Food and society –its economical and sociocultural implications to Human beings
Recently I happened to read a very important study by G.Balachandran Pillai (Constraints
on differences and adoption of Agromechanical Technology in Rice cultivation in Kerala
.2004.Kerala Research Proceedings on local level development Center for
Developmental studies.TVM ISBN 81.87621.62).This study points out that
1.The farmers of the Kol lands and Kuttanad harvesting and threshing are the most
difficult operations due to labour shortage
2.Shortage of labourers may be due to drudgery of operations such as harvesting
,transplanting and thrushing and because the younger generations prefer white collar jobs
outside their village
3.The Kol land farmers are best adapted for accepting the new machinery
techniques,because of their well-established group-farming concept among the farming
community .
4.The Kol lands have only one crop because in other times there is unfavourable weather
and this leads to underemployment.
5.The transplanting was previously done by women and now they are not available for
such things as harvesting,transplantation.Paddy trasplanter and vertical conveyor reaper
is the only solution now for this problem(and since Kol farmers do accept the
mechanization )this is possible to be implemented on co-operative basis.
6.The established group-farming societies called Kol padavu committees as well as the
labour union leaders favour mechanization in rice cultivation in peak seasons due to
labour shortage.
7.Inadequate custom hire facilities for farm machinery is the major constraint for
Mechanisation in Kol lands.The other serious problems are lack of credit facilities and
high capital cost of implements .
8.The author also notes that the opposition from farm labourers for mechanization is
more in Kuttanad and Palghat Kole fields while in other Kol fields this is not a major
problem. (This is an interesting social problem.If we analyse why the farm labourers are
against mechanization we get some political equations which are detrimental to the nation
and the farm labourers are being brainwashed against their own interests by someone is
clear).
I have quoted this study because most of the points he noticed ,I too have noted in my
study of Punnayurkulam Parur Padav ,and the solutions to the problems should be based
on these.
N.Gopalakrishnan Nair (Measurement of employment,unemployment and
underemployment ISBN 81.87621.75.3 2004) notes that over the years there has been a
gradual decrease in the working force in Kerala.When William Logan saw Kerala no
woman was unemployed or underemployed and had activities during agricultural season
as well as outside of it and man and woman were engaged in a co-operative way in all
socioeconomic activities though division of labour existed.Even the women were helping
in irrigating fields on a Wheel as he notes.But women as well as men does not go for
such activities and depend upon outside labourers for producing food.The dignity of
labour we have forgotten .Another study (ISBN 81.87621-84-2 Changes in the mode of
labour due to shift in landuse pattern ) finds out rapid marginalization of land holding in
most parts of India ,due mainly to a disproportionate proliferation of marginal holdings –
both ownership and operational.The households and proliferated,the small holdings
increased,share in total holdings declined and pattern of intra-generational economic
mobility of agricultural households is the explanation for such land distribution.He
describes the centripetal and centrifugal mobility (in both directions and towards centre
respectively).The first produced polarization and class differentiation among peasants
,inequality of land and wealth.That is the orthodox Marxist view.But the neopopulist
view is that the centrifugal mobility has diminished the degree of inequality.
The total wetlands Nilam in Kerala according to revenue records is 5.74 lakh ha.The
Kerala statistical institute (1992-93) says only an area of 3.33 lakh ha now remains as
wetlands and used for rice cultivation.Nearly 1.37 lakh ha are now under perennial crops
and 0.35 lakh hectare is used for nonagricultural use.Area that is being filled up and made
unsuitable for rice cultivation is increasing day by day.
The topography and climate of Kerala is different from rest of country and Kerala is best
suited for rice cultivation.From 1952 to 1997 the share of area for paddy has halved
(especially over the last two decades).Rubber cultivation area has dubbled and this is
followed by coconut and pepper and othe rcashcrops .According to economic survey
1997 during 1996-97 the area under high yielding variety(Virippu 40 % ,Mundakan 36
%, Puncha 24 %) is retained and the average productivity of state has remained over
national level ,though the total area under rice cultivation has declined .This justification
is closing our eyes to reality.The area of wetlands have reduced considerably and that too
for nonagricultural activities.A portion is used for vegetables now.The area covered by
seasonal crops can still be reconverted to paddy .Vast areas under multiple crop system is
now having just one crop.Perennial farm crops dominate farm sector.The agricultural
labourers have become rubber tappers and high wage rates have rduced their number of
working days creating underemployment through out year. In 1951 23.22 % of working
force were cultivators and in 1991 it has declined to 12.24 %.Agricultural labourers
constituted 26 % of working force both in 1951 and 1991. All trade unions
(INTUC,CITU,AITUC and KarshakaMorcha of BMS) are in favour of lease-in
cultivation of fallow land as it increases the number of days of employment and
productivity of wetlands in general.The new agrarian relations in Kerala is thus having a
radical change from what it had been .
