May 20, 2024 | Virtual Event
Tridib Kumar Goswami
IIT Kharagpur, India
A NAAS, ISAE, IE, AABS Fellow, is Professor, HAG of Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, IIT Kharagpur. He has 6 Indian Patents, published 130 papers, written 4 books and 11 book chapters. Out of 14 Ph.D. he guided, 3 have been awarded Jawaharlal Nehru Award (ICAR).
Malnutrition occurs when a person’s diet does not provide enough nutrients or the right balance for optimal health. Symptoms often involve weight loss, reduced appetite, tiredness, and irritability. Causes of malnutrition include: unsuitable dietary choices. Though it is by definition of malnutrition, but the real truth is a majority of the people all over the world do not get minimum food to survive. It is obvious that those people who are not able to arrange by any means, a minimum requirement of food to survive, the question of balance diet for optimal health etc. are not applicable for them. It is whose duty or where from they will get minimum requirement of food is the prime question. On the other hand, there are many people who suffer from different diseases owing to excess intake of nutrients, imbalance of essential nutrients or impaired nutrition utilization. Out of 4 broad sub-forms of undernutrition, i.e., wasting, Stunting, underweight, and deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, one of the prime cause of malnutrition is wasting. The quantum of total food produced all over the world is enough as of now to feed entire population of the world. Of course, the day is not fur away when it will be not enough even if the distribution is made proper. If you look at outside of any restaurant or hotel in any city of the world, underdeveloped, developing or developed country, the amount of food wasted every day can easily feed many people of the villages. This highlights the need of proper control and regulations. By nature, human cannot be restricted by adopting any rule or regulation. But, it can be minimised with proper and appropriate rules and regulations. Hence, it becomes necessary for the world health organization (WHO) to frame proper rules and regulations and implement it throughout the world. Of course, many other reasons are there for the wastage, such as inadequate or improper facilities to store foods all over the world. BUT, it is high time to look into appropriate distribution of food all over the world between poor and rich people. I wish, a suitable rule and regulation is framed by controlling authorities to distribute food appropriately amongst human being, be it poor or rich. This will also help to develop proper infrastructure to minimize wastage due to poor / improper facility of storage and distribution of food. Unless the basic laws and facilities are improved, eradication of malnutrition will remain as topic of discussion even in the next century.