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We feel lucky today as we are reading this article and not feeling hungry as we might have a nice meal sometime back and finding information in a relaxed mood reading more about others & society. And then we will share the same with other friends and family members too.
Can you do the same if you are damn hungry?
Then you probably would not care about this article or for that matter you might not care about anything else than finding some food to fill your stomach. 821 million people – one in nine – still go to bed on an empty stomach each night. Even more – one in three – suffer from some form of malnutrition. Eradicating hunger and malnutrition is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Not only the consequences are not enough – or wrong – food causes suffering and poor health, they also slow progress in many other areas of development like education and employment. In 2015 the global community adopted the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development to improve people’s lives by 2030. Goal 2 – Zero Hunger – pledges to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. (Source: World Food Programme).
Zero hunger means working together to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to the safe, healthy and nutritious food they need. To achieve it, we must adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, work with others, share our knowledge and be willing to help change the world – for the better. Since 1945 India has come a long way. Today the country is not only self-sufficient in rice and wheat, it also exports a range of food products.
An adequate and balanced diet allows us to avoid undernourishment and malnutrition. Consuming less than 2100 calories a day, one is considered to be under-nourished and suffering from hunger. Under-nourished children often also suffer from malnutrition. An adequate and balanced diet allows us to avoid undernourishment and malnutrition. Consuming less than 2100 calories a day, one is considered to be under-nourished and suffering from hunger. Under-nourished children often also suffer from malnutrition. A child who does not receive essential nutritive elements can suffer from malnutrition and will be exposed to serious health problems which can hamper their healthy development.
Three major micronutrient deficiencies:
Iron deficiencies can cause growth problems with less intellectual development, as well as a weakened immune system and greater exposure to those illnesses present in disadvantaged areas: Pneumonia, Diarrhoea, Malaria, Measles and Aids.
Iron is found in foods like red meat, some types of fishes, dried fruits, some cereals and dark green vegetables.
Iodine deficiencies can lead to irreversible brain lesions, which can lead to mental retardation. Iodine deficiencies can also cause Goitre (swelling of the thyroid) and some other thyroid problems.
Iodine is found mostly in salt, algae, fish and seafood, but also in some vegetables like green beans.
Vitamin A deficiencies can cause blindness or death. Vitamin A (Retinol) is found in animal foods such as liver, oily fish, or indeed in cod liver oil.
Vitamin A (Carotenoid) is also present in plant-based foods like Carrots, Spinach, Broccoli, Oranges and Mango. Deficiency of this vitamin can lead to micronutrient deficiencies, over long periods which can be even fatal in children under 5.
A hungry person will not understand all these facts and obviously those people who are reading this article do not suffer from these issues. Then why the hell we are putting our effort to write this! Of course there is a purpose. We strongly believe as a human being on the Earth it is our responsibility to make sure we take care of this situation individually or together as a whole community to confirm we contribute our knowledge, money and willingness with others to help the needy to get rid of hunger and malnutrition.
Ways to raise your helping hands
- A good way to tackle hunger is to manage our food waste. There are strong links between hunger, waste & food security. World Food Day also encourages people to reconsider their food waste. It’s not so tough to do – freeze your leftovers for later so you can use them as an ingredient in another meal.
- Don’t ask for full portion in the restaurant if you are not feeling so hungry or take your leftover food home. Can’t stop to cite one remarkable instance taken by one Government – In December 2015, the French National Assembly voted unanimously to prevent supermarkets from wasting unsold food. With this new law, supermarkets will be forced to give away surplus food and the practice of destroying unsold food will be banned.
- In India large scale marriages are wonderful venue to experience wastage of high quality & tasty food.
- If you can afford, you can donate healthy and nutritious food to needy.
In our next article we will talk about Food Safety and Food Security in India. You can express your views and opinions on the below comment box.
