Vol. 59, Issue No. 44-45, 02 Nov, 2024
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Food Systems
For 2.5 million years humans fed themselves by gathering plants and hunting wild animals that lived and bred without their intervention.
or 2.5 million years humans fed themselves by gathering plants and hunting wild animals that lived and bred without their intervention. Homo sapiens ~ derived from Latin terms homo (human) + sapiens (wise) ~ emerged around 300,000 years ago in Africa, migrated globally and replaced other human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. Sapiens continued to live by gathering and hunting everywhere they went. All these changes occu – rred around 100,000 years ago, when they began to devote almost all their time and efforts to manipulating the lives of a few animals and plant species. They thought and worked day and night and produced more fruits, grains and meat.
Thus the revolution ushered in human history is called the Agricultural Revolution. The transition to agriculture started around 9500-8500 BC. Wheat and goats were domesticated by approximately 9000 BC; peas and lentils around 8000 BC; horses by 4000 BC; and grapevines by 3500 BC. Some other plants and animals were domesticated subsequently. Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli medievalist and military historian, wrote in his book entitled Sapiens; A Brief History of Humankind: “Even today, with allout advanced technologies, more than 90 per cent of the calories that feed humanity come from a handful of plants that our ancestors domesticated between 9500 and 3500 BC ~ wheat, rice, maize, potatoes, millet and barley.
No noteworthy plant or animal has been domesticated in the last 2000 years. If our minds are those of hunter-gatherers, our cuisine is that of ancient farmers.” Each species is an experiment of Nature. Only one such experiment, Homo sapiens, has evolved in a way that has enabled its biological adaptation to be complemented by a capacity for cumulative cultural adaptation.
This unprecedented combination of the usual biologically-based drive for short-term gain (food, territory and sexual consummation) with an intellectual capacity to satisfy that drive via increasingly complex cultural practices is what distinguishes the human experiment. The acquired cultural magnificence and technological mastery has set us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. We, the Homo sapiens, can therefore easily be tempted to imagine that we represent a pinnacle, a culmination, of biological evolution. In the succinct phrase of Jacob Bronowski, we fondly contemplate ‘The Ascent of Man’. Indeed, the Agricultural Revolution laid the foundations of modern civilisation. It is also proclaimed that the revolution was a great leap for humanity.
But humans first lost their ‘ecological innocence’. Overkilling of edible or otherwise useful species was a departure from the basic principle of sustainable ecosystems ~ life can only be supported in the long haul by living off the ecosystem’s interest and not by squandering its capital. The Agricultural Revolution, also known as the Neolithic Revolution, initiated by Homo Sapiens is considered a major turning point in history and evolution, marking the transition from small, nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers to larger, agricultural settlements and early civilisation. But some authors and researchers, like Daniel Quinn (Ishmael) and Yuval Noah Harai (Sapiens), have questioned the narrative of the Agricultural Revolution as a solely positive development.
Harari even argues that the Agricultural Revolution was ‘history’s biggest fraud’ because it has caused population explosions, pampered elites, domesticated animals and made life worse for many people. He thinks hunter-gatherers had more knowledge of their natural environment, and they lived more satisfying lives. He even opines that Sapiens did not domesticate plants like wheat. Rather the plant domesticated us. The food systems inherently built up by the Agricultural Revolution comprise all the people, institutions, places, and activities that play a part in growing, processing, transporting, marketing and, ultimately, eating food.
They are critical for ensuring food and nutritional security, people’s livelihood, and environmental sustainability. Over the last 10,000 years, food production and consumption have been rigorously engineered to meet our dietary habits. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests such practices are deteriorating the health of the planet and its people. A September 2020 report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWP), EAT and Climate Focus says that the global food systems account for about a quarter (21-37 per cent) of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted every year due to human activities. It means that in terms of pollution, food systems fare worse than transportation (14 per cent of GHGs), building and energy use (16 per cent). Now we may try to gauge the amount of additional emissions as we churn out more to feed 10 billion mouths by 2050, as per estimates.
