21st October,2021 Daily Global Regional Local

Rice E-Newsletter

Rains damage about 1,945MT of rice in Paro

October 21st, 2021

793 acres of paddy fields were affected

Phub Dem | Paro

The continuous rainfall in the past three days damaged about 793 acres of paddy fields damaging
an estimated 1,945 metric tonnes of rice production in Paro.

According to a crop damage report compiled by Paro dzongkhag officials, the rainfall affected
about 907 households from 10 gewogs in the dzongkhag known for the vast flatland and rice
production.  Most of the farmers affected were in the Doteng, Lungyni and Tsento gewogs,
according to the preliminary crop damage report.

Almost 70 percent of rice growers in Paro already cut their paddy last week and kept it in their
fields to dry. They didn’t expect the usual drizzle to turn into continuous rainfall destroying their
harvest within three days.

As the rainfall continued, desperate  farmers sought help from gewogs and dzongkhags.

Starting at 8am yesterday, dzongkhag and court officials, desuups, officials from Farm
Machinery Corporation of Bhutan and army personnel from the Shaba Commando Wing were
deployed to help farmers.

Volunteers were seen knee-deep in flooded fields, trying to save paddy from being washed away
and transporting them to dry places.

A resident of Chang-Mandrel, Dechen Lham, said if it wasn’t for the timely help, she could lose
her rice paddy to surface runoff.   

The rice plants were floating over the rice field.Quality of rice, however, would be affected, say
farmers.
Dechen Lham stays alone in Paro and has no one to help her. She said she spent two sleepless
nights constantly checking the rice field below her house. “I failed to divert the water due to
continuous rainfall and water overflowing from the irrigation canal.”

Another farmer from Geptay, Dawa, sought help from the volunteers. He said that three
days (Yue-Ngen zha sum) after 21 days of blessed rainy day (thruebab) was considered critical as
natural disasters usually occur during this period.

In the past, he said that people were extra cautious about the days and they usually harvested
paddy after the third day. “But people do not have the patience to wait anymore.”

He also said that tradition and cultural practices associated with paddy harvest had vanished.
“Locals should wait for a good day to harvest the paddy. There are no such practices now.”

With no signs of the rain stopping, he decided to save the cut paddy. “Desuups were of great
help,” he said.

Meanwhile, some netizens shared that the untimely rainfall and disaster during the harvest
season was due to contamination and disturbances at sacred sites such as Drake Pangtsho and
Nubtshonapata.

Paro faced a similar disaster six years ago. Locals recall losing their harvest to surface runoffs.

Edited By Jigme Wangchuk

https://kuenselonline.com/rains-damage-

Ather Energy obtains rights to AiKaan's over-the-air

platform
Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy has obtained the rights to AiKaan's over-the-
air (OTA) platform from its partner, AiKaan Labs, which will give it an end-to-end
control over its connected vehicle software, the company said on Thursday.

 PTI
Mumbai: Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy has obtained the rights to AiKaan's
over-the-air (OTA) platform from its partner, AiKaan Labs, which will give it an end-to-
end control over its connected vehicle software, the company said on Thursday. AiKaan
is a software solution designed to monitor, manage, securely access, and upgrade Internet
of Things (IoT) edge devices.
AiKaan Labs has been working with Ather since its inception to develop the OTA
solution, and has played a key role in deploying all OTA updates on Ather e-scooters so
far, the company said.

With the new rights to AiKaan's strategic platform, the company further strengthens its
connectivity platform with complete control over the OTA update of the software, it said.

OTA is the basis of Ather's connected vehicle platform, enabling its Ather 450 product
line to be up-to-date with its latest software and feature offerings while also collecting
field data to enhance product design and user experience remotely, it said.

Integrating the Aikaan technology with Ather's Cloud platform, vehicles, and charging
infrastructure would accelerate the end-to-end smart and connected use cases with a
seamless user experience, the EV maker said.

"Over the years, we have been working closely with Aikaan Labs to develop the OTA
solution that makes our vehicles ever-improving two-wheelers. OTA updates for vehicles
is a capability that is a game-changer in this industry.

"At Ather, we strongly believe the future of mobility is 'connected'. Connected mobility
will be strongly dependent on edge device management technology. The addition of
Aikaan's technology will further accelerate intelligent vehicles, thus revolutionising our
commute and life experiences seamlessly," said Swapnil Jain, Co-founder and CTO,
Ather Energy.

Ather Energy said it has been investing in connected capabilities since inception to
redefine mobility and vehicle ownership over time.

The company's in-house telematics platform and connectivity infrastructure offers

smooth experiences to its customers and introduced new features via OTA upgrades such
as 'guide me home lights', call and music control via the dashboard, remote monitoring,
vehicle tracking, real-time vehicle health alerts, among others.
"In the coming months, we are going to experience more and more Vehicle-to-Everything
(V2X) services. The software is going to be the key differentiator and Ather is positioned
at a big advantage. AiKaan's management and orchestration technologies will accelerate
the transformation of the way we experience connected two-wheelers," said Chetan,
CEO, Aikaan Labs.
The Bengaluru-based company currently offers its flagship e-scooter Ather 450X and
operates across 23 cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Kochi,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Mysore, and Hubli.

https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/ather-energy-obtains-rights-to-aikaan-s-
over-the-air-platform-1042685.html

Meet a CRISPR crop scientist on World CRISPR Day

By AfS Staff

October 20, 2021

Happy World CRISPR Day!  Meet Nicholas Karavolias, a Ph.D. candidate at the

University of California, Berkeley in the Plant and Microbial Biology Department. He
works at the Innovative Genomics Institute where he uses CRISPR/Cas in his
research.

What excites you about CRISPR? 

So many things!

I think CRISPR/Cas technology gives us [researchers] a huge asset in being able to explore
genes in an accurate and efficient way. Being able to use CRISPR/Cas9 as a research tool has
facilitated a rapid expansion of our fundamental understanding of plant biology and will continue
to do so.

I think CRISPR is also a second chance in plant biotechnology. Potent technologies that
preceded gene editing have been poorly regarded by the public. The verdict is not fully out on
whether the world is ready for CRISPR crops, but largely it seems that we are trending in a
direction that is favorable. I can imagine many CRISPR crops arriving on the world’s dinner
plate someday. Crops that are climate-smart, more nutritious, more delicious…

Why did you become a researcher of plant biology?

My interest in plants started when I was young. When I was 6, maybe, my dad was planting
tomatoes in our backyard and showing me the seeds from which his little seedlings emerged. I
loved the idea that something so tiny would become a big, fruit-bearing plant. That night at
dinner we were eating sausages which happened to have whole black peppercorns in them. My
mom watched me pluck out the peppercorns and save them on my plate and later watched me
plant them in the garden expecting to grow the first ever sausage plant. The next morning, I was
so excited to find sausages tied to cucumber plants and a dad who was very happy with himself.

This is all to say that I’ve always been curious about plants, especially the ones that provide us
with food. My grandparents were farmers in the country of Cyprus and my parents run a take-out
lunch restaurant. In a way, my research in plant biology is just another way of keeping up my
family’s tradition in food and agriculture.

What’s the focus of your current research?

I study stomatal development and physiology in rice. I use CRISPR/Cas and other genetic tools
to understand the genes that regulate the development and operation of stomata. Increasing our
understanding of the genes underlying stomata can enable the development of rice varieties that
are able to conserve water and withstand drought without any losses in yield. My work includes
time spent at the bench in laboratory, in the greenhouse and sometimes even the field.

What are some of the misperceptions that people have about scientists working with
biotech tools like CRISPR?

I think there is a common misconception that the scientists working with advanced technologies
like CRISPR/Cas are corporate shills looking to turn the largest profit off the backs of small-
scale farmers. This may be because large, corporate forces in agriculture have been centered in
conversations about biotechnology, but they do not represent all scientists working with
biotechnological tools. I think many folks would also be surprised to learn how many farmers
across many nations and demographics also embrace the use of CRISPR.

