-The Business Standard Fear of bad monsoon has suddenly hiked vegetable and fruit prices by about 300% from the farm to your dining table Bangalore: Steep rise in prices of fruits and vegetables has resulted in over 55% of middle and low-income group families opting for pre-cooked and ready-to-eat food items to keep the kitchen budget intact, according to a survey. "The fear of bad monsoon has suddenly hiked the vegetables...

-Down to Earth   Total consumer expenditure on Processed foods, beverages, and refreshments level has increased Indians are eating badly; and the trend is getting worse each year. Data from the 68th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) shows that the share of food in total expenditure has reduced both in rural and urban areas. This is despite the fact that food is getting progressively more expensive. Spending more on unhealthy foods Amongst the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The poor in rural areas spend only Rs 17 per day while those living in cities and towns spend Rs 23 a day, a government survey has revealed. The bottom 5% of the population had an average monthly per capita expenditure of Rs 521.44 in rural areas and Rs 700.50 in urban areas, according to National Sample Survey (NSS) data for 2011-12 (July-June). The top 5% of...

-The Hindu Switching to renewable energy sources in the country's midday meal programme will save millions of rupees. But only a few kitchens are doing anything about it, says the author. This is a story of facts and figures and sheer size. Of an auditorium-sized room dense with hot steam from cooking. Of seven tonnes of cooked rice and four tanker-loads of steaming sambar that needed 70 pairs of hands for cutting...

-The United Nations     While insects can be slimy, cringe-inducing creatures, often squashed on sight by humans, a new book released today by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says beetles, wasps and caterpillars are also an unexplored nutrition source that can help address global food insecurity. The book, Edible Insects: future prospects for food and feed security, stresses not just the nutritional value of insects, but also the benefits that insect farming...