Over and above emission of GHGs, food systems are responsible for 60 per cent of biodiversity loss on land, 33 per cent of degraded lands, 61 per cent of depletion of commercial fish and 20 per cent of overexploitation of global aquifers. The fact may surprise those who think of plants as carbon sinks. Plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere by the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis converts CO2 into energy in the form of sugars that help trees grow and form part of their structures. During growing of plants some of these sugars are exuded into the soil from their roots. When the plants and roots perish, insects, bacteria and fungi etc., living in the soil break down sugar from plants. Some CO2 stays in the soil carbon pool, particularly in the bits of the plant that are harder to decompose ~ these then become part of the soil organic matters. This overall process is what we call the soil carbon sequestration as the soil holds CO2 in the more stable form.
Indeed, globally, there is more carbon in soil than in living trees. Plants release large amounts of sequestered CO2 during de com position and several other stages of food systems. For instance, felling forests to make way for farms and pastures remov es a ma jor carbon sinks, operation of farm machinery using fossil fuels and manufacture of agrochemicals and fertilisers too emit GHGs. The problem with our consumption of livestock is that ruminant livestock ~ cattle, sheep, buffalo, goat, deer and camels produce methane as a by-product of digestion, and methane so produced is released to the atmosphere by the animal. Methane is a stronger greenhouse gas than CO2 because it has much higher heat trapping quality.
On a weight basis it has 21 times the global warming potential of CO2. The vital foodprint measures the environmental impacts associated with the growing, producing, packaging, transporting, storing and retailing of food from natural resources. It is mentioned in the November 2020 issue of Science magazine that our food systems alone could contribute enough GHGs to warm up the planet above the 1.50C threshold sometime between 2051 and 2063. Every year the world produces much more food than the needs of the population, but it is apprehended that it will not be able to meet the SDGs of eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030 due to inequality in access to adequate and healthy food.
According to a report entitled Food in the Anthropocene published in February 2019 by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health, “more than 820 million people have insufficient food and many more consume low-quality diets that cause micronutrient deficiencies and contribute to a substantial rise in the incidence of diet-related obesity and NCD, including coronary heart diseases and stroke and diabetes.” Various estimates report that poor diets are linked to around 11 million deaths per year. Still there is no answer to the question: Can we feed the future population of 10 billion people with healthy diets within the planetary boundaries?
Apart from hunger and malnutrition, the global food system facilitates the spread of viruses from animals to humans, is linked to zoonotic diseases and also fosters antimicrobial résistance. Global food systems are intimately linked to global warming and climate change. The September 2020 assessment report by UNEP says that reducing land–use change and conversion of natural habitats alone could reduce emissions by 4.6 GtCO2e (gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents) a year. Reducing food loss and waste could further lower the emission load by 4.5 GtCO2e. Improving production methods and reducing methane from livestock could lower emissions by up to 1.44 GtCO2e. And replacing animal-based products in human diets with plant–based diet food could result in a massive 8 GtCO2e of emission reduction. But scientifically it is admissible that global warming cannot be limited to 1.50C just by employing any one strategy.
A dramatic food transformation along with a complete transition away from fossil fuels to avert the harmful impacts of climate change is recommended. However, changing food systems is not an easy task. Despite many adversities, experts believe tweaking food systems could be a game-changer. For example, adaptation and mitigation strategies linked to the food systems are not included in Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) ~ steps countries take to reduce national emissions.
At present, only some NDCs mention goals such as food loss and waste reduction, and sustainable diets. It is also suggested that nature based solutions like forest protection, grazing management and fertiliser management can help achieve the ideal targets, while reforestation, bio-char and improved agricultural practices have the potential to store up to 9.1 GtCO2e annually, storing 225 GtCO2e by the end of the century. The 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Conventions on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021 saw discussion on lowering the agriculture sector’s contribution to global warming. We have no alternative but to wait and watch how this affects food systems.
AYDEV JANA
Source: The Statesman, 9/11/24
Go deeper: Editorial on research flagging 82 Indian districts on unwanted pregnancy list
This makes it evident that demographic signifiers like higher income & education & better access to healthcare need not always secure women’s lives, choices or right over their bodies.