There are lots of people — scientists and farmers alike — that are sincerely invested in pursuing
CRISPR applications that further equity, environmental sustainability and wellness broadly.

If you could use CRISPR to do something for humankind, what would it be?

I don’t think that’s really up to me! I think “humankind” gets to decide for itself what it wants to
use CRISPR for. I think more than anything I am motivated by the democratization and equitable
distribution of this revolutionary technology to maximize the reach and good that CRISPR/Cas
may achieve. I would love to see widespread use of CRISPR/Cas to streamline local and
systemic agricultural reform. Of course, this is a lot to ask for, but one can dream!

When you’re not in the lab what do you get up to?

I definitely love to keep busy taking advantage of all the Bay Area has to offer. I roller skate,
dance, run, hike, backpack, read lots of fiction, spend quality time with friends and bake my way
through cookbooks.
OK, final fun question: What would be your favorite frivolous trait to edit in a crop?

Hmmm. Well, you know when you eat a lot of pineapple and your tongue kind of starts to burn?
I think I would try to get rid of that in pineapples. Not that it has really ever slowed me down but
I would appreciate a less painful pineapple experience.

https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2021/10/meet-a-crispr-crop-scientist-on-world-crispr-day

FPOs as Sumo wrestlers

PVS Suryakumar  | Updated on October 20, 2021

These organisations are key to raising farm incomes

During the inauguration of the Tata Cornell Institute’s FPO hub on September 1,
2021, it was mentioned that FPOs must quickly transform from being a teenager into a
Sumo wrestler!

The idea of FPOs and its initial successful implementation happened around the year
2008, in the voluntary sector , and later NABARD and SFAC formalised the idea
through their policies and process guidelines. The word Sumo often personifies
something big, yet nimble and dexterous, things FPOs must aspire to become.
Nearly 87 per cent of our farmers are small cultivating about 47 per cent of the
cultivable area with an average land holding size of about 1 hectare.

The idea of FPO was born with the amendment of Companies Act in 2003 to establish
producer companies. Conceptually FPO is a hybrid between a cooperative society and
a company and can be registered as a society, trust or company. Farmer producer
companies are more in number

There are reasonably successful FPOs but it is difficult to put one metric to define
success. Quantitative indicators like; the number of farmer members, amount of
equity mobilised from members, turnover, net profits and qualitative indicators like;
how quality of member’s produce improved, how they captured the local market and
export market, how FPOs were awarded licenses by government agencies for selling
fertilisers and pesticides and permissions for procurement for public distribution
system, are often used.
Getting into ‘niche’
A niche product for a niche market usually assures success but there are examples of
the niche product going out of market, putting the FPO in a spot. When market
suddenly demanded white chia (a super food) seeds instead of the black chia seeds,
the producer company whose members cultivated and stocked a huge amount of black
chia seeds were hit.

Staple food crops like pulses and rice have limited success but when/if the FPO
provides traceability of produce and markets it through boutique shops the price
realisation increases manifold. Some FPOs grow crops which have specific medicinal
properties and have had considerable success. There is an example where a particular
local variety of black-gram is in demand as the idlis made with it are bright white like
jasmine flowers — they call it malligai idli! These examples depict transformation of
a commodity into product through its intrinsic value proposition and niche marketing.
FPOs will also be successful if a marketing company uses them as procurers and
aggregators of commodities.

Some FPOs have broken the glass ceiling and entered the export market arena. All of
them are invariably in niche products; cocoa, calendula flowers, coffee, spices,
organic vegetables and fruits etc. Some target specific clientele — expatriates for
products like, chilly, coriander, banana, jackfruit products, rose onion, bhendi,
turmeric fingers, desi-chana (bengal-gram) etc. They have mastered the fine art of
productivity and conforming to export norms like size, quality standards and
permissible chemical residues.

The next important aspect of FPOs is governance. How to transform them into leaders
and market makers through orientation, training and capacity building is a challenge.
Every successful FPO is led by an entrepreneur; a competent CEO, an enabling board,
charismatic president or a NGO promoter.

The CEO’s salary is linked to FPO’s business but the board is doing a service and
only when these people see the big picture things fall in place. Successful FPOs
understand buyer’s requirements. They have mobilised considerable member’s equity
which is a reflection on its leadership and member’s perception of benefits of being in
FPO. FPOs are a crucial plank for increasing farmers’ income. Hand-holding of FPOs
and the FPO movement is crucial to upgrade farmers from producers to marketers. An
enabling ecosystem with empathy to our farmers can aid in this transformation which
will benefit everyone.

The writer is Deputy Managing Director, Nabard

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/fpos-as-sumo-wrestlers/article3709
Rice Leadership Development Session III: California At
Last!
By Dr. Bobby Golden

Bobby R. Golden earned degrees in agribusiness and soil science from the University of
Arkansas and, after conducting research at Louisiana State University and Mississippi State
University, now manages the Technical Services and Product Development team for Innvictis
Brands, east of the Rocky Mountains.

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Session III for the 2019 Rice Leadership Development Program Class
was long overdue as we are the first class that will complete the four-session cycle in over three
calendar years as a result of travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Session III was all about
California agriculture and the hurdles the industry here faces every day just to stay in business
and continue to have the freedom to operate.

On the Capitol steps

Our week started with a trip to Hog Island Oyster Company to get a glimpse into a California
aquaculture farm. In the upper mid-south when people hear the word “aquaculture” they think of
fully-contained catfish farms, so it was a pleasant surprise to visit an aquaculture farm in a
natural estuary and learn of all the issues facing an oyster farm in a natural setting. Producer
Terry Sawyer was a joy to listen to with his passion for non-terrestrial farming. His oyster
product is of superb quality and listening to the painstaking process to maintain and achieve that
quality it's not for the faint of heart. The trip to Hog Island brought into perspective the issues
California agrarians face with regulation, and this would be a consistent theme throughout this
session.

On Day Two, we travelled through what most people think of when they think about California
agriculture, wine country. It’s hard to explain the amount of land devoted to viticulture in the
area without seeing it with your own eyes and hearing about wine making and what each vintner
tries to accomplish with harvest timing and blending. I was especially surprised to learn that even
within a grape variety, the elevation at which it grows influences the taste, texture, and final
product quality. The capstone of the day was a great steak dinner with Tom Butler, the first rice
producer we met in California, who talked about how the pandemic had influenced the California
rice industry and life in northern California in general.

The focus on California rice and what makes it unique was on full display with visits to the
Farmers Rice Co-op and the California Rice Commission (CRC). A full day in Sacramento,
within a stone’s throw from the capital, really set the tone for how important industry relations
and the governmental affairs process are to California rice. The work CRC does daily to tell a
positive story about the benefits of California rice to the environment and wildlife communities
is second to none. We heard about all the work that goes into keeping active ingredients
available to California producers while staying within California EPA and DPR regulations. The
programs CRC has put in place to maintain and/or generate new funding for conservation efforts
was impressive. We saw how those programs are working for producers during our visit to
Montna Farms where we had a firsthand view of winter flooding in their rice fields that draws an
abundance of wildfowl through the Pacific Flyway and how new strategies to increase fish health
are being researched.

The concept of surface water as a primary source, with groundwater being secondary is opposite
from what I have experienced in the mid-south. The emphasis placed on surface water and its
importance was the primary focus in my opinion of the trip. From first glance at the overflow
basin structure to the Colusa pumping facility, the challenges California faces today and those
that will be faced in the future with delivering irrigation water and maintaining fish health are
tremendous, but at every turn we took, plans were in place to maintain this precious resource.
Going above and beyond

The highlight of the water system visits was the aerial views of the whole system originating
from Oroville and Lake Shasta, although even that expansive viewpoint of the conveyance
system in place still doesn’t do justice to the intricate song and dance that is required for water
delivery to the farm gate.

