. Possible spread of drought that the government is looking at... At the moment, monsoon rainfall is 23% below the long term average. But we have to wait another 15 days to know the full situation. We had discussion in the presence...

-PTI Indian rice Swarna is amongst the most healthy varieties key food staple as researchers have found it has low risk of diabetes, says a leading rice research organisation. "Rice varieties such as India's most widely grown rice variety Swarna have a low glycemic index (GI) and varities such as Doongara from Australia and Basmati have medium GI," Melissa Fitzgerald of Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)said in a statement. Low GI rice...