Probably the best article about our status about food sufficiency is reflected in a
exhaustive study on India State Hunger Index ( Comparison of Hunger across the states
.Purnima Menon ,Anil Deolalikar ,Anjor Bhaskar .Washington DC .,Bonn ,and Riverside
.International food policy and Research Institute February 2009).Without going into the
details of the statistics drawn I will just draw the attention of readers to the Hunger map
of India provided by the authors.
In that we find Madhyapradesh has an hunger index 30 % or more that is extremely
alarming.Kerala,Andhrapradesh and Assam,Punjab chandigar 19.9 which is serious
.Kashmere,HP,Utharkhand,Arunachal Pradesh,Tripura,Meghalaya,Nagaland ,Manipur
and Mizoram and Goa er index not yet estimated.The rest of India
(Haryana,UP,Rajasthan,Delhi,Gujrat,Bihar,Charkhand,West Bengal,Orissa,Maharashtra
,Karnataka,Tamil Nad) has 20-29.9 which is alarming.
So only Kerala,Andhrapradesh ,Assam ,and Punjab Chandigar are less affected areas (it
has severe ,if not alarming or extremely alarming rates).Why these four areas have less
alarming Hunger index?
Because of the plain and simple reason.Kerala,Assam and Andhrapradesh are the major
paddy growing areas due to climatic conditions.If these three areas can grow more rice
,they can meet the needs of the other states which are not that lucky to have such a good
climate and fertility .This we have to remember always.And the National and State
programmes should give more importance to Agricultural operations.In Punjab
the green revolution is now growing enough wheat and therefore they have also escaped a
little from the alarming state of affairs.
See the importance of the Nature’s gift for growing rice or wheat ,the staple diet of the
people.The Civilizations of India from ancient times knew this,and on a co-operative
basis had a flourishing agroeconomy which shared foorgrains and bartered with other
products .This is still possible if we unite ,have a common goal for the nation and do not
think in individualistic and state –oriented selfish way .We are a single nation and has to
remain so.We have to produce food more for the sharing of it with others ,and the other
operations like dwelling constructions etc can be done only where there is no fields of
cultivation.
Moreover,the greenery and nature ,the protected heritage sites and opportunities for safe
boating and fishing etc can bring more tourism opportunities for the state .If no
monuments and no greenery ,no natural beauty and wild life which tourist will prefer a
state as tourist attraction?
Food is Annam and the earth is Annapoorna,the Holy mother. From Vedic India onwards
the significance of food and its role in life had been recognized and well researched by
Indians. But in the western world as Peter Atkins and Ian Bowler suggests in the
introduction to their book” Food in society” food has received little academic attention
due to it’s a taken for granted attitude to life, and as a research subject it lacked novelty in
social sciences. Recently the food and its research has become prevalent in
historical,cultural,sociological,anthropological and post modern ,post structuralist
studies. The idea of a food system according to the authors stretch back to 150 years
only(page 9) starting from George Dodd’s book(1856)to Raison’s (1933) .They give the
estimates of the main components of the UK food system 1997 from the ministry of
agriculture and the agrifood system modified after Whatmore 1995 (pp 10-11).
The food from farms goes to manufacturers and from them to wholesalers and retailers
,and thence to caterers and consumers. The export is about 7 less than the import.
The Agrifood system has the agritechnology industries at the top and the food
consumption at its base.