The findings of a study, the first-ever district-level examination of unintended pregnancies from nationwide data, have been revealing and significant. Published in the journal, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, the research has revealed that as many as 82 districts of India have a rate of unwanted pregnancies that is higher than the national average. Three of Bengal’s districts — Birbhum, Malda and North Dinajpur — figure among these hot spots, as do 30 districts in Bihar, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Madhya Pradesh, 6 in Delhi, 4 in Haryana and 3 each in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The regional variations throw up intriguing questions. India’s northern states, known for their combination of low literacy — Bihar’s literacy rate is 61.7% while Uttar Pradesh’s is 73% — conservative social norms, and lower individual agency for women, offer a potent cocktail of social factors that often leads to unwanted pregnancies. But Kerala and Delhi, educated, urban, economic hubs, that were expected to buck such regressive trends, also found themselves amidst the geographical clusters that have a rate of unintended pregnancies higher than the national average. This makes it evident that demographic signifiers like higher income and education and better access to healthcare need not always secure women’s lives, choices or their right over their bodies. The cultural preference for a male child remains a formidable opponent to the forces of progress even in urbanised geographies that are relatively affluent. Given the pervasive culture of violence against women, it is also worth asking whether women whose pregnancies are the result of sexual assault and other crimes receive the same kind of access to healthcare and support as their peers.
The data collated from this study also have uses other than challenging — dismantling — prevalent assumptions. For instance, the information that has been unearthed could help policy zero in on areas where the use of contraception is low and then resolve the problem. Equally important is the data’s potential to identify future courses of further research. The fact that as many as eight out of Kerala’s 14 districts show a high propensity of unintended pregnancies should lead to follow-up queries about why a state with the best maternal and childcare indices has failed to check undesirable conceptions. Resources and manpower should not be constraints for future research projects in this direction: the answers would have a bearing on national welfare.
Source: The Telegraph, 7/11/24
Chhath Puja: What is it, what makes it the most important festival of Bihar
On November 7 this year falls the third day of the Chhath festival, the sanjhka arag, or the day of the evening offering. While Chhath has been celebrated in Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal for centuries, over the past decade or so, it has become a lot more visible. Every year, TV channels flash visuals of Chhath being celebrated as far as the banks of the Thames or the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
What is Chhath puja and why is it celebrated? Which deity is Chhathi maiya? What is it about Chhath that makes it so close to the Bihari heart?
Beliefs behind why Chhath is celebrated
Chhath Puja is a four-day elaborate celebration in honour of the Sun. It involves a long fast without water, and making offerings to Usha and Pratyusha — the light of the rising and the setting Sun respectively — while standing in a water body. The prominent rituals begin from the sixth day (shashthi) of the Kartik shukla paksha, which means the waxing-moon fortnight of the month of Kartik.
Several beliefs are prevalent about why Chhath is observed. Some believe that it is a carryover from the time that man worshipped nature. Others trace its origins in the great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
The Rig Veda mentions elaborate rituals to worship the sun. After Lord Ram and Goddess Sita returned victorious to Ayodhya from Lanka, they are said to have observed a fast and conducted a yagna for the Sun god.
In the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas were in exile, some sages visited them. Draupadi, realising she had nothing to offer them, went to sage Dhaumya for help. He advised her to observe a fast and pray to the Sun, and eventually, all her prayers were answered. In the same epic, Karna also organised an elaborate ceremony in honour of Surya (the Sun), his father, “Both Sita and Draupadi conducted their Sun worship on the Kartik shukla paksha shashthi. Worshipping the Sun on shashthi is considered specially auspicious,” said Dr Ramesh Kumar Upadhyay, president of the Bhartiya Jyotish Aadhyatm parishad in Jamshedpur.
Today, Chhath is a festival that epitomises religiosity in Bihar, and countless devotees, who join their hands as the Sun’s rays spread over them, feel the touch of divinity and devotion in a measure little else brings to them.
While only some people observe the fast, the entire community gets involved in making the festival a success — cleaning river banks and the roads leading up to those banks, gathering all the little things needed for the rituals, and preparing thekuas, the festival prasad which is now synonymous with Bihari cuisine.
