Dr Sukhampreet Kaur, Independent Healthcare Consultant emphasises on the importance of food preservation and how governments should come together to help farmers harvest and sell food during this pandemic
To tackle the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the governments across the globe are taking measures to lockdown the movement of people to freeze the community spread of the disease and divert all the resources to keep the economy afloat. However, this pandemic is destined to have far reaching non-quantifiable consequences that would know no demographics, no national borders, no income disparities, and would not be explained by any statistical analysis. These consequences would stem from mental health issues, economic instability, compromised supply chain for basic necessities, healthcare challenges, power outages, and food shortages.
A fundamental priority is to tackle the food shortage issue that is knocking the doors of every nation. Food is said to be the cause and outcome of economic activity and hence, food is the vital component of the daily lives of people. With compromised food intake and altered eating habits, human race would be malnourished leading to poor immunity and reduced productivity. Such a state is a petri dish for a social chaos uncovering the non-social behaviour of humans. The aftermath of this food scarcity is going to be more detrimental to the society than the tipping Corona pandemic itself.
Food supply is facing the Murphy’s Law in its most brutal form. Everything that could have gone wrong, is going wrong. The pandemic has come at the peak crop harvest season. The world stands a risk of losing at least one annual crop cycle due to labour shortages. Many perishable food items are subjected to rot and spoilage due to disrupted transportation. All these factors would lead to an unnatural price inflation, staunching the affordability. The prevailing sense of insecurity has begun to cause panic hoarding. According of World Health Organisation (WHO) 40 per cent of global population is overweight, while 11 per cent are experiencing chronic undernourishment. Phenomenon of disproportionate consumption of food would aggravate the issue of unequal access to food, in the coming times. The impact would be multi-modally pronounced on developing nations that have labour intensive agricultural practices, unreliable supply chains, inadequate resources to store food for the rainy days, and a large population base to be fed.
While the governments are scrambling all the resources to tackle the health emergency, this also is the narrow window to tackle the forthcoming food emergency. Food is not just a medium to wipe hunger, it is a vital source of health, immunity, and survival. People must be engaged to understand why do we eat food, what should we eat, how do we cook it using minimal resources, how much is enough for an individual, and that it is achievable to conserve the bulk of food that is being wasted today. For example, overnight soaking of grains or pulses and covering them while cooking, would save the cooking fuel. It is ok to preserve the left-over food and eat it the next day. A packet of processed ‘convenient’ food cannot substitute the fresh healthy food. Food education is the process of understanding what and how much should to be eaten in the times of crisis or celebrations.
The coronavirus pandemic has come at a time synchronous with the harvest cycles in many latitudes. While everyone is locked down, farmers should be exempted for farming activities. Governments must work with the local bodies to coordinate the harvest and purchase it or enable private storage of it. Of all the times, this is not the moment to lose any of that diligently produced crop. Farmers should be given an opportunity through dedicated marketplaces to skip the middle agent and sell directly to the end consumer. While the food must travel from the point of production to the demand area, the objective is to avoid long distance travel of food. Religious institutions usually enjoy a colossal physical infrastructure. This is about time to cross utilise that space for crop storage, operate local farmer’s markets, and cook centralised meals for the poor and needy. Regardless of circumstances, nothing justifies anyone dying of hunger.
The era of food globalisation is disrupting local food markets in almost every region. During this emergency, the international food is ditching, and the local food markets are facing a shortage. This underscores the importance of reviving and sustaining a local supply of essential food items. Additionally, less travelled food retains more nutrition. The least travelled food is the one from your kitchen garden. Ideally, everyone should be able to grow part of their annual dietary needs. Tomatoes, spinach, coriander, basil, egg plants, etc. are some examples of plants that can be grown in limited spaces or even indoors. The role of societies is to share the seeds and the best practices with each other and make everyone nutritionally self reliant. Seeds are a symbolic of life and hope. Nurturing plants in the backyards in the time of crisis helps us to take our mind off the stress and attenuate the risk of imminent food deprivation.
Akin to health education is the food education. Food education is the foundational starting point to better prepare the communities for future challenges. Traditionally, good food habits and knowledge were passed on as an inheritance asset through generations. In recent decades, the hypnotising convenience provided by the processed food and busy life schedules have led to an erosion of the food science that was mastered by our ancestors. Societies must rediscover what was once the right way of eating specific to their geography. Governments’ role is to catalyse these efforts and provide necessary support to revive the right mindset towards the food. Food is a matter of national security. Every nation must be self sufficient to be able to cater food needs in the times of emergency. The bottom line is: Food is not a luxury. Food is a basic need and should be respected like that.