Agritechnology industries Machinery
Chemicals (fertilizer, pesticides)
Biological(breeding ,GMOs)
Factors of production Capital,credit,financial services,labour market,information,training,supply of seeds,chemicals,equipments
Farming industry Landed/property interests,
Farm business
Farm/property servicing agencies
Intermediate Wholesale assembly
Imports/exports
Storage and transport industries
Co-operative /state collective marketing
Policy and intervention arrangements
Food industries Processing,manufacturing,packaging,wholesale distribution,catering,retailing
Regulation State health and nutrition policy
State food quality
Safety monitoring
Food security measures
Food consumption Household labor in food preparation
Purchasing power
Food habits
culture
The food studies are inter-multidisciplinary involving
agriculture,geography,ecology,sociology,anthroplology psychology, social administration
,education marketing and media studies and regional cultures and climatology. In human
history food is mainly consumed at site of production .The early food gatherers/hunters
and the cave dwellers and villagers all depended on their region and climate for food and
knew it well for survival. Trade by bartering developed among neighboring societies and
it expanded through wandering tribes of the cattle-rearer class and the fisherfolk .By 15th
to 17th century India and Europe established a commercial trade and the gain of
knowledge was more for the west than the east regarding agricultural economy and food
chains and ecology.The globalization of food and international trading in food started
with this at large scale.Production,distribution and consumption of food changed
equations with this .Political economy is a branch which helps developing nationally and
globally oriented food system along with subsistence agriculture and commercial
agriculture for regional as well as international markets. This is a social economy as a way
of life founded on food production on a regional basis expanded globally. The concept of
food regime developed in the west in 1980 out of French schools of regulation theory.
1 EXTENSIVE REGIME mid 17th to world war 1.
2 INTENSIVE REGIME end of world war 2 to 1970( 1947-1970)
3.Regimes since 1980.
Regimes of accumulation existed from 1930 depression to global recession in 1970.It was
a stability by mode of social regulation(MSR) by which society organizes and conducts
production and reproduction and how social relations were maintained .In this
interpretation national regulatory frameworks and state rules are product of class
powers. International regulatory structures are created from and are sustained by nations
and other transnational entities.
Characteristics of food regimes by Le Heron 1993 (pp 26.Peter Atkins)
Food regime First (pre-world war 2) Second(1950-1970) Transition to 3rd (1980-1990)
Principal tendencies Culmination of colonialism
Rise of nation-state system Extension of state to former colonies
Transnational restructuring of agriculture by agro-food capitals Contradictions of productive and consumption trends
Disintegration of national agro food capitals
Governing premises Acceptability of alien rule
Propriety of accumulation regime
Importance of balancing power
Legitimacy of neo-mercantilism
Noninterference in others colonial administration International free markets and enterprises
Extra market channels for food distribution
Avoidance of starvation
Free flow of crop information that is scientific
Low priority for national self-reliance
National sovereignty
Low concern about chronic hunger Multipolarity of power-US ,EC,Japan
Global transmission of adjustments
Rise of new protectionism
Retreat from distributional issues
Restricted flow of technological information
Renewed interest in national self-reliance
Main historical features Centered on European import of wheat and meat from settler states1910-1914
Import by settler states of European manufactured goods,labour ,capital Based on strong state protection
Organization of world food economy under US hegemony after 1945 Crisis in world agricultural trade featuring price instability ,breakdown in multilateral agreements increased competition in export markets limited imposition of structural adjustment policies
Main international policy features Imperial preference .vertical hierarchical relation Bretton-woods agreement,GATT,postwar reconstruction
Multilateralism
Nondiscrimination and
Legal approach to regulation
US management of international agricultural trade system via agenda setting in international relations
Commodity agreement and conventions
Attempts to resolve world agricultural trade issues through GATT Framework
Main national policy features Assistance for land settlement and infrastructure Cheap food policies
Credit expansion
Production control mechanisms
Market creation via concessionary export sales and food aid Opposing trends of further protection and deregulation of agricultural sector
The economic base of the alternative food network have a range of social
movements :-
Environment
Sustainable agriculture
Community-supported agriculture
Consumer and health
Genetic resources conservation
Animal rights
Consumer preferences
Farmer’s markets
Traditional medicines ethnic cuisine
Variations in farm size in selected European nations (1993) showing % holdings
in each farm size groups from 1-5 Ha to more than 50 hectares.(European
commission statistics)
Country 1-5 Ha 5-10 10-20 20-50 .>50
Germany 31 15 18 23 13
Greece 75 15 7 2 0.4
Italy 77 11 6 4 2
Spain 57 16 11 8 7
UK 14 12 15 24 33
EU12 58 13 10 11 7
Alternative agriculture (Beus and Dunlap 1998 pp 598-599Conventional and
alternative agriculture :The paradigmatic roots of the debate Rural sociology )
CONVENTIONAL AGRICULTURE ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
Centralisation:-
1 .Fewer farms
2.Concentrated resources
3.National /international marketing Decentralisation:-
More farms
Dispersed resources
Local/regional markets
Individualism:-
1.Self interest
2.Reduced labor
3.Farming as business
4.External costs ignored
5Material success Community
Co-operation
Retained labor
Farming as a way of life
All costs considered
Non-material values
Specialization
1.Farming reduced to individual components
2.standardised production Holism
Farming as a system
Diversification
The dictum “Grow globally and eat locally “is the reflection of sound economy
.The food surplus and shortage in different regions has to be tackled by more
production in the deficient regions for local consumption. There is direct relation
to population growth and food insufficiency and poverty and hunger. Abraham
J(1991 Food and development .The political economy of hunger and the modern
diet .London) shows the relation like this.