We toured multiple farms, hosted by Kim Gallagher, Leo LaGrande, and Josh Sheppard, to see
their harvest operations and get a small glimpse of how challenging rice farming in California.
The most interesting thing to me was that most of the rice in California is harvested lodged. We
also visited multiple rice mills and the California Rice Experiment station where breeding efforts
have been a great success and check-off monies well-spent in producing a super-quality product.
At Biggs, we saw the evolution of rice varieties, over time, placed side by side in the field.
Transferring that quality product out of the field and onto dinner plates is the responsibility of the
mill, and the experience at Sun Valley Rice showed us how there are differences in superior
quality rice and gave us a sign of rice markets few from the mid-south have observed. Their new
technology being developed with the brown rice sprouting techniques to increase taste profiles
and cooking ease was exciting.

The most intriguing aspect of our trip to California didn’t have to do with rice farming; it was
our trip to the salad bowl of America where we met Mike Costa at Costa Farms and saw the
dedication and technique it takes to provide fresh leafy greens to U.S. consumers. The machinery
and engineering design to increase efficiency in lettuce harvest was fascinating, as was seeing a
robotic weeder in action. I believe one visit to a harvest operation like Costa Farms would
change Americans’ viewpoint on what it takes to deliver high-quality, affordable produce to their
grocery shelves.
Lettuce educate you

Throughout this session, our class experienced the utmost in hospitality, with warm welcomes
and fine dining at every stop. The most memorable dining experience, in my opinion, was Don
Traynham’s wild game supper that was waterfowl-based. I would make the trip to California just
to experience that meal again!

Many thanks to John Deere and RiceTec, and, especially on this session, to Chris Crutchfield and
American Commodity Company for sponsoring the leadership development program that
delivers on the promise to provide a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. rice industry.

USA Rice Daily

lant immunity: Balancing disease resistance

with reproduction      

After researching for 15 years and analyzing more than 3,000 rice varieties,
Chinese scientists revealed the novel mechanism involved in rice's defense against
pathogens in the leading worldwide journal Cell, said the Center for Excellence in
Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Rice grain yield and quality are severely affected by various diseases; thus a major
goal of rice breeding is to achieve broad-spectrum disease resistance without a
reduction in yield.

The research team, led by He Zuhua, has made a great breakthrough regarding the
molecular mechanisms that coordinate rice disease resistance and growth fitness.

They have discovered for the first time a novel calcium sensor, named ROD1
(resistance of rice to diseases 1), that balances rice immune homeostasis and
inflorescence meristem growth. The mutation of ROD1 provides broad-spectrum
resistance to fungal rice blast, sheath blight and bacterial blight. The identification
of ROD1 may provide a possible solution for breeding disease resistance and
protect crop yield in the future.

Their further analysis showed that natural ROD1 variance also exhibits enhanced
resistance to rice sheath blight, one of major rice diseases in China, suggesting that
ROD1 plays a fundamental role in controlling rice immunity.

The study reveals the plant host-pathogen convergence on immune suppression.

ROD1 allows for both disease resistance and reproductive development,
suggesting a new strategy for crop breeding, and it also provides evidence
supporting the co-evolution between pathogen evolution and plant immune
mechanisms.
 Ti Gong
A diagram about rice immunity.

Ti Gong
https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2110206747/
Brown Rice Healthy, and Should You Choose It Over
White Rice?

Russia's infections, deaths soar to pandemic's highest

As a nutritionist, many of my clients tell me they've heard they should choose brown rice over white
rice. Indeed, brown rice is a nutrient-rich source of energizing carbs that's widely considered the
more healthful option. But why is that the case? Here's what you should know about brown rice,
including its nutritional value; health benefits; and ways to incorporate it into meals, snacks, and
even desserts.

© Provided by Health Getty Images© Getty Images These are the top nutritional benefits of
brown rice to keep in mind.

Brown rice vs white rice

Brown rice is a whole grain. A grain is considered to be 'whole' if its three original parts—the
bran, germ, and endosperm—stay intact. A grain's bran is its fibrous outer skin. The germ is its
embryo, which has the potential to sprout into a new plant. The endosperm is the germ's starchy
food supply.
Since brown rice keeps all of the original parts, it provides more than twice as much fiber
compared to its white counterpart. That's because white rice is not a whole grain; it's refined,
meaning the bran and germ are stripped away, leaving only the endosperm. As a whole grain,
brown rice also packs higher levels of essential nutrients.

Brown rice nutrition

One cup of cooked long-grain brown rice contains 248 calories, 5.5 grams of protein, 52 grams
of carbohydrate with 3 grams as fiber, and less than 2 grams of fat, according to the US
Department of Agriculture database. Brown rice is also naturally rich in vitamins and minerals.
That same portion, about the size of a tennis ball, packs 88% of the daily need for manganese, a
mineral needed for immune function, collagen production, and strong bones, and over 20% of
the daily need for magnesium, required for muscle and nerve function, DNA production, and
regulation of blood sugar and blood pressure. Cooked brown rice also supplies between 10% and
27% of the daily goal for selenium, copper, phosphorus, and several B vitamins, other essential
nutrients needed for optimal health.
This hearty whole grain is also bursting with health-protective antioxidants. A
2018 study published in the journal Antioxidants concluded that brown rice contains many types
of phenolic compounds. This common antioxidant group is known to protect cells against
damage linked to a greater risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, and heart disease.
Blood sugar regulation
Eating brown rice has been shown to result in better post-meal blood sugar control in people with
diabetes and may even help prevent type 2 diabetes. Several studies have also found that
replacing white rice with brown rice can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. The effects are
attributed to the grain's fiber, slow-burning starch, nutrients, and antioxidants, as well as its
ability to help feed beneficial bacteria in the gut, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium,
which are tied to diabetes and obesity prevention.
https://www.health.com/nutrition/is-brown-rice-healthy

4 Foods That Cause Constipation, According to

Experts (Health)
Heart health
In one study, scientists looked at the effect of brown rice consumption on inflammatory markers
and heart risk factors in 40 non-menopausal women who were overweight or obese. The
volunteers were asked to consume about 5 ounces of either cooked brown or white rice for six
weeks, with a two-week wash out period before switching to the other rice type. Researchers
found that that the consumption of brown rice significantly reduced inflammatory markers,
including C-reactive protein, as well as other heart risk factors. Another study in healthy female
university students found that eating brown rice as a staple for 10 weeks improved general health
and prevented high cholesterol, which reduces overall heart disease risk.
Weight management
In addition to cardiovascular protection, the aforementioned study on inflammatory markers also
found that brown rice consumption improved weight, body mass index, and waist measurements
among the women in the study. Other research has shown that brown rice may help stave off
weight gain. A 2019 study among Japanese workers concluded that over the course of one year,
white rice eaters gained over six pounds while brown rice eaters did not gain weight.
Further studies show that whole grains, including brown rice, reduce calorie absorption due to
their fiber content and improve calorie burning, two additional factors that positively impact
weight management.
Brown rice and arsenic
One concern about brown rice consumption is levels of arsenic, a contaminant linked to potential
health risks, including adverse pregnancy outcomes and certain cancers. But arsenic risks due to
rice consumption of any kind are difficult to assess, according to a study published in Current
Environmental Health Reports. Researchers point out that the association between rice
consumption and health outcomes is complicated by several factors. These include populations
with differing rice consumption patterns relative to their total caloric intake and widely varying
amounts of arsenic in water used to cook rice, which makes the risk from rice itself difficult to
tease out.
Currently, consuming brown rice in moderation, as one of several sources of whole food
carbohydrates, is one way to reduce possible arsenic exposure. A 2021 study found that partially
boiling brown rice can remove up to 54% of unwanted heavy metals like arsenic. This method
outperforming soaking or rinsing and was also shown to help preserve nutrients such as zinc.
Healthful ways to eat more brown rice

Brown rice is incredibly versatile and can be incorporated into nearly any meal. To make a
breakfast porridge, flavor the rice with plant-based milk and a touch of maple syrup and
cinnamon, and then top with nuts. Add veggies and brown rice to omelets and frittatas. Add
brown rice to soups, chili, jambalaya, tacos, and casseroles. Incorporate it into salads or grain
bowls, along with leafy greens, other veggies, and lean protein, drizzled with sauces like
seasoned tahini, vegan pesto, or guacamole. Serve brown rice with stir fries, and opt for brown
rice sushi. Incorporate it into veggie burgers, stuffed cabbage and bell peppers, and lettuce
wraps. Brown rice can also make its way into desserts, including pudding, toasted brown rice ice
cream, cookies, and bars.

