Friday 8 March 2013

Food for All?



The other day I had the ‘ honor’ of attending a ‘big fat Indian wedding’ in a five star resort of Jaipur. With more than 2000 guests, the wedding was ostentatious beyond my expectations. Apart from the resort and its decor  what caught everyone’s attention was – the food. With innumerable varieties of Indian and continental varieties of delicacies, the food, certainly stole the show. With so many options available it was difficult to decide what to eat and what to leave and in the quest of deciding on the best food item, a lot of food ended up in the bin.  People would fill their plates beyond its capacity; and their stomachs beyond its digestive capacity and would still manage to land some amount of food into dust bins.  
But in a country with over 1 billion population out of which 30 million people suffer from hunger and more than 46% of children are underweight, is it OK to throw away food like this? In a country where people don’t even get one meal a day, is such wastage of food by the affluent lot justified?
India is still considerate of their food as compared to the opulent countries like America-   throws away 40% of the bought food; uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of US solid waste where it accounts for almost 25% of methane emissions accelerating global warming. Australians throw out more than 4 million tonnes of food every year: close to a thousand kilograms per household. About one-third of food purchased in the UK is tossed out every year and the world as a whole wastes about 300 million tonnes, which is more than the total net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa- enough to feed the estimated 900 million people hungry in the world. This is the scenario when one in every seven people goes to bed hungry and more than 20,000 people die of hunger every day.
Considering these figures it wouldn't be wrong to say that whatever food insecurity we are facing today, can be attributed to improper distribution and management; and not solely on production failure. Things like this put a huge question mark on our efforts towards sustainable future.
It is time we change certain habits that are not good for our earth and its people because it is our small efforts that brings large difference in the society. Think at least once before you order your food and twice before you throw it away, it would not only save your money but also will save earth’s precious resources.
There are certain communities that have taken initiative to reduce the food wastage. 1098 is one such child helpline in India that collects extra food from people.

Think, eat- save.
Keep your plates full, but not at the cost of others’.

Sunday 3 February 2013

A Student’s perspective on Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2013

From 31st January to 2nd February 2013, the shining marbles of the Taj Palace, New Delhi hosted the shining marvels of the world that flew down to New Delhi to discuss the sustainability and resource management issues. The 13th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit was organized by TERI -The Energy and Resource Institute with the theme of “The Global Challenge of Resource Efficient Growth and Development.” The event was inaugurated by Dr. Manmohan Singh (Current Prime Minister of India). It was concluded by renowned ministers- Salman Khurshid and Montek Singh Ahluwalia. It was attended by country heads of Seychelles, Guyana, Kiribati and Finland, Ministers of countries like Bhutan, Poland, Thailand, Québec, Nigeria, Maldives, Japan and many other ‘environmentally concerned’ countries. The event was also value-added by the presence of Noble Laureates Dr R K Pachauri (Director-General of TERI) and Carlo Rubbia (Scientific Director, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Germany). Also, it was supported by leading corporates and was covered by worldwide media.

Amongst all these big names, in the dark of the hall, dressed in formals (many for the first time), handing over the mikes, rushing the people inside, distributing the papers, managing the paper work, running for autographs, were us- the student volunteers. Students- who were more enthusiastic than anyone else. Students- who felt a little out of place among those titans. Students- who were largely unacknowledged during the whole event. Since it was our first experience of participating in an event of this magnitude, I would like to share my views as a student on the summit. 
For me as an environmental studies scholar, what could be better than listening to our PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, an economist, talk about ecology and sustainability? It was great to know how well aware our political leaders are about the rising problems of climate change and are willing to take the necessary steps for betterment of global environment. When you hear governmental personnel of countries like USA and Japan (among the largest GHG emitters) and of small island nations like Kiribati (vulnerable to climate change) ardently supporting ecology and environment, you ought to believe that the world’s on the right track of the sustainable development. But it being the 13th summit makes me wonder, how many more such conferences do we need to have to actually do something impactful for the earth. When are we really going to walk the talk, in fact to be at the par with the rapidly changing climate, we might need to ‘run the talk’ and perhaps even that would not be enough.