Patriarchy leads to large families, and high population growth and poverty and
hunger. In families with low population growth (and small )wealth accumulates
and there is a class divided agrarian system with more surplus food and diet in
sufficient calories. He does not say the role of matriarchal system but in India this
was the reason for the class divide. The matriarchal small family and the joint
family (undivided land)and the co-operative farming of all members of the joint
family were undertaken in Kerala till recently. It was only in 1903 the partition
deed of the Kurumbatur and Punnayrkulam branches were done (though they
existed from 1790 onwards).Both the landed property was looked after by the
senior member of the Kurumbattur branch till 1903.(Also see the Nalapat saga for
the population control of matriarchal and patriarchal systems)
According to Buringh and Dudal (1987 Agricultural land use in space and time. Q
P Atkins)and Alexandros (1995 world agriculture :towards 2010 Chichester
:wiley) the cultivated land in South Asia from 1988-1990 in million hectares is
175,and further potential for arable land is 38 and a total is 213 million Ha .For
possible more efficiency of food production Smil,V(1994How many people
can the earth feed ?Population and development review 20,255 -92)suggests :-
Improved field efficiencies with better agronomic practices,higher fertilizer
uptake, reduced irrigation waste,reduse waste by post-harvest losses ,and end-use
waste, and have healthier diets having limited fat intake to 30 % of total energy
and by these means a total gain of 60 % by 2050 is aimed at. Results from
regression analysis of determinants of food supply factors in 90 developing
countries ,Bongaarta J(1995.Can the human population feed itself ?scientific
American 270(3),18-24) takes the supply factor, population density GDP per
capita for different regions.
The supply factors are
1.Proportion of land cultivated
2.cropping frequency
3.proportion of area for food crops
4.crop yield
5.Trade multiplier proportion directly consumed
6.Animal product multiplier
7.Calories per capita per day
In Asia the cropping frequency is less and crop yield isles due to this.
Malnutrition, food and famines:-Income and purchasing power, class and
geographical peculiarities and lack of awareness of nutritious food are the reasons
for malnutrition in varying proportions.
What should we eat and in what quantity and quality? What is a vulnerable group
for hunger and malnutrition and what are its causes ? How can we combat the
problem of hunger and malnutrition in an overpopulated society?
Our requirements vary with age,sex,occupation and several other
factors.Undernutrition is an inadequate intake of calories and malnutrition an
imbalance of nutrient consumption due to shortage of a key element like a vitamin
or mineral like iron etc.Deficiency can also arise due to soil peculiarity and
geological factors.
Vulnerability in social space
Entitlement relations Power/institutional relations Social relations/class relations
In social relations Vulnerability as entitlement problem Vulnerability as powerlessness Through appropriation and exploitation
Vulnerable groups The resource-poor The powerless The exploited
Critical regions Marginal regions Peripheral/dependent Crisis-prone regions
Causes of vulnerability:-
Underlying causes :- population growth ,surplus production and resource
competition, hierarchical appropriation, environmental fluctuations
Immediate causes:-Natural disasters,war,social disruption, entitlement loss
Hunger situations:-regional food shortage, household food poverty, individual
food Deprivation
Direct consequences;-economic loss, depopulation social conflict
,impoverishment ,family dispersal ,migration, limited activity,wasting,stunting
diseases and death.Each leads to the other.