Other forms of the grain are also readily available. Add puffed brown rice to dark chocolate and
other sweet treats, and swap wheat flour for brown rice flour in baking and cooking. Plain
sprouted brown rice protein powder is a great option for smoothies or to bolster the protein
content of pancakes, mashed cauliflower, or blended soups. Here are a few of the brown rice-
based items I enjoy:

Brown rice is a filling, nutrient-rich whole grain that's naturally gluten-free and versatile. If

you're trying to decide between white and brown rice, consider reaching for the brown to up your
intake of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and to potentially reduce disease risk. In my
experience, many people end up developing a preference for brown rice over white due to its
slightly nutty flavor and hearty texture. Just keep in mind that, like any food, you can't eat
unlimited amounts. Combine moderate portions of brown rice with other whole foods to take
advantage of its benefits and best optimize your overall nutrient and calorie intake.
Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, is Health's contributing nutrition editor, a New York Times best-
selling author, and a private practice performance nutritionist who has consulted for five
professional sports teams.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/is-brown-rice-healthy-and-should-you-choose-it-
over-white-rice-here-s-what-a-nutritionist-says/ar-AAPL3LF?li=BBnba9O

Dozens Drown in India and Nepal as Monsoon Season

Fails to End
The death toll continued to rise on Wednesday as landslides and flooding damaged homes and
stranded thousands of people.

Unseasonably heavy rainfall in India and Nepal has triggered flooding and landslides, washing away
homes and roadways, and killing dozens of people.CreditCredit...Mustafa Quraishi/Associated Press

By Emily Schmall
Oct. 20, 2021

NEW DELHI — Unseasonably heavy rainfall has destroyed crops, washed away bridges and
killed dozens of people across India and Nepal in a reminder of the devastation caused by a
changing climate.

The death toll continued to rise on Wednesday as landslides and flooding damaged homes and
stranded thousands of tourists flocking to vacation spots and pilgrimage sites during Hinduism’s
festive season, which coincides with the fall harvest.

“Historically October is the start of post-monsoon,” said R.K. Jenamani, a senior scientist from
India’s meteorological department. “But this time what happened was that western disturbances
were very, very intense.”
Cyclonic conditions in the Bay of Bengal off India’s east coast sent heavy winds and rainfall
across the subcontinent, reaching the Himalayas in Nepal and spreading all the way down to the
coastal ravines of India’s southwestern peninsula.
Image
Rescuers searching for victims amid the debris of a landslide after heavy rains in Kerala, India.Credit...E
V Ragesh/Associated Press

In the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, days of heavy rainfall — in one place, the most since
1897 — killed at least 46 people and left hundreds more stranded in hillside resorts, with flooded
lakes swamping roads.

South Asia’s monsoons have always arrived with fury. But the scenes of death and destruction
playing out in the region are yet another reminder of the urgency of climate change, experts say.
A warming climate will mean more frequent extreme rainfall in many parts of the
world, scientists have said.
Climate Fwd  A new administration, an ongoing climate emergency — and a ton of news. Our newsletter
will help you stay on top of it. Get it sent to your inbox.

India and its neighbors have struggled to square development projects intended to lift millions of
people out of poverty with the risks of a changing climate.

Highways and bridges have been built in remote districts increasingly prone to landslides and
floods. And countries, particularly India, are relying heavily on coal to fuel growth, something
that is likely to come under the spotlight at the United Nations’ COP26 climate conference in
Glasgow this month.

Image
This week, officials in Kerala opened overflowing dams, the first time they had made such a move since
catastrophic flooding killed more than 400 people in 2018.Credit...Appu S. Narayanan/Agence France-
Presse — Getty Images

Governments in South Asia are expected to push wealthy countries for financial aid to help them
shift away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner sources of energy.

That switch — if it happens — could take years, stalling not only international pledges to reduce
global carbon emissions, but also projects to mitigate the effects of a less predictable and more
dangerous climate.

Meteorologists were not expecting the catastrophic rainfall that has deluged India and Nepal in
recent days.

About 100 people were evacuated from a Lemon Tree resort in Nainital, a former British
colonial hill station in Uttarakhand. Hotel management staff remained to care for older adults,
after rescue workers decided that an evacuation could be too risky for them given the hairpin
turns and steep drops on the district’s narrow mountain road.
Image
Rescue workers pushing an overturned vehicle stuck in the mud and debris on Sunday in Kerala. More
than 40 people in the state drowned or were killed in recent landslides and floods, according to one
official.Credit...-/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“The water is receding now, but the vehicles are still stranded,” said Akriti Arora, a company
spokeswoman.

Uttarakhand officials feared the death toll could rise further as the receding waters exposed
people trapped under the debris.

Torrential rains also soaked southern India, triggering flash floods and landslides in the state of
Kerala.

A couple sailed through the flooded streets of their village in an aluminum cooking pot to get to
their wedding.

More than 40 people in Kerala drowned or were killed in the recent landslides and floods, said
Neethu V. Thomas, a hazard analyst at Kerala’s disaster management agency.

“All the forces are on the ground,” she said.

Still, the forecast of another bout of heavy rainfall in the days ahead complicated a full
assessment. “It’s difficult to get all of the details,” she said.

Image
Rescue workers in Nainital, a former British colonial hill station in Uttarakhand, India. About 100 people
were evacuated from a Lemon Tree resort there. Credit...National Disaster Response Force, via Reuters

This week, officials in Kerala opened overflowing dams, the first time state officials had made
such a move since catastrophic flooding killed more than 400 people in 2018.

India deployed navy and air force personnel to assist with rescue efforts, and to force people
living in the path downstream from the dam to evacuate.

Landslides and floods also struck Nepal this week, with at least 50 people killed in inundated far-
flung villages. Hundreds of houses in hilly areas were swept away. Highways were blocked, and
a regional airport, its tarmac submerged, was forced to cancel flights.

There, too, the cloudbursts surprised scientists, who had forecast that the Himalayan nation’s
period of heavy rains had ended more than a week ago.

Rice paddy that was ready for harvest was damaged in the rain, causing Nepal’s farmers to
despair and prompting fears of a food crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries.

“Rainfalls in October were reported in the past, too, but not to this intensity,” said Ajaya Dixit,
an expert on climate change vulnerability in Nepal. “Climate change is real, and it is happening.”
Image
The banks of the flooded Karnali River on Wednesday after heavy rains in the Bardiya District in
Nepal.Credit...Krishna Adhikari/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hari Kumar contributed reporting from New Delhi, and Bhadra Sharma from Kathmandu, Nepal.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/world/asia/india-nepal-floods-landslides.html

Is Brown Rice Healthy, and Should You Choose It

Over White Rice? Here's What a Nutritionist Says
These are the top nutritional benefits of brown rice to keep in mind.

By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RDOctober 20, 2021

Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If
you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
As a nutritionist, many of my clients tell me they've heard they should choose brown rice
over white rice. Indeed, brown rice is a nutrient-rich source of energizing carbs that's widely
considered the more healthful option. But why is that the case? Here's what you should know
about brown rice, including its nutritional value; health benefits; and ways to incorporate it into
meals, snacks, and even desserts.

