Too much!

Three of the news items hitting the BBC top news list of today and what a contrast! 

There is the severe floods in Kerala and the destruction it has brought about.  Then there is the devastating drought in Australia.  Two places suffering from two extremes of weather and climate.  If only the rains were to fall in Australia and the sun shine down bright and hard on Kerala...!!  

The third news item is in stark contrast to the other two nonetheless shows what happens when we have plenty!  The news is about how one third of the vegetable and fruit produce never make it to the supermarkets in Europe, all because they are not the perfect shape and size or not good looking.  Consumers won't pick up those and supermarkets don't want to take in these fruits and vegetables from the farmers.  So what is the fate of these 'misshapen' produce? Thrown away as waste!

The most disgraceful aspect of the news itself was the use of words such as "ugly", "misshapen", "wonky", "blemished", "wrong size" to describe how the fruits and vegetables look!  Really?  I wonder if the floods of Kerala and the drought of Australia were to happen here, would people still go by the looks of the produce? 

Respectful Force

One significant difference between the UK and India is perhaps the way we look upon our armed forces.  Here in the UK those in service or those who were once in service are greatly respected and honoured.  The veterans of the World Wars are often treated as heroes... atleast most of those whom I've met or seen.  Back in India, those in the armed forces are barely acknowledged, leave alone celebrated.  The memory of their bravery and sacrifice is perhaps commemorated on just a day or two, as today - Independence day.  For the rest of the year, they are non-existent! 

The soldiers in India are a sort of mascot for patriotism - that too when it is convenient for politics.  They are basically 'used' or referred to when someone wants to whip up anti-Pakistan feelings.  It is as if they have been handed over the task of being patriotic, and the rest are exempted - or rather, we exempt ourselves!  Such is our attitude.  Even the salary those in service receive is not something one can boast about.  In comparison with the amount of time, energy and sacrifices they put up with, their wages are totally far less.  I'm sure the middle men in our politics, leave alone the politicians themselves, earn far more than an army man. 

And like the army man, the farmer too is the most under-appreciated person in our country.  Perhaps the last person who actually highlighted these two persons in the progress of our country was Lal Bahadur Shastri, our second Prime Minister, especially when he coined the phrase जय जवान जय किसान (Hail soldier! Hai farmer!).

Water source and farming

Only today did it strike me that nowhere in the whole country of UK is there any submersible water pump, leave alone in individual houses or properties.  The primary reason for this is the abundance of rain that the country receives all year round.  Secondly there are natural rivers (Thames, being one of the biggest), tributaries and lakes scattered all across the country.  So the existing abundant water is merely purified and distributed. 

That explains why there is no cultivation done is most parts of the country, even in times when there is enough sunshine and warmth for one crop.  The place is not close to a water reservoir and getting water to that place is costlier than merely importing the required food from another part of the world.  Every time I see vast expanses of land with nothing but grass growing, I'm reminded of farmers back in India who struggle to cultivate bits of arid land.  Here the land is fertile, water in plenty and heavy machinery at hand.  Back in most parts of India, the farmer has no land, even if he or she has it is not always fertile, there is hardly any water is some other parts of the country, and it is all hard manual labour.  

Wastage of food

Compared to the third world countries, it is in the remaining part of the world that much food gets wasted or lost.  While in the latter, food is lost due to improper ways of preservation or what is called as post-harvest losses.  In the developed part of the world, the story is no different.  However, the addition is that often food and related products go unsold and then get thrashed.  Was surprised to read that nearly one-third of food produced for consumption gets lost or wasted...

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): ‘Roughly one third of the food in the world produced for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tons – gets lost or wasted.’ Broken down by food category, the FAO estimates that 30 per cent of world production of cereals is lost or wasted, 20 per cent of dairy production, 35 per cent of ‘harvested’ fish and seafood, 20 per cent of the world’s meat, 20 per cent of all oilseeds and pulses, and a staggering 45 per cent of both roots and tubers, and fruits and vegetables too. [Source: Aeon]