The underlying processes lead to the immeadiate causes. They in turn to hunger
situation and direct consequences.
IMMEADITE HUNGER SITUATIONS DIRECT CONSEQUENCES
Natural disaster
War
Social disruption
Entitlement loss Regional food shortage Economic loss ,depopulation, social conflicts
Resource poverty
Excess tax/rent
Entitlement exclusion and failure
Ethnic, societal discriminations Household food
poverty Impoverishment
Family dispersal
Migration
Disease
Special needs
Neglect and abuse
Gender and age
Discriminations Individual food deprivation Limited activity
Wasting and stunting
Disease and death
How do people cope with a famine /
Source of adjustment Early stage of response Intermediate Final stage
Production Change cropping
Planting practices
Increase home production
Labor In search of employment In search of employment in face of expected wage rate fall. separation from family Distress migration
Assets/capita Sale of small stock (liquid easily reversible) Sale of production assets(livestock,tools,land) in a depressed market Separation of families probably permanent
Loans/transfers Interhousehold transfers and loans Credit from money lenders Donation(relief assistance)
consumption Switch in expenditure/diet composition
Reduction of consumption level
(cut frequency or size of meal or both)
Adjustment in intra-household allocations Reduction of consumption
(greater dependence on market) Reduction of consumption(survival threatened)
Food production surplus to domestic demand is an achievement a
family/society/nation /world can be proud of. The excess produce can be shared
with others. This is needed not only for appeasing hunger but for having a healthy
nutritious diet for a healthy society .That can cause cost reduction in the medical
field which is in enormous proportions at present.
Early warning systems (EWS )of famine by a state Government by climatological
observations and proper organization and collection of surplus grain in granaries
has to be viewed in this way and then we will understand the Mohenjodaro
granary in its proper perspective and the astronomical varshaphala in each village
as well. It had been a national surveillance at community level ,the supply-side
data, especially on harvest ,storage and marketing and the power of monitoring
and coping strategies of an ancient people who had knowledge of their
environment ,and geographical features. They did not have satellite remote
sensing or automated data analysis but were well informed of their environment
and geography and its implications on food and famines and natural disasters.
They were well equipped with dealing an emergency situation and had the moral
and economic strength for it traditionally.(as we have demonstrated in Indian
history chapters).The food security priorities of the NGO forum to world summit
(1996) are on strengthening of family farming decentralization of wealth and
power, agriculture and food production based on agric-ecological principles .They
even suggest the suspension of IMF /World bank structural adjustment
programmes,more participation of peoples programmes and food sovereignty take
precedence over macroeconomic policies and trade liberalizations. Hunger and
poverty and malnutrition are fundamental questions of justice. The right of every
one to life should come before the profit motive is the message.(pp 171 Peter
Atkins)
Food and health:- A high cereal diet ,with lots of vegetables and fruits lower heart
disease ,cancer and a variety of other diseases. Reduced alcohol and tobacco use
with lot of fibers in diet prevent cancers of different types. Antioxidant quality of
fruits and vegetables having vit A,C and E neutralize the degrading effects of free
radicals on cellular DNA reducing cancer risk.Grapes,tomatoes,garlic ,cruciferous
vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower,fish oil,soya,turmeric and carrots have
anticancer properties and are called functional foods.Upto 80 % bowel and breast
cancer can be preventable by diet change. Red meat and processed food without
fibres increase risk of cancer.committtee of medical aspects of food
policy(COMA) of UK recommended cereals ,fruits and vegetables to be more in
diet.(1984).
Low income and dietary health links:-When purchasing power is high people
neglects agriculture and depend upon purchasing food with high costs. And they
go for fast foods and high meat ,fibreless diet and become unhealthy. The low
income people depend upon the regional foods available and if that is not
produced in enough quantities they become malnourished.
