-Down to Earth The multinational had sued four farmers in April, triggering a controversy that has now been reignited Farmers in Gujarat have sowed a variety of potato seeds registered by multinational PepsiCo, in a symbolic protest against the Food and beverage corporation, a farmer leader told Down To Earth (DTE). “In the last four days, more than 500 farmers have come forward to sow the FC-5 variety of seeds which our organisation...

-The Indian Express Viable solutions to PDS portability are being ignored in the push for Aadhaar. Migrants’ woes are often invoked in making a case for portability of benefits in the public distribution system (PDS). Most recently, an article (‘A hundred small steps’, IE, September 26) did just that. However, in many cases of short-term seasonal migration (a dominant form in India), only one or two of the household members migrate,...

-PTI With onion prices continuing to rule high at ?80-90 per kg, the government on Wednesday extended prohibitions on traders from the stocking of edible bulb across the country for an indefinite period. Separately, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan did not say by when prices of onion will normalise. “It’s not in our hand, the government is taking maximum efforts but who can win from nature,” he told reporters. Please click...

-The Telegraph With malnutrition levels as bad as sub-Saharan African countries, a vegetarian diet is just an imposition for Indians Indian cuisine is not a homogenous entity, and Food habits differ along regional, religious, caste, and class lines. Yet there is an assumption in dominant discourses that India is a vegetarian nation. According to Dr Veena Shatrugna, former Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderbad, contrary to any such assumption, about 80 per...

-Hindustan Times The better performing states and UTs are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh. Nearly 4% of the one lakh Food and beverage samples analysed by the states and Union Territories last year were unsafe, about 16% were sub-standard and 9% were mislabelled, shows data released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). This is the first time that...