How Chhath is celebrated
Chhath Puja is held six days after Diwali (which is on amavasya, or new moon day), in October-November. Some people celebrate it in the month of Chaitra also (in April), which is called the Chaiti Chhath. Chhathi maiya or Mother Chhathi, Sun’s sister, is considered an exacting but generous deity. While the rules governing the four-day festival are exceedingly strict, immense spiritual gains are said to accrue to whoever observes them all successfully.
“Apart from being Sun’s sister, Chhathi maiya is also the daughter of Rishi Kashyap and Aditi. She is the wife of Kartikeya, Lord Shiva’s son,” said Dr Upadhyay, who has a Phd from Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University.
The first day of the festival is called naha kha, where those observing it take a meal (khana) only after a ceremonial bath in a river or a pond (nahana). Water brought back from the waterbody is used to make a chulha or stove, and meals for those observing the fast are prepared on this for the rest of the festival. The meal partaken after the bath consists of a bottle gourd sabzi. Over the years, those who can’t go to a waterbody have started observing all the rituals at home.
The second day is called kharna, on which the one observing the fast takes only one meal in the evening, of roti and kheer (rice pudding). This is also the day friends and family gather to prepare thekuas, which are essentially flour cakes with sugar or jaggery fried in ghee. The thekuas, also called khajoor, are prepared taking great precautions to make sure they are perfect for the deity. People can have them only after they have been offered to God. After the roti-kheer meal begins a 36-hour fast, during which devotees don’t even drink water.
On the third day, devotees go to the banks of a water body. Those who can’t, build a temporary pool in their homes. The banks are decorated with diyas, rangoli, and sugarcane stalks. All the offerings to the gods — seasonal fruits like sweet potato, water chestnuts, pomelo, banana — are placed in soops (cane baskets) along with diyas. As the Sun sets, the person fasting raises the soop to it as an offering (arghya). Friends and family members of the one fasting pour milk or water on the soop. This is called the Sanjh ka Arghya, or the evening offering. The next day, the same ritual is conducted at dawn, for the rising Sun, called the Bhor ka Arghya, and the community returns home from the riverbanks, grateful for the successful conclusion of a difficult festival and for having taken part in it.
In South India too, specially in Tamil Nadu, Skanda Shasthi is observed around this period, where Lord Kartikeya and his wives are worshipped.
What makes Chhath unique
There are many reasons that Chhath has such a special place in Purvanchalis’ heart. This festival means the coming together of the community, the legendary Bihari migrants returning home to soak themselves in their culture and homeland once more.
People from any caste can observe the festival. There are no priests involved, it is the devotee directly fasting for and praying to a visible, apparent God, who shines on everyone equally. The offerings made to the deity are of seasonal, locally produced and thus easily accessible fruit. No matter how rich or poor you are, the rules are the same for everyone, and the success of the festival lies in how faithfully you observe the rules, not on what scale you observe them at. Last, and most important, is the message behind the festival — that everyone is equal in the eyes of God, that nature sustains us and is worth honouring, and that dusk is as important as dawn, because life is cyclical and what sets can, and will, rise again.
Written by Yashee
Source: Indian Express, 8/11/24
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Quote of the Day October 30, 2024
“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”
Ashley Smith
“जीवन सौन्दर्य से भरपूर है। इसे देखें। भंवरे को, छोटे बालक को, मुसकुराते चेहरों को देखें। बारिश की खुशबू को सूंघें, और हवा को महसूस करें। जीवन को पूरी तरह जिये, और अपने सपनों की पूर्ति के लिए पूरी कोशिश करें।”
एशले स्मिथ
India Ranks 176th in the Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) 2024
India ranks 176th in the Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) 2024, with a score of 45.5 out of 100. This places India among the five worst performers globally, alongside Kiribati, Turkey, Iraq, and Micronesia. The NCI was released on October 24, 2024, and assesses conservation efforts across 180 countries.
About the Nature Conservation Index
The NCI is a new tool that evaluates conservation efforts using four key markers:
- Land Management
- Threats to Biodiversity
- Capacity and Governance
- Future Trends
Developed by the Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change at Ben-Gurion University and BioDB.com, the index aims to provide a clear analysis of each country’s conservation strategies. It helps governments and organizations identify issues and improve their conservation policies.