The low consumption of fruits and vegetables
Less food rich in vegetable fiber
Low intake of antioxidant ,vitamin and mineral rich foods
Reduced growth rates in utero
High rates of female obesity
Low incidence of breast feeding
Maternal smoking during pregnancy
High salt intake of mother and hypertension
High alcohol related morbidity
Dental decay
Kwashiorkor and related diseases
Anemia
These are directly related to infant and child health in society .Social exclusion of
certain fruits by poverty and lack of purchasing power and unavailability of
nourishing food and also lack of awareness of what to eat to be well nourished are
factors to be dealt with for a healthy community living. Industrial food processing
and additives for preservation are other reasons for unhealthy food .The
traditional food processing systems of India and the simple diet was free from
these (See the interviews with the people of Punnayurkulam).The agrichemicals
like insecticides,rodenticides,herbicides,fungicides are causing concern since they
appear in the food .The side effects of drugs used to increase growth of plants is
yet another problem. These are manmade problems and is of short history. The
traditional remedies for the pest control, manure ,and preservation are safer .
The green revolution was the result of an intense plant breeding programme that
relied upon applied science and luck. It was green and related to food and plants
while that of revolution was red related to bloodshed. The HYv of wheat and rice
from Mexico and Philippines was used for it.In 1943 Rockefeller foundation
started the research on new local variety of wheat in Mexico.In 196 the research
institute International rice research institute was founded in Philippines
(IRRI)with financial backing of Rockefeller and Ford foundation. They collected
rice from all over the world ,kept them in seed bank for possible future research
and breeding .In 1966 the miracle rice IR 8 was released. It was a crossbreed
between Petan ,a tall vigorous Indonesian variety and Dee-geo-woo-gen ,a short
stiff strawed Chinese rice. The new variant showed some desirable characters. By
1981 500 semi dwarf varieties came and 150 were from IRRI. IR 64 in 1985 was
one of the most successful one with high yields and resistant to pests and
diseases.HYV s now have taken over the traditional varieties(TVs) globally by
now.
Phase 1 of Green revolution was one of euphoria in the 1960 s.The defect with
TVs was that the farmers could not store them for long times for future
use.HYVs demanded more work (10-40 % more per Ha for wheat and 30-60 %
more for rice).This was for weeding, pest control fertilizer application and
moisture control. consumers also benefited by low price. The small holders of
farms could grow more in a small plot and devote the rest of the area for cash
crops.
Phase 2 by early 1970s.Poor became poorer and there was a negative
phase.Greenrevolution in theory was to help all but in practice it cold not do that
and the rich became richer widening the gap.Rice is host to 150 diseases and
pests.TVs developed for centuries of trial and error experience was immune to
many of them but HYVs were not .In 1970 and 80s the brown leaf grasshopper
that carry the grassy stunt virus caused widespread damage to IR8 in Indonesia
and other countries. More pesticides had to be used. Negative impacts on soil
occurred. Small farmers could not cope with the loss and the cost of agriculture.
In areas of floods like Bangladesh a long-stemmed and floating varieties were
used (refer to the pokkali mentioned by farmers of Punnayurkulam)because the
people knew the nature of their locality.Shortstrawed HYV cannot be grown
there.Modernisation with tractor was an inbuilt threat for the poor. They improve
the timeliness of ploughing and harvesting operations. But displaced the laborers
and left them unemployed and small holders could not do this operation without
pooling with larger farmers who has lumpy investments. In India the irrigated
areas of Punjab was well suited for HYV of wheat and Tamil nadu for HYV of
rice. Their success in green revolution caused rural disparities of wealth in
India. The less favored areas suffered price cuts and this was corrected by self
migration of people to the areas of green revolution.(pp 224 Peter Atkins)
Phase 3 Late 1970-80.Small farmers were adapting to the HYVs and they could
afford the high expensive input of chemicals and fertilizers. More research and
more investment and food availability was replaced by the concept of entitlement
of poor farmers and to environmental variations and socioeconomic
contexts.HYV was labor-intensive and appropriate for the densely populated
south Asia and inappropriate for Africa where there is a rural labor shortage.
Phase 4 1980-90s.There was a realization that the traditional breeding methods
which had been the basic underpinning of the green revolution was nearing their
ceiling for increased production. Yield growth slowed in Punjab due to ground
water exhaustion, micronutrient depletion, built up of pests, conventional plant
breeding was unable to find the answers. Tissue culture and embryo transfers had
to be done to keep the races of plants and animals. The natural was replaced by
artificial .Green revolution shifted to gene revolution.
The spatial typology of the green revolution
Type 1.Leading innovative regions with rain fed well irrigated fields for poverty alleviation.