Brown rice vs white rice

Brown rice is a whole grain. A grain is considered to be 'whole' if its three original parts—the
bran, germ, and endosperm—stay intact. A grain's bran is its fibrous outer skin. The germ is its
embryo, which has the potential to sprout into a new plant. The endosperm is the germ's starchy
food supply.

Since brown rice keeps all of the original parts, it provides more than twice as much fiber
compared to its white counterpart. That's because white rice is not a whole grain; it's refined,
meaning the bran and germ are stripped away, leaving only the endosperm. As a whole grain,
brown rice also packs higher levels of essential nutrients.

Brown rice nutrition

One cup of cooked long-grain brown rice contains 248 calories, 5.5 grams of protein, 52 grams
of carbohydrate with 3 grams as fiber, and less than 2 grams of fat, according to the US
Department of Agriculture database. Brown rice is also naturally rich in vitamins and minerals.
That same portion, about the size of a tennis ball, packs 88% of the daily need for manganese, a
mineral needed for immune function, collagen production, and strong bones, and over 20% of
the daily need for magnesium, required for muscle and nerve function, DNA production, and
regulation of blood sugar and blood pressure. Cooked brown rice also supplies between 10% and
27% of the daily goal for selenium, copper, phosphorus, and several B vitamins, other essential
nutrients needed for optimal health.

This hearty whole grain is also bursting with health-protective antioxidants. A

2018 study published in the journal Antioxidants concluded that brown rice contains many types
of phenolic compounds. This common antioxidant group is known to protect cells against
damage linked to a greater risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, and heart disease.

Blood sugar regulation

Eating brown rice has been shown to result in better post-meal blood sugar control in people with
diabetes and may even help prevent type 2 diabetes. Several studies have also found that
replacing white rice with brown rice can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. The effects are
attributed to the grain's fiber, slow-burning starch, nutrients, and antioxidants, as well as its
ability to help feed beneficial bacteria in the gut, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium,
which are tied to diabetes and obesity prevention.

Heart health
In one study, scientists looked at the effect of brown rice consumption on inflammatory markers
and heart risk factors in 40 non-menopausal women who were overweight or obese. The
volunteers were asked to consume about 5 ounces of either cooked brown or white rice for six
weeks, with a two-week wash out period before switching to the other rice type. Researchers
found that that the consumption of brown rice significantly reduced inflammatory markers,
including C-reactive protein, as well as other heart risk factors. Another study in healthy female
university students found that eating brown rice as a staple for 10 weeks improved general health
and prevented high cholesterol, which reduces overall heart disease risk.

Weight management

In addition to cardiovascular protection, the aforementioned study on inflammatory markers also

found that brown rice consumption improved weight, body mass index, and waist measurements
among the women in the study. Other research has shown that brown rice may help stave off
weight gain. A 2019 study among Japanese workers concluded that over the course of one year,
white rice eaters gained over six pounds while brown rice eaters did not gain weight.
Further studies show that whole grains, including brown rice, reduce calorie absorption due to
their fiber content and improve calorie burning, two additional factors that positively impact
weight management.

Brown rice and arsenic

One concern about brown rice consumption is levels of arsenic, a contaminant linked to potential
health risks, including adverse pregnancy outcomes and certain cancers. But arsenic risks due to
rice consumption of any kind are difficult to assess, according to a study published in Current
Environmental Health Reports. Researchers point out that the association between rice
consumption and health outcomes is complicated by several factors. These include populations
with differing rice consumption patterns relative to their total caloric intake and widely varying
amounts of arsenic in water used to cook rice, which makes the risk from rice itself difficult to
tease out.
Currently, consuming brown rice in moderation, as one of several sources of whole food
carbohydrates, is one way to reduce possible arsenic exposure. A 2021 study found that partially
boiling brown rice can remove up to 54% of unwanted heavy metals like arsenic. This method
outperforming soaking or rinsing and was also shown to help preserve nutrients such as zinc.

Healthful ways to eat more brown rice

Brown rice is incredibly versatile and can be incorporated into nearly any meal. To make a
breakfast porridge, flavor the rice with plant-based milk and a touch of maple syrup and
cinnamon, and then top with nuts. Add veggies and brown rice to omelets and frittatas. Add
brown rice to soups, chili, jambalaya, tacos, and casseroles. Incorporate it into salads or grain
bowls, along with leafy greens, other veggies, and lean protein, drizzled with sauces like
seasoned tahini, vegan pesto, or guacamole. Serve brown rice with stir fries, and opt for brown
rice sushi. Incorporate it into veggie burgers, stuffed cabbage and bell peppers, and lettuce
wraps. Brown rice can also make its way into desserts, including pudding, toasted brown rice ice
cream, cookies, and bars.

Other forms of the grain are also readily available. Add puffed brown rice to dark chocolate and
other sweet treats, and swap wheat flour for brown rice flour in baking and cooking. Plain
sprouted brown rice protein powder is a great option for smoothies or to bolster the protein
content of pancakes, mashed cauliflower, or blended soups. Here are a few of the brown rice-
based items I enjoy:

Bottom line

Brown rice is a filling, nutrient-rich whole grain that's naturally gluten-free and versatile. If

you're trying to decide between white and brown rice, consider reaching for the brown to up your
intake of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and to potentially reduce disease risk. In my
experience, many people end up developing a preference for brown rice over white due to its
slightly nutty flavor and hearty texture. Just keep in mind that, like any food, you can't eat
unlimited amounts. Combine moderate portions of brown rice with other whole foods to take
advantage of its benefits and best optimize your overall nutrient and calorie intake.

Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, is Health's contributing nutrition editor, a New York Times best-
selling author, and a private practice performance nutritionist who has consulted for five
professional sports teams.

https://www.health.com/nutrition/is-brown-rice-healthy

How Bali could teach the world to manage its limited

resources

With a method taken from physics, scientists determine which factors contribute to the
equilibrium in Balinese rice cultivation.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

COMPLEXITY SCIENCE HUB VIENNA

[Vienna, Oct 20, 2021]  Water is a limited resource. As such, efficient ways to jointly manage
and optimize water reserves are essential for our present and future. But how can a well-balanced
system be established? In order to single out the relevant parameters, an international team of
scientists, including Stefan Thurner from the Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSH), applied a
method from physics to a system in equilibrium: the century-old rice irrigation practices in Bali.

According to their work just published in Physical Review Letters, the current equilibrium self-
organized over the course of the past thousand years, maybe driven by farmers’ – conflicting –
planting schedules.

Balancing conflicting constraints

Over the centuries, Balinese rice farmers had to deal with two constraints. On the one hand, the
water to irrigate the paddies is a limited resource. “Intuitively, one would think that an
unsynchronized flooding would lead to a fairer water distribution between farmers,” explains
CSH-President Thurner. Yet, there is also a need to control rice pests such as insects that can
easily move from field to field. The farmers learned from experience that pest control needs
the synchronized flooding of neighbouring paddies.

These two constraints have opposing effects. “The larger the agricultural area that follows the
same irrigation schedule, the more water stress appears from the synchronized irrigation cycles,”
the study reads.  

To find patterns in synchronized and unsynchronized farming schedules, the scientists analysed
satellite images of several rice growing regions in Bali from 2002 to 2015. They classified which
of the four characteristic planting patterns – growth, harvest, flood, or drain – occurred when and
where. Now they developed a way to relate these patterns to the balance of stresses in Balinese
farming.

A formula for an equilibrium

“We present a formula that explains how a balance between water stress and pest stress is
realized and how the system eventually reaches an equilibrium,” says Thurner. “If the stresses
were managed differently, the rice growing regions would look very different from what we
observe in reality.”

According to the complexity scientist, "it is a razor-sharp balance between different states and
can tip at a tipping point or a phase-transition point, as the physicists would call it.”

How fast the seemingly eternal equilibrium can get out of control became apparent in the 1970’s.
The so-called Green Revolution made farmers use pesticides and cultivate their paddies without
their traditional synchronization system.

“At first, harvests increased,” says Yérali Gandica from Cergy Paris University, the first author
of the paper. “But within a couple of years, farmers reported chaos in water schedules and an
explosion in pests.” When too many paddies in higher regions were flooded at the same time,
farmers with lower terraces experienced water stress. Disharmony between neighbors grew, the
carefully maintained Balinese culture of social harmony was disturbed. It was only when the
traditional method was reinstated that the equilibrium (mostly) returned.

“It might seem a very theoretical approach, but it could have a practical side in other coupled
human-environment ecological systems: One can relate easily observable environmental patterns
to stress balance – and thus detect weak points in their management,” Thurner concludes.

 Yérali Gandica, J. Stephen Lansing, Ning Ning Chung, Stefan Thurner, Lock Yue Chew, Bali’s Ancient Rice
Terraces: A Hamiltonian Approach, Physical Review Letters 127 (2021) 168301
About the Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSH):

The mission of CSH Vienna is to host, educate, and inspire complex systems scientists dedicated to making
sense of Big Data to boost science and society. Scientists at the Hub develop methods for the scientific,
quantitative, and predictive understanding of complex systems. Focal areas include the resilience and
efficiency of socio-economic and ecological systems, network medicine, the dynamics of innovation, and the
science of cities.

The Hub is a joint initiative of AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Central European University CEU,
Danube University Krems, Graz University of Technology, IIASA International Institute for Applied Systems
Analysis, IMBA, Medical University of Vienna, TU Wien, VetMedUni Vienna, Vienna University of
Economics and Business, and Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO).

http://www.csh.ac.at

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932139
Could RIPE100 proposal be part of next farm bill?
Part two of a three-part series on RIPE stewardship program.

Forrest Laws | Oct 20, 2021

Paying farmers and ranchers $100 per acre or $100 per animal unit to adopt conservation
practices to help put more carbon in the soil could be a game changer when it comes to helping
reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

Rural Investment in Protecting our Environment leaders who are championing the concept say
they want to provide additional funding for conservation efforts rather than pulling funding away
from existing program.

“We are very committed to not competing with existing farm bill programs,” said Aliza
Wasserman Drewes, executive director and founder of RIPE. “We are about expanding
economic opportunities and not cannibalizing existing programs that provide a tremendous
amount of value.”

Drewes was answering a question in an interview about the possibility of including her
organization’s $100-per-acre payments in the next farm bill. The current farm bill, the
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, is scheduled to expire early in 2023.

“We’re certainly open to having it potentially authorized through a farm bill, but that is an
important question that we will look to our farm leaders to decide within the next year,” she said.

Carbon credit trading has begun to attract attention because of payments of $12 to $15 an acre to
farmers who adopt practices that will keep more carbon in the soil. Many scientists believe
removing carbon in the atmosphere is a major step toward reducing global warming and the
more extreme weather patterns the earth is experiencing.

Payments of $12 to $15 an acre from purchases of carbon credit offsets by Walmart, Amazon
and other conglomerates would be a losing proposition for farmers because they won’t cover
farmer costs of planting cover crops, farming no-till or other stewardship efforts, according to
Drewes and other leaders of RIPE.

Steering committee

The RIPE Steering Committee includes farmers, ranchers and farm organization leaders from
commodity groups as diverse as corn growers in Iowa to cattle ranchers in Texas. Producers
representing Arkansas rice and soybean groups also serve on the body.

“We are very proud of our steering committee,” said Drewes. “They lead and guide our policy
design and government strategy. We have the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the North Dakota
Grain Growers Association, the Arkansas Rice Federation, the National Black Farmers
Association, the North Dakota Farmers Union and the Minnesota Farmers Union and others.

“Our board of directors includes a leader from the Minnesota Farmers Union as well as the Iowa
Corn Growers. Those are the folks who really lead our thinking, strategy and help shape the
policy. We look forward to working with additional stakeholders in hashing out a lot of the
details.”

Drewes said RIPE is following the debate over the climate policy funding in the Biden
administration’s $3.5 trillion infrastructure proposal, but she doesn’t expect its proposal to take
root there.
“This is a longer-term process,” she said. “We know that climate policy will be coming in a wide
variety of ways. It’s not in the current legislation. The current legislation has spending proposals
of which there are significant climate spending elements.

“Should Congress be interested in including this, our doors are certainly open. We think a pilot
program would be a fantastic place for that to happen. If that doesn’t happen, we have many
other opportunities to lay the groundwork with other bills.”

https://www.farmprogress.com/sustainability/could-ripe100-proposal-be-part-next-farm-bill
 Taiwan fruit exports to China drop dramatically

 20 October, 2021
 Emma Benack


Taiwan's custard apples are one of the fruits recently banned in China. (Photo: CNA)
Taiwanese fruit exports to China have dropped sharply in the past year, amid Chinese bans on
Taiwanese pineapples, wax apples, and custard apples. China now accounts for just under 50%
of Taiwan's fruit export orders, down from 80% in 2019.

Still, the Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung reported on Wednesday that Taiwan's
overall profit from produce exports has grown from the past year.

Chen says that China is one of the largest importers in the world, and that Taiwan's market relies
too heavily on a partner with an unstable trade relationship. Therefore, Chen says that Taiwan
needs to move away from dependence on China and strengthen its exports to other countries.
There are concerns that China might decide to ban rice from Taiwan as well. However, Chen
says he's not worried. He says that last year, Taiwan exported 200,000 tons of rice, and almost
half of that went to China. 

China has over 1.4 billion people, and Chen says that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and
natural disasters, China has relied heavily on imported grains from other countries. Therefore,
Chen says he doesn't believe that China's need for rice from Taiwan will waver any time soon.

https://en.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2006338

Bangkok 7-Elevens get a beer upgrade today

 By Craig Sauers

Oct 21, 2021 | 10:53am Bangkok time

Bars and restaurants can’t serve, but Bar 7-Eleven remains open for takeaway, at least. Thanks to
Thai craft beer makers Mahanakhon, their typically paltry selection just got better, too.

Starting today, the craft beer brand’s white ale will be available in 330ml cans (THB65) at 7-
Elevens throughout Bangkok and neighboring provinces.

Unlike the usual mass market beers in Thailand, which are based on grain bills of rice and wheat,
Mahanakhon’s unfiltered white ale is made with local ingredients like Job’s tears and oats to
give it a naturally cloudy appearance, as well as spices like orange peel and coriander.

Getting a beer like this at 7-Eleven certainly counts as a coup (no pun intended).

While Thailand’s craft beer market has boomed over the past decade, the odds remain very much
stacked against local beer makers – and importers, for that matter.

Dated and often draconian laws make entering the beer business in Thailand a Sisyphean venture
– for example, blanket bans on alcohol sales, excessive import and excise duties, and towering
barriers to entry that force brewers to produce over 1 million liters per year to be able to sell it in
cans or bottles. Not to mention the market is dominated by just two conglomerates.

Mahanakhon began making beer in 20-liter batches in a garage. Their footprint has since
expanded across the country to bars, supermarkets like Tops, and now 7-Eleven. Earlier this
year, it introduced a new product, a white IPA, as well as a refreshed version of its pale ale.

Mahanakhon partner Avi Yashaya says they hope to get their white IPA in 7-Eleven early next
year.
Maybe by then Thailand will have finally “considered” whether alcoholic beverages can be
consumed in bars and restaurants again, too.

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/food-drink/upgraded-beers-land-today-at-
bangkoks-7-elevens/

Food for thought | Marriages are inevitable for

spiritual, social and biological purposes

Representational PicFile/ GK

MOHAMMAD JALAL-UD-DIN

20 Oct, 2021, 6:39 pm

Spring loses life when its source thins. Lime-stone and quarry-stone extractions cause even
mountains collapse their stature. A simple arithmetic that if income is less than expenditure or
spending more than earnings it is a deficit state which aggravates unless replenished.

This is true of both the whole and its constituents. If the source of supply is broad based and
exceeds its exhaustion there is a certain net increase over the principal quantity like human
population where the source of marriage is vast and permanent.

Marriages are inevitable for spiritual, social and biological purposes which sustain the workshop
of life. Ipso facto, like the world scenario, the population increases everywhere every year. In
Jammu & Kashmir it is projected as 1.36 crore for 2021 with estimates of 53.50 lakh souls for
Jammu and 82.50 for Kashmir.

However, marriages nowadays do not come as simple a way as earlier. It is a labyrinthine matter
now as a huge (avoidable) expenditure, period of time, and wide arrangements are involved
including, inter alia, whopping expenditure on consumption of ruminants’ meat and the
disposables.

It is said that Kashmir consumed around 1000 lakh kilograms of such meat during a year. Rough
estimates in monetary terms put it at rupees five crore per-diem.

This means Kashmiris spend Rs.17.25 billion annually. Besides, there is camel meat, beef, white
meat and the fish to quench our chosen thirst. Undoubtedly increasing expenditure is a sign of
growing economy but the incremental expenditure should come from net savings or else it is a
sliding towards bankruptcy.

The the ponderable side of story is that indigenous production (about 60 percent) being below
par other 40 percent is met through imports mainly from Rajasthan. Thus about Rs.6.90 billion
are lost to imports. Imports are not a forbidden tree if the importer has a favourable or at least
equal balance of payments with the exporter.

It is also seen that expenses on marriages are financed through borrowings to make a pomp and
show. Such people do not cut their coat according to their body which, therefore, mortgages
them to the web of debt rarely to get riddance.

If thriftiness is adopted by contending with local produce there would a saving of Rs.6.90 billion
a year alone on consumption of meat. It is fait accompli that amount saved is tantamount to
amount earned.

Meat or taking meat is not so important as we think. Nature too teaches the same as divine
wisdom has created things wisely and orderly to meet demands on the earth.

While as one sun and one moon suffices our world, the stars are in numbers. With seven oceans
and about 50 seas in the world, rivers run in hundreds and the springs, streams and the brooks in
thousands.

Gold and diamonds so much precious are rare for being usable limitedly unlike iron everywhere
in use. Water is ever and all required so is 70 percent. These are the immutable ways of Allah
Who, in Surah No.32 Titled Sajdah -The Prostration, Ayat No.7 of the Quran, reiterates that He
has, ordained everything properly including vegetables and the vegetation for use everywhere
and every time.

Practically none can withstand not to become fed up with the continuous and uninterrupted use
of meat unlike vegetables. Almost all our medicines and drugs are derived from vegetables and
the vegetation unlike meat for human consumption.
As per some estimation an average consumption of meat is 2.8 kilograms per year while as in
Kashmir it is said to be 4.4 kilograms. Nutrition scientists and the dieticians do not prohibit
eating of meat as it forms a part of diet.

Anyway crux of the matter is that it is not to be dispensed with because with no hiatus in Allah’s
way of doing things, nothing is in vain. Of course time, quantity, frequency and the way of
cooking are to be well managed as meat is also a good source of proteins, vitamins and minerals
for our body & health.

However, consumption is not to be reduced for demand-supply in-equilibrium but for excessive
intake which has negative effects like acne, cancer, constipation, diabetes, harmful cholesterol,
heart disease, obesity etc. Momentum gained by heart diseases and diabetes in recent times in
Kashmir may not be ruled out to abnormal consumption of meat.

More than 80 percent of population of Kashmir is non-vegetarian and has earned the distinction
of voracious meat eaters. It has now become the crème-la de crème of feasts and the functions
though over-consumption of meat is no feat nor is this spirit or purpose of either whereas
scrimping is.

Then comes too much addition of spices and abnormal frying which play all the havoc making
meat and food no good diet. Spicy foods tend to cause heartburn, stomach ulcers, damage to the
lining in the stomach which can lead to gastro esophageal reflux disease.

In marriage ceremonies or related events starting from engagement to post marriage functions,
there is a brazen use of meat for not less than three kilograms of cooked meat are served per
copper plate shared by four invitees with sideline dishes, along with addition of spiced rice with
meat.

A volley of disposables costing lakhs of rupees is shot to handle the excessively abundant
quantity of meat whose disposal too creates a problem. It is disgusting and disgraceful that where
gluttony is neither permissible nor feasible scientifically meat dishes in double digits are
showered on and welcomed by people as slaves of belly.

If this amount is pooled up and utilized in a planned manner on planned works wonderful events
can happen. Herculean tasks will become play way things.

Diseases related to overeating of meat will vanish or at least get reduced. The expenditure saved
on their cure will be a bonus. Apprehensions of market slump and losing some portion of income
through reduced expenditure, for chefs and disposable sellers, shall also get substituted as they
themselves are part & parcel of the same society and consumers at their own time in the same
economy.

The effects of savings resulting from reduced consumption of meat will percolate in other better
forms like facilitating education, establishment of technical/non-technical universities/colleges,
health & medical institutions, professional institutions, research & development institutes,
factories and manufacturing concerns, training & welfare institutions, protection and
preservation of art and culture, interest free banking –a much feared and demonized subject in so
called modern banking system, employment of unemployed work force etc.
If herbivorous can live a healthy life why not omnivorous with little meat? Elite are to start first
to be emulated by non-elite else all shall be asleep and our hard-earned or borrowed money will
continue to burn in the self charted furnaces.

The author is a former Sr. Audit Officer and Consultant in the A.G’s 

https://www.greaterkashmir.com/editorial-page-2/food-for-thought-marriages-are-inevitable-for-
spiritual-social-and-biological-purposes

Plugging the leak: On the GM rice controversy

OCTOBER 21, 2021 00:02 IST

SHARE ARTICLE

India must assuage importers that its produce is compliant with trade demands on
GM foods

Since June, the export of about 500 tonnes of rice from India has triggered an uproar
in several European countries on the grounds that it was genetically modified (GM)
rice. This emerged during a check by the European Commission’s Rapid Alert
System for Food and Feed that was testing rice flour by the French company
Westhove. In June, France had issued a notification for unauthorised GM rice flour,
identifying India as the point of origin, and alerting Austria, Belgium, the Czech
Republic, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. as the
possible destination of products made with the flour. So in August, the American food
products company Mars, fearing GM contamination, announced that it was recalling
four of its product lines of ‘Crispy M&M’. GM-free rice that is tagged as ‘organic rice’
is among India’s high-value exports worth ₹63,000 crore annually. India does not
permit the commercial cultivation of GM rice, but research groups are testing varieties
of such rice in trial plots. So the suspicion is that rice from some of these test-plots may
have “leaked” into the exported product. The Indian government has denied this
possibility with a Commerce Ministry spokesperson alleging that the contamination
may have happened in Europe “to cut costs”. However, India has indicated that it will
commission an investigation involving its scientific bodies.

India’s history of crop modification using GM is one of test-plants finding their way to
commercial cultivars before they were formally cleared. Thus, Bt-cotton was widely
 prevalent in farmer fields before being cleared. Though they have not been cleared, Bt-
brinjal and herbicide-tolerant cotton varieties too have been detected in farmer fields.
Though the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is the apex regulator of GM
crops, it is mandated that trials of GM crops obtain permission from States. Because of
the close connections between farmers and State agriculture universities, which are
continuously testing new varieties of crops employing all kinds of scientific
experiments ranging from introducing transgenes to other non-transgenic modification
methods, and the challenges of ensuring that trial plots are strictly segregated from
farms, there is a possibility that seeds may transfer within plots. Because many Indian
farmers are dependent on European imports, the Centre must rush to assuage importers
that India’s produce is compliant with trade demands. The fractious history of GM
crops in India means that passions often rule over reason on questions of the safety of
GM crops, and so India must also move to ensure that research into all approaches —
GM or non GM — should not become a casualty in this matter of export-quality
compliance.
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/plugging-the-leak-the-hindu-editorial-on-the-gm-rice-
controversy/

San Miguel opens regional food hub for farmers in

Quezon
byBusinessMirror

October 20, 2021

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) formally inaugurated the San Miguel Market, one of the key
components of its relocation model that provides at-risk and displaced fisherfolk families in
Sariaya, Quezon disaster-resilient homes, a safe community complete with amenities and
facilities to support their livelihood.

The San Miguel Market, a public market built by SMC for fisherfolk beneficiary families of its
San Miguel-Christian Gayeta homes, is envisioned to be part of a larger food supply hub in the
province, where both fishermen and farmers can sell their produce to bulk buyers from all over
Quezon province, neighboring provinces, as well as from Metro Manila.
“Sariaya, Quezon is an important growth area for San Miguel. In particular, through our planned
agro-industrial zone here, food production and agribusiness will be among our major activities.
Helping to capacitate and enable local fishermen and farmers, and strengthening local
agriculture, is a priority for us,” said SMC President Ramon S. Ang.

“With the San Miguel Market, farmers and fisherfolk who reside at our sustainable housing
community, those in neighboring areas and barangays, now have their very own marketplace
nearby, where they can sell their goods without spending much to transport these to other
markets. This means more income in their pockets for their families and, for customers, more
affordable food choices.”

Ang added that the long-term plan for the San Miguel Market is to expand it to 10,000 square
meters, and have it serve as a wholesale market or “bagsakan” center for produce coming from
Sariaya and other parts of Quezon province.

It is complemented by an earlier completed Fishermen’s Dock, also built by SMC, which Sariaya
fishermen now use as a base of operations—serving as a place where they store their boats,
engines, and fishing implements and supplies. A Fishermen’s Hall in the dock also serves as
their rest and storage area.

In recent months, Ang said the company has taken steps to address farmers’ loss of income and
ensuring stable food supply by ramping up purchases of corn and cassava used in many of the
company’s products while putting up traditional and non-traditional markets where more food
can be accessed by consumers at affordable prices.

“Our farmers and fisherfolk truly need all the support they can get during this pandemic. Many
instances, a lot of them have no recourse but to throw away their freshly-harvested fruits and
vegetables, or sell these at a loss due to lack of buyers, limited access to markets, and possibly,
lower demand, for various factors.”

Currently, vendors at the San Miguel Market consist mainly of relocatees who sell fresh fruits,
vegetables, rice, seafoods and meats. The market also has a health and wellness stall, cell-phone
repair shop, pharmacy, bakery, shoe store, and the San Miguel Food & Beverage Hub.

The blessing and formal opening of the market was attended by Bishop of Lucena Mel Rey Uy;
Rev. Fr. Everett Calvendra, Mayor Marcelo Gayeta, Vice Mayor Alexander Tolentino, members
of the Sangguniang Bayan of Sariaya and SMC Special Projects Manager Atty. Mikee Rosales,
and other SMC representatives.

The San Miguel Market is managed by the Malasakit Management Inc., composed of relocatees
of SMC’s San Miguel-Christian Gayeta Homes and others who moved to safer and newly built
homes elsewhere in Sariaya.

“By giving our relocatees the responsibility to manage the San Miguel Market, we are
empowering them to set the direction for its further growth. We have prepared them well through
our business and entrepreneurship seminars tailored for this purpose, and will continue to guide
them as we move to fulfill our bigger goal to build an agro-industrial complex,” Ang said.

SMC’s planned agro-industrial complex in Sariaya includes a brewery, grains terminal, feedmill,
a ready-to-eat food manufacturing plant, high-tech poultry facility, a fuel tank farm, and port
facilities.

“These projects are all interconnected. With SMC food production plants to be set up in Sariaya
in the coming years, we can source food ingredients from local farmers and provide employment
to many residents. San Miguel Market can then serve as a major food distribution outlet for
agriculture and San Miguel products in South Luzon, and even as far as the Bicol region.”

To further boost its stature as a major food supply hub, SMC has donated 18 fishing boats to be
used by MMI for its members’ livelihood, so they can better ensure a stable supply of fresh fish
in the market.

“As we expect demand to increase in the coming months as the market gains popularity, we are
equipping the San Miguel Market with its own fleet of boats so they can ensure steady fish
supply for sale to consumers,” he added.

The boat donation is the most recent such effort by SMC. A few months ago, the company
donated 36 boats, to be co-owned by some 69 Sariaya fishermen.

“Many of the fishermen here have been fishing for a long time, but have never had their own
boats. A lot of them used to just rely on others who owned boats, but if they couldn’t find a spot
in their boats, then they wouldn’t earn anything. With more fishermen having their own boats
now, fewer families will go hungry and the local fishing industry can really begin to grow and
thrive.”

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/10/20/san-miguel-opens-regional-food-hub-for-farmers-in-

FACT CHECK: Old pictures of farmers protest

shared as Oct 18 `rail roko'
By Misha RajaniPublished on 20 Oct 2021 4:15 PM

HYDERABAD: A 'rail roko' protest was organized on October 18 in 130 locations across
northern India, especially Punjab and Haryana. Farmers were demanding the dismissal and arrest
of Union minister Ajay Mishra for his alleged involvement in the death of four people at
Lakhimpur Kheri earlier this month.
(Source: The Hindu, Indian Express)
Amidst this, several pictures are circulating on social media. The pictures are shared with
hashtag #आज_रे ल_बंद_है and shows protesters holding flags and sitting on tractors and railway
tracks.
Click here to view posts.
Farmers in "every district" will be out on railway tracks because no action being taken against
Union Minister Ajay Mishra in Lakhimpur attack.@VP .@LiveLawIndia .@barandbench

#आज_रे ल_बंद_है  pic.twitter.com/VsQbwKa2YL

— Jazz 🇮🇳🇨🇦 🌾ਗਰਮ ਖਿਆਲੀ (@Only_Mohabbat) October 18, 2021

Rail Roko today: Farmers to stop rail traffic for 6 hours over Lakhimpur Kheri
violence.#आज_रे ल_बंद_है  pic.twitter.com/KIR7gbaLjm
— 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 ( ਛੋਟਾ ਲਿਖਾਰੀ )™ (@Chhotalikharii) October 18, 2021

Farmers are stopping trains because modi govt failed to sack mos who threatened farmers... We
support farmers Violent acts took place at Lakhimpur cannot be
forgotten....#आज_रे ल_बंद_है  pic.twitter.com/eDdKwX4NpT
— 🚜🌾ਨਵਰੂਪ ਕੌ ਰ🌾🚜 (@iamnavroopkaur) October 18, 2021

FACT CHECK:

The pictures are not linked to October 18 'rail roko' protest.

IMAGE 1:

The picture is from an October 2020 'rail roko' protest at Devi Dass Pura village in Ambala. The
New Indian Express reported that the protest took place as local traders and rice millers were
buying "paddy from UP and Bihar at Rs 900-Rs 1,100 per quintal, which is much below the
minimum support price of Rs 1,888 at which they sell it to state agencies in Punjab."
IMAGE 2:

The picture is from a February 2021 'Rail Roko Andolan, at Shahpur in Ambala. According to
'The Hindu' and 'Deccan Herald', farmers blocked railway tracks as part of the nationwide
protest, and around 25 trains were rescheduled in the northern zone due to farmers' protest
against three farm laws.
IMAGE 3