-AFP ROME: The UN's food agency on Tuesday said Obesity and poor nutrition weigh heavily on the global economy and told governments that investing in food health would bring big economic as well as social returns. Lost productivity and spiralling health care bills linked to malnutrition "could account for as much as five per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP)," equivalent to $3.5 trillion (2.6 trillion euros) a year, the Food...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Around 62 per cent of high-income households prefer organic food due to rising awareness, higher disposable income and easy availability in the markets of big cities, a study by Assocham says. There has been a growth in the demand for organic products in metropolitan cities, especially fruits and vegetables, an increase of 95 per cent in the last five years. The survey titled "Rising demand of organic products...

-Live Mint Some commentators dismiss the seriousness of India's nutritional crisis as it fails to account for genetic differences With one in two children malnourished in India, child malnutrition is considered to be among the biggest challenges facing the country. But are these figures highly exaggerated? The answer is a resounding yes, according to Columbia University economist Arvind Panagariya, who believes that the international standards used to measure nutritional attainments of...

-Live Mint Some commentators have gone so far as to dismiss India's nutritional crisis as a ‘hoax' In a recent article, Columbia University economist Arvind Panagariya argued that India need not be ashamed of its malnutrition statistics as they are likely to be exaggerated. Panagariya's contention that international standards used to measure nutritional attainments of Indian children are inappropriate, as they fail to account for "genetic differences" seem to have found favour...

-The Hindustan Times Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has aptly described the persistence of mass undernutrition in India as a "national shame". What is even more shameful, however, is the passivity of the government - and of the country - towards this humanitarian emergency. The passivity begins with a reluctance to face the facts. The first step towards more effective nutrition policies in India is regular monitoring of the nutrition status of...