Type 2.Backward areas poor or exhausted soil, few water resource, dry or cold climate. For forestry and non-farm rural development
Type 3.Second generation breakthrough areas ,in crops like Kharrif sorghum in Maharashtra,ragi in Karnataka,Maize in Malawi,Zimbabwe,rice in west Africa for small farmers as an experiment
Type 4.Reasonably favored areas not suited for HYVs and where farmers had switched of to cash crops that were abandoned in type 1 areas. Like pulses and fodder. In Gujarat from wheat to mustard ,rapeseed and groundnuts and in North Arcot from rice to groundnuts and sugar.
The key components of biotechnology
Genomics. Mapping the genetic make up of living things
Bioinformatics. Assembly of genome data into accessible forms
Transformation. Insertion of new genes with useful traits
Molecular breeding. Identification and evaluation of desirable genetic traits in breeding programmes
Diagnostics. Identification of pathogens using molecular characterization
Vaccines. Development of recombinant technology DNA vaccines to control disease
Biotechnological applications in agriculture
CROP IMPROVEMENT LIVESTOCK IMPROVEMENT
Protoplast fusion and somatic hybridization to produce new breeds
Disease free plant propagation
Production of genetic maps
Biological nitrogen fixation
Genetically engineered male sterility ,to produce hybrids
Transgenic plants for pest resistance
In vitro germ plasma conservation ,storage and distribution Production of growth hormones using engineered bacteria
Embryo manipulation to introduce traits
Transgenic animals for better feed efficiency
New vaccines
Disease diagnosis
The threat to diversity of cultivated plants by using a single variety in vast areas
by a monoculture is there. There had been 95 % loss of farm level biodiversity in
the 20th century alone. It seems essential to protect the vast variety of genes in
traditional agriculture in the less developed countries as well as in wild plants.
The five freedoms :-
1.Freedom from thirst,hunger,malnutrition.Easy access to clean and fresh water in
adequate amounts and nutritious food for all living things
2.Freedom from discomfort. Environment suitable to their species, including
adequate shelter and comfortable rest area.
3.Freedom from pain ,injury ,disease. By prevention, rapid or early diagnosis and
Treatment
4.Freedom to express normal behaviour.By provision of sufficient space ,proper
facilities, and company of its own kind
5.Freedom from fear and distress .By ensuring that living conditions avoid mental
suffering.
The discussion from animal welfare naturally leads to animal rights and
increasing trends to vegetarianism .Singer (1998)reported that in next few years
vegetarianism will prevail and meat eating will be abandoned as tobacoo
smoking. The principal motives for vegetarianism on the increase are the
moral/spiritual, health reasons,ecological,taste reasons. In India once a
predominantly vegetarian nation, with occasional meat in diet there is an
increasing trend in nonvegetarian food after the western rule and by the 1970’s
only Punjab,Rajasthan and Gujarat has more than 60 % vegetarians in rural/urban
settings. I Kerala 29 % rural and only 10 % urban people are vegetarians at
present and this trend shows though considered most literate Kerala people are not
aware of the new trends in the west concerning vegetarian food and its
acceptability over nonvegetarian due to several reasons –both ecological, moral
and health related .
Factors affecting our food choice:-
1.Geoenvironmental. The agroecosystems,time of day ,season,regionality of food
culture,spatiotempoaral and hierarchical diffusion of food habits
2.Socioeconomic: Religions,taboo,social customs,ethnicity,income,social
class, household composition, knowledge of nutrition, attitude to food related
health risk, advertising mass communications,travel,retail system, moral values
3.Physiological.Heredity,allergy,therapeutic diets, taste ,accessibility,sex,body
size, age
Classification of different types of eating:
1.A meal:-structured event ,a social occasion, when food is eaten according to
certain rules
2.Snack .Unstructured food event without rules of combination or sequence
Types of meal:
1 Major meal/main meal. First course of cereals (CH) the central course of
vegetables of different types prepared in different way(culinary science) with
gravy ,dhals and pulses and also curd/butter etc..Finally a sweet .(may have
fish, eggs or meat for nonvegetarians)
2.A minor or secondary meal. Eg Breakfast
3.Less significant meal.Eg tea and biscuits .
