Amma Unavagam- literal translation: "Mother Restaurant" - is a food subsidization program, enacted and run by the Tamil Nadu State government in India. Under this scheme, the state's municipal corporations run canteens serving subsidized food at low prices. May be the lowest price in India.
One rupee and you get one idli (steam cooked rice cake). The scheme is so popular
among the migrant laborers and the poor. As the quality is very good the rich too
taste this gift of the government. Also the state distributes 20/35 kilograms of rice free
of cost every month to an estimated card holders of 19 million ration card holding
families.
But on the other side the rich waste the food casually. If one can take food for a dollar
in India the rich , elite spend 10-100 dollars for a meal. The rich man's stomach is also
of same size of the poor man. How can he eat 20-40 items served on his table?
It is a fashion among the rich to waste food like this. Then comes the Indian marriages
where now the rich spend even up to 100 dollars per plate. All these social functions
are attended by the 40 plus aged groups who have already contracted BP/Sugar and
other complications who test and taste a few items. All guests will be in a hurry and
they don't have time to stay and relish the food. And there are hotels where again food
is wasted in huge quantities. Again the ware houses in India are very popular in
contributing to the growth and survival of rats.
" India stands out for its glaring lack of infrastructure and food storage facilities, in a new study that says 21 million tonnes of wheat -- equivalent to the entire production of Australia -- goes waste in the country."
In a world where over 840 million go hungry every day, achieving food security goes beyond increasing global food production. Better food systems and sustainable consumption and production approaches are needed to achieve food security for all.
Research shows that at least one-third, or 1.3 billion tonnes, of food produced each year is lost or wasted - an amount corresponding to over 1.4 billion hectares of cropland. Even a quarter of this lost food could feed all the world's hungry people.
According to the FAO, almost half of all fruit and vegetables is wasted each year. About 10 per cent of developed countries' greenhouse gas emissions come from growing food that is never eaten, and food loss and waste amounts to roughly USD 680 billion in industrialized countries and USD 310 billion in developing countries.
"Food waste carries direct economic and environmental costs and depletes the natural resource base that underpins food production," said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"Today, diets are becoming more resource-intensive, and the way we buy and consume food is changing due to industrialization, the demands of a growing middle class, and the continued impacts of the economic crisis.
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