|
|
Global Views
Food for Thought — on World Food Day
Special Contribution By Shobha Shukla
 | Sudanese refugee children and women line up for a distribution of therapeutic milk at a UNICEF-assisted therapeutic feeding centre at Iriba Hospital in the eastern town of Iriba. Photo Courtesy of UNICEF
| The world observes October 16 as World Food Day. Once again another day of rhetorics to rue about the dismal food scenario (especially among the developing nations); to reiterate our noble intentions of formulating new plans to feed the starving masses by reeling out scary statistics that world wide 9 billion people are dying every year due to hunger and hunger related causes, of which more than 50% are children. Hunger accounts for more deaths than war, tuberculosis and AIDS put together. Even amongst those who escape the killing spree of hunger a whopping 1 billion are undernourished, most of whom are again children and women. And yet an almost equal number are overweight. (It is ironic that 80% of world's hungry children live in food surplus countries). Both, the under fed and the overweight, are examples of malnutrition. This indeed is a public catastrophe where obesity poses as much a health hazard as under nourishment. Poverty arising out of under or no employment is the main cause of hunger related deaths whereas affluence is killing people in the form of diabetes, heart and other chronic diseases. 'Round bellies' (arising out of too much of eating) are as much a sign of ill health as 'pot bellies' (arising out of too less to eat). It seems that the entire society is sick in mind if not in body. In fact our thinking process has become so unhealthy that it is in immediate and dire need of 'proper nutritional values.' Else why would rich companies falsely allure farmers to grow killer tobacco instead of life sustaining food crops? This is one of the reasons for a steady decline in India's grain production after the year 2000, resulting in more hunger related deaths.The land used for tobacco growing denies food denies food to about 20 million Indians apart from being responsible for another 9 lakh deaths per year from tobacco related diseases alone. Thus consumption of tobacco in any form contributes to a hungry and diseased society by reducing economic productivity and posing serious health hazards for the poor and rich alike. Again, there is something definitely wrong when in the name of progress we are building huge dams which often not only threaten the environment but also expose the displaced people towards imminent poverty and hunger as a result of improper and long drawn out rehabilitation process. The likes of Medha Patekar are waging a relentless battle against this menace. The creation of special economic zones by grabbing fertile land from poor farmers for the benefit of the super rich industrialists is just another symptom of our mentally sick government.Not only are the farmers paid a measly price, they are also deprived of their sole means of livelihood, pushing them deeper into the abyss of debt and poverty from which only death can rescue them.If they are mentally sound then why are companies knowingly producing 'Fun For You' foods ( rather than 'Good For You' products) which are potentially unhealthy and then spending billions to run campaigns which are unscrupulously targeting the most vulnerable ( children )? Why are our super film and sports stars endorsing these false advertisements which is contributing towards making a whole generation of kids addicted to colas and junk/processed food, thus jeopardizing their health? By donating a small part of their earnings to some charity they cannot wipe their conscience clean of their grave sins. It is imperative that all of us start eating just enough of the right type of nutritional food and rid ourselves of the illeffects of poverty and affluence alike. Hunger should not be traded with obesity and diseases of poverty should not be replaced by diseases of excess. There is as much a crying need to teach about healthy diets and moderate lifestyles to school children as is to empower the rural masses with education and join them in their fight for fair wages and land/water rights. We need to wage a war on all those multinational companies, government policies, and people who are bartering the nation's health for illgotten wealth and thereby supporting hunger in the garb of economic development. At our own small level as individuals let us boycott all such harmful products like cola beverages, fatty and processed junk food, tobacco products and at the same time share our overstuffed refrigerators with those who have nothing to eat and also support all efforts aimed at empowering them towards poverty alleviation. Let there be enough good food for all. Amen.
Related Articles Ending Tobacco Smoking Is Bedrock for ... Asia Pacific Has over 6.7 Million New TB Cases Will Shorter, Safer and More Effective TB ... Whither Women's Reproductive Health in Asia ... Build the World We Want: Healthy Future for All New TB Treatment Breakthroughs Must Reach the ... How Will Children Living with HIV Grow Up ... Writing Is on the Wall: Pictorial Health ... Failing on the Basics: Are We Able to Break ... A Bouquet of Novel Compounds: New Treatment ... One Size Does Not Fit All: Expanding the ... Tale of Two Pandemics: Follow the Science and ... Governments Must Adopt a Strong Political ... What Is the Ring? Disability Is Not Limited to the Body, It Is ... Accelerating Progress on Sexual & Reproductive ... Stop This Shaming of Menstruation Complacency Breeds Failure: Consolidate ... For Age Is Opportunity No Less Than Youth ... New Study Pegs the Number of TB Cases in India ... Self-stigma: Let Us Do More Than Just "Ttalk ... We Cannot Eliminate TB If We Leave Children ... MDR-TB Treatment Rgimen: Short Indeed Is ... A Plain Face Can Take the Sheen Out of Deadly ... Strike at the Root of the Problem to Kill TB Antibiotic Use Is Driving Antibiotic Resistance Big Push for Transgender and Hijra Welfare Where There Is a Will There Is a Way: Teeja ... Lung Cancer: Difficult to Diagnose, Difficult ... Long Road to Justice: Human Rights of Female ... Medical Malpractices: Is There Light at the ... Overcoming Roadblocks in Translating ... Management of Respiratory Diseases beyond ... Gender Justice to Be at the Heart of ... Connecting the Dots: Tobacco Use, Diabetes, ... It Is Time To Control Asthma Call for No More New HIV Infected Children Smoking Goes Electronic Break the Silence around Cancer How Can You Treat Your Illness Unless You Take ... Asthma Medicines Still Unaffordable for Many New Technique to Prevent Diabetic Lower-Limb ... Cycle Beads: The Bead String for Family ... Beware: All Forms of Tobacco Are Harmful! Mother's Milk Is the Best Nutrition for the ... Where Is The TB Quilt, Nay Mask? Hello, This Is Nature¡¯s Call From Garbage ... Tuberculosis: Ugly Scar on Beautiful Childhood Towards A More Enabling Environment for ... What¡¯s Cooking in Kitchen: Peace or Conflict? Feed Your Child Well: Prevent Pneumonia Costly Medicines Mean Debt or Death for People ... AIDS Epidemic at a Critical Juncture in ... Watch Your Tongue Mr. Minister! Free Trade Agreements: A Threat To People's ... In The Pursuit Of Healthy Happiness Empowering Rural Women Say Yes To Life: Say No To Tobacco Homophobia Is A Human Rights Issue Viva La Woman Power Rubbish Rubbish Food and Embrace Healthy ... Of Music and Divinity Wake Up Call on Childhood Obesity after Years ... A New Hope of Life for Our Ailing Education ... Reminiscences of Egypt Do Not Break the Nucleus Whispers of Sanity in the Frenzy of Madness Tobacco Cessation Can Piggy-back Ride on ... In The Spirit Of Freedom (from Tobacco) World Conference on Tobacco or Health
to ... Requiem for Purity Rhapsody 2008 -- a Symphony of Different ... 'Diabetes Doctor Is at Your Doorstep' in ... Activists Decry India's Deferment of Pictorial ... South-East Asian Diabetes Summit to Open Up in ... Special on Universal Children's Day The Wrath Of God World Food Scarcity and the Challenges of ... Victim of Terrorism -- the Common Man Teachers' Day: The Sacrificial Goat Hiroshima Day: Let Us Worship Peace and Shun ... Whither the Innocence of Childhood? Love Is the Missing Link in War-on-Terror Irom Sharmila: The Iron Lady India Poised And Shining Is It Just Another Day in Life of Indian Woman? He Has His Cake and Eats It Too To Be Young, to Be Married, and to Be in India The Mad Mad World of Ads
Other Articles by Shobha Shukla
Hello, This Is Nature¡¯s Call From Garbage ... World Food Scarcity and the Challenges of ... Teachers' Day: The Sacrificial Goat Love Is the Missing Link in War-on-Terror The Mad Mad World of Ads
Ms. Shobha Shukla has been teaching Physics at India's noted Loreto Convent, and has been writing for The Hindustan Times and Women's Era in the past. She serves as Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS). She can be contacted at shobha1shukla@yahoo.co.in)
back
|
|
|
|
|