Dilip writes in How the Other Half Lives
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"Malnourishment, particularly of kids, has been in the news in recent weeks and months. In Guna district of Madhya Pradesh (check this photo essay), in Orissa, in Maharashtra's Melghat, and even in Bombay.Is this a new phenomenon? Not at all. Malnutrition has been an Indian phenomenon for years. By some estimates, over half of India's children are underweight or malnourished today. This is the highest number in the world. In fact, together with our South Asian neighbours, we account for half the world's malnourished children. "
The picture is from the photo essay at UNICEF.
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Hi ,
Came across your blog. I have heard of your profiency of content selection earlier too. Hope I shall add you in my blogroll.
Keep it up.
Previously I mentioned Arandhati Roy, who works for sustainable develoment. You may well be aware of Vandana Shiva who also works in this field.
http://www.zmag.org/bios/homepage.cfm?authorID=90
http://www.vshiva.net/
There is also her Reith Lecture on BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2000/lecture5.shtml
To this day, 'balanced diets' are something that exist largely in the realm of fiction, even in cities where people are supposedly 'informed'. Even among people who have gone through the 'education system', and even those who can afford to have a balanced diet, a disproportionately high percentage of diet is constituted by carbs.
With this being the case over centuries and generations, it is little wonder then that it is so hard for our nation's athletes to compete at an equal level with their larger, stronger counterparts from around the world. (Not that the nation's sports performance is the most pressing concern now, but just a casual observation)
I thought I had posted on this subject, but I don't find my post here.
I referred you to Vandana Shiva and gave a few links, one of which was to BBC Radio 4 and her participation on the Reith Lectures. She explains well the origins of the malnutrition.
It is also interesting to look up the British organized famine in Bengal in 1942-45. 4 million people died in this preventable famine. That is as many as the Japanese killed in Indonesia during its occupation.
Love their finishing touch. Caring for malnourished people is more economically viable than not yay.
it is pathetic. government must take required action