India’s Conservation Challenges
India’s low ranking is primarily due to poor land management and increasing threats to biodiversity. The country has converted 53% of its land for urban, industrial, and agricultural use. The NCI marks several problems:
- High Pesticide Use: This contributes to soil pollution.
- Sustainable Nitrogen Index: Currently at 0.77, indicating a need for improvement in soil health.
Marine Conservation Deficiencies
Marine conservation is another critical area of concern. Only 0.2% of India’s national waterways are protected. There are no protected areas within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), despite 7.5% of terrestrial land being safeguarded.
Threats to Biodiversity
India faces threats to its biodiversity:
- Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Caused by agriculture, urbanization, and infrastructure development.
- Climate Change: This adds pressure on sensitive ecosystems, like alpine regions and coral reefs.
From 2001 to 2019 lost 23,300 sq. km of tree cover due to deforestation. Although 40% of marine species and 65% of terrestrial species are in Protected Areas, many continue to decline. The index reports that 67.5% of marine species and 46.9% of terrestrial species are experiencing population decreases.
Global Sustainable Development Goals
India’s NCI findings align with issues raised in the latest global progress report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The country struggles with SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 15 (Life on land).
Future Trends and Opportunities
The index notes both challenges and opportunities for India’s biodiversity. With one of the highest population densities globally and a population that has doubled since the late 1970s, ecological wealth is under threat. India is also the fourth-largest illegal wildlife trader, with annual sales of around £15 billion. The index calls for stronger enforcement and international cooperation to combat this issue. Strong political will is crucial for effective conservation. This includes passing laws that promote sustainable development and securing funding for environmental initiatives. With commitment and action can address its conservation challenges and work towards a sustainable future.
Reviving India’s National Mission for Manuscripts
he Union Ministry of Culture in India is revitalizing the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM). This initiative aims to preserve ancient texts and manuscripts. A new autonomous body, likely named the National Manuscripts Authority, is proposed to enhance these efforts. The NMM currently operates under the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.
Meeting Overview
On October 14, an important meeting took place. Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat chaired the session. Experts from various fields attended, including linguists and scholars. They discussed the future of the NMM and its accomplishments since its inception in 2003.
Achievements of NMM
The NMM has made notable progress. It has compiled metadata for 5.2 million manuscripts. Additionally, over 300,000 titles have been digitized. However, only one-third of these digitized works are accessible online. This limited access raises concerns about the visibility of India’s rich manuscript heritage.
Challenges Identified
Experts brought into light issues with the digitized metadata. There are discrepancies between the data and the actual manuscripts. Efforts are underway to correct these mismatches. A senior NMM official revealed that out of 130,000 uploaded manuscripts, only 70,000 are viewable. The lack of an access policy discourages private owners from sharing their manuscripts.
Ownership of Manuscripts
About 80% of manuscripts in India are privately owned. This presents a challenge for preservation efforts. Many private owners lack incentives to make their manuscripts accessible. Financial support and registration assistance for these owners could enhance preservation.
Conservation Efforts
Over the past 21 years, the NMM has conserved 90 million folios. This includes both preventive and curative conservation strategies. The goal is to ensure the longevity of these valuable texts for future generations.
Future Roadmap
The meeting outlined a roadmap for the NMM’s future. One suggestion was to establish academic chairs in universities abroad. These chairs would focus on ancient Indian studies and strengthen ties with the NMM. Collaboration between international institutions and the NMM can enhance global awareness of India’s manuscript heritage.
Legal and Intellectual Property Considerations
There were discussions on the need for legal expertise within the NMM framework. Intellectual property rights could protect manuscripts and encourage responsible ownership. This could also aid in preventing the sale of manuscripts outside India.
Preservation of Lesser-Known Scripts
The preservation of non-Brahmi and lesser-known scripts is crucial. Mr. Singh emphasized the importance of collating information on these scripts. This initiative would ensure that all aspects of India’s manuscript heritage are recognized and preserved.
The revival of the NMM and the establishment of a National Manuscripts Authority signify a renewed commitment to preserving India’s ancient texts. The future of India’s manuscript heritage looks promising through collaboration, financial support, and legal frameworks.
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