While most of the sessions seemed enriching to me, some speakers and sessions managed to stand out. Amongst them was the energetic words delivered by Mr Bittu Sahgal who accentuated environmental services and lack of measuring instruments of their importance. Larry Brilliant’s presentation was also very informative and talked about sea level rise and its possible impact on India and Bangladesh.  It was a fateful moment for us to see two Nobel Laureates in conversation- Dr R K Pachauri and Carlo Rubbia discussing future of renewable energy.  Among the parallel running thematic tracks ‘Learning from Green initiatives in Asia’ was quite distinguished and provided a sneak view of the environmental efforts being taken by developing nations like India, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.


Events like these provide a platform for exchange of knowledge, best practices and policies. Survival stories of small islands serve as an inspiration to the more developed countries. The event concluded on 2nd February with countries looking forward to sustainable development, food and energy security with equity and it was a huge success. We hope to have more of such inspiring summits in our country.

Saturday 26 January 2013


Climate Change and Human Health

Images of melting of glaciers, isolated polar bears, raising temperature, distorted lands and even of drowning world swoops across when we hear (or Google) the term- climate change. Although almost everyone today is familiar with this bigger picture or the large scale impacts of climate change, we still are missing on the finer grains. We consider climate change as a distant phenomenon that is affecting the earth but is still to touch us on an individual level. The consequences of climate change are not limited to sea level  and melting of glaciers but it also have direct as well as indirect impacts on human health; some of which are already apparent. A 2008 survey of local public health directors in the United States found that a majority of the respondents have already identified existing public health impacts of climate change within their jurisdictions.[1]
Climate change is likely to cause extreme weather events cyclone, flood, fire, draught; etc. which may cause Possible fatalities and injuries and Damage human communities. 
Heat Waves are expected to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change. Water and Vector-borne diseases are projected to increase in no. Climate is one of several factors that influence the distribution of vector borne and zoonotic diseases (VBZD) such as Lyme disease, Hantavirus, West Nile virus, and malaria.  Climate change is also likely to influence the production of pollen and other allergens associated with asthma and allergies. There is evidence that climate change may slow down the repair of the ozone layer, extending the risk associated with increased UV exposure. [2] One possible direct impact of climate change on cancer may be through increases in exposure to toxic chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer following heavy rainfall and by increased volatilization of chemicals under conditions of increased temperature.
These are only some of the direct impacts of climate change; it may also affect human health in many other ways. Climate change is likely to increase the costs of production of food through potential effects of increased extreme events, particularly reduced rainfall and availability of water associated with drought and long periods of drying climatic conditions Without additional adaptive measures this may result in a decrease in general health and well-being and increases in diet-related conditions such as diabetes and obesity. Also, Increase in the number and severity of extreme events without any further adaptation, will almost certainly result in reduced access to essential goods and services, including medical treatment. Changes in climate also projected to have implications for occupational health and safety. Changes in distribution of bacteria, insects, plants and animals can have environmental impacts on water, land and air quality that have flow on health effects. Climate change is expected to cause mental health problem as well.
Apparently, changing climate possesses many threats to human health that vary from allergic reactions due to air pollution to serious cancer due to exposure of UV light, from physical health to mental health, from heat waves to increased vector-borne diseases. It may alter the weather pattern and affect the food supply. There is still time to adapt. Adaptation to climate change is already taking place, but on a limited basis. Societies have a long record of adapting to the impacts of weather and climate through a range of practices that include crop diversification, irrigation, water management, disaster risk management, and insurance. But climate change poses novel risks often outside the range of experience, such as impacts related to drought, heat waves, and accelerated glacier retreat and hurricane intensity. (IPCC, 2007)
Although specific limits will vary by health outcome and region, fundamental constraints exist in low-income countries where adaptation will partially depend on development pathways in the public-health, water, agriculture, transport, energy and housing sectors. Therefore, adaptation strategies should be designed in the context of development, environment, and health policies.


[1]  (American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), April 2011)

[2]  (Jeff Spickett, Helen Brown and Dianne Katscherian, 2008