A complete meal is that which contains all nutrients like CH,Fats and Proteins and
vitamins and minerals. If protein,CH and fats present but no vitamins or minerals it is an
incomplete meal. If there is protein ,fat and vitamins and minerals but no starch ,plant
proteins and dietary fibres it is a less balanced meal. The food without animal protein and
fat is a vegetarian meal .
Apple is a high quality snack .Apple and a chocolate makes a mixed quality snack and
chocolate alone is a low quality snack .
Daily pattern of meal intake in sample of American adolescents (1989-91)
1.Three meals with or without snacks 58.4 %
2.Breakfast,lunch with or without snacks 5.5
3.lunch,dinner with or without snacks 13.4
4.Breakfast and dinner with or without snacks 14.4
5One meal and snack 5.4
6.One meal and snack 2.9
(compare with Punnayurkulam interviews and the food of local people as told by William
Logan )
Dietary pattern and food including proper nutrients is a culiery science closely followed
and researched by the Indian women of antiquity to this day. This depends on the female
household head and her knowledge, freedom and skills in processing and cooking
etc,gardening and making fruits and vegetables in her gardens .
Agricultural decision making was as much of a woman’s area as it was that of man
since she was also participant of rice and vegetable growing and knew all aspects of
cultivation, season etc and this gave lot of freedom for agrarian women than their modern
counterparts of India .They had access to irrigation, spring water,rivers,land,cow and
cattle,sheep,goats and other domestic animals,poultry,horticulture crop produce, trees and
credit systems ,agricultural labour,team work and farm inputs and the monetary benefits
there from .This was so in Ethiopia and Tanzania surveys of 1998 by FAO.The effect of
combined income of man and woman in the household had several positive effects in
society as a family productive unit of agriculture. This also was found the same in other
regions like Kenya,Taiwan,Guatemala,Brazil etc .The household calorie
level, expenditure on food, child welfare, and child survival depends on the share of
woman have in the total family income and her decisions in family matters of food and
health and population control and agricultural decisions of production for sustenance of
family.
The sex ratio of India (1901-91)
1991 census show 407 million girls and women and 439 million boys and men .For every
1000 men 927 women. This is called the sex ratio. India is having the lowest proportion
of women population in the world today. The sex ratio is falling gradually from 1901.
1901 972
1911 964
1921 955
1931 950
1941 945
1951 946
1961 941
1971 930
1981 934
1991 927
Haryana (865 as ratio) has the lowest ratio in the world ,succeeded by parts of
Gujrat,North western Madhyapradesh,border districts of Rajasthan, and western Uthar
Pradesh .Kerala has a better sex ratio. The central role of women in the food chain is now
receiving more attention by the academicians .The matriarchal pattern of society and its
agrarian joint family system needs to be studied in this light and not under the western
nuclear family concept .For co-operative farming and for labor needed for various
agrarian operations, joint family and joint communes or society and common land
holdings are more suitable .It increase productivity ,and production by common co-
operative work which is cost-effective in itself.
The aim of any community development project and National Extension science is to
Provide nutritious food,clothing ,shelter,health by clean water and environment,free
education for all ,but along with these basic materialistic needs a change in the outlook of
the citizens and rulers for development of the full potential of human resources and a
unified co-operative effort to develop the nation and its environment and in the long run
,that of the entire world.Unless this is not achieved,the goal of welfare state with equal
opportunities for all citizens will never be achieved.The process of transformation in the
socioeconomic life of villages leading to growth –economic,manpower resources –for
rejuvenatation and revitalization of nation.
1 Elimination of poverty ,disease and ignorance is in other words socioeconomic
growth,Perfect physical,mental and intellectual health ,and educating every citizen .
2.To infuse spirit of brotherhood and co-operation is equivalent to instill the spirit of
Humanity and spirit of a unified nation and that is Indianness for an Indian.Not based on
any other factor like caste,creed,language ,religion or political affiliations etc.
3.Seeking self-help is learning self-reliance
4.Sufficient scientific knowledge has to be taken to the most distant neighbour’s door –
that is to the most distant village –and for that one needs knowledge and communication
skills and a spirit of unity and co-operation and compassion for all.
For these to be achieved we need the Triple tenets.
1.The Faith in ourselves
That we can Do it
We can Train to do it.
We can Create conditions to achieve it
2.Triple character of Rights
To Live
To learn
To do duties
3.Rules of business
Elevate
Integrate
Standardize
Friday, May 28, 2010
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