Consumption in COVID-19 Times (DTE 16 - 30 June 2020)

Consumption in COVID-19 Times

  • To change food habits.
  • Push for policies that promote healthy, nutritious and safe food.
  • This can reduce carbon footprint as well.
  • Past 60 years have been characterized by the increasing frequency of the emergence of new zoonoses which are infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
  • The most known Zoonoses:
    • Machupo (1961, Latin America)
    • Ebola (1976, western Africa)
    • HIV (identified in 1981 in USA)
    • Hendra (1994, Australia)
    • Nipah (1998, Malaysia)
    • SARS (2003, China)
    • COVID-19 (2019, China)
  • Making of Epidemics
    • When the Amazonian forest was burnt to obtain cheap land for cattle ranching.
    • African territories were cleared to extract timber and minerals (such as coltan used in electronic devices) .
  • Certain species of bats and rodents prosper in human-modified landscapes.
  • Four major sources of GHG emissions:
    • Electricity and heat production (25%)
    • Deforestation, crop cultivation and livestock ranching 24%
    • Industrial production (21%)
    • Transportation (14%)
    • Livestock production is responsible for a majority of 72 - 78% of total agriculture food-related GHG emissions being the world՚s largest user of land and water resources.
  • Pearl millet contains the highest amount of folate among cereals like millets, sorghum is gluten-free.
  • Crops like sorghum, millets and pulses not only require less water in comparison to rice and wheat but are also rich in micronutrients and protein. Sorghum and millets are referred to as “smart food” .
  • Millets are a good alternative for managing or preventing diabetes.
    • Finger millet (Ragi) has three times more calcium than milk.
    • Pearl millet contains the highest amount of folate among cereals.
    • Kodo millet is high in dietary fibres.
  • Pulses like pigeon pea are the main source of protein for vegetarians in India.
  • Legumes are low in one of the essential amino acids-methionine although they are an affordable protein source.
  • Legumes and proteins can provide complete protein and highly digestible and power-packed nutrients.
  • Bennett՚s law:
    • With rising incomes people consume relatively fewer calorie-dense starchy staple foods.
    • People in India with rising incomes are eating smaller proportion of starchy staples.

Bio Fortification

  • Idea of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value.
  • Zinc and protein-rich rice and maize varieties with high-protein and high-vitamin A have been developed by the ICAR.
  • India՚s first bio-fortified sorghum variety, parbhani Shakti has also been developed and released in Maharashtra by The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) .

Needs to Be Done

  • Push policies that promote nutritious and sustainable food systems.
  • Creating value chains and adequate demand for healthy, nutritious, qualitative and safe food through behaviour change.
  • Research efforts in major crops, including non-staple can provide cost-effective and sustainable solutions to address micronutrient deficiencies in the population.
  • Best possible delivery channels to promote healthier and nutritious food:
    • Public distribution system
    • Mid-day meal scheme
    • Integrated Child Development Scheme

Examrace Team at Aug 29, 2021