A substantial number of India’s population suffers from chronic hunger. According to a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IRPRI), one-sixth of India’s population is undernourished, while 190 million people go to bed hungry daily. A total of 30% children below the age of 5 years are underweight. India alone accounts for around 30% of neo-natal deaths internationally. Globally, more people die of hunger than Aids, malaria, as well as tuberculosis put together. Internationally, 45% children pass away due to insufficient nutrition. As many as 64% of the world’s poorest live in India, China, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Congo.
One may be tempted to conclude that the culprit is insufficient food production. However, this is not true. In India’s case, around 40 percent of fruits and vegetables and about 20 percent of grains get destroyed because of insufficient infrastructure. Food never reaches consumers. Such wastage has other ramifications as well. It results not only in hunger but it also releases millions of tons of methane gas from garbage dumps—further polluting our environment. Billions of gallons of freshwater, which was used to cultivate that wasted food are also lost.
The World Socialist Party (India): 257 Baghajatin ‘E’ Block (East), Kolkata – 700086,
Tel: 2425-0208,
E-mail: wspindia@hotmail.com
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