-The Business Standard We need a food safety model based on societal objectives of nutrition, livelihood and safety My local vegetable vendor sells ordinary lemons packed in plastic bags. It has got me thinking if this is a sign of improving standards of food safety and hygiene. After all, if we go to any supermarket in the rich and food-processed world, we will find food neatly packed so that there is no...

-Governance Now Rakesh Kumar now swears by organic farming — in three years, he has maximised yield and minimised input cost If Rakesh Kumar is over the moon — and he has every reason to be, having just set the world record in per-hectare potato harvest — he does not show it. An unassuming man, the 35-year-old Nalanda resident smiles when you mention his record but for both Kumar and his family...

-The United Nations Unless Africa’s leaders prioritize environmental and health issues, and prevent the degradation of health-promoting food and medicinal plants, people’s health and productivity will continue to suffer, warns a new report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Africa’s population is growing at the fastest rate in the world and its economy is expanding at a commensurate rate, yet not enough focus has been placed on the role...

-The United Nations Many chemicals found in household and industrial products that have not been adequately tested could have disrupting effects on the hormone system and lead to significant health issues, according to a United Nations report released today. The report highlights some associations between exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and health problems such as breast cancer in women, prostate cancer, attention deficit and hyperactivity in children and thyroid cancer. “Chemical products...

-The Guardian In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India and he knew he could improve on the four or five tonnes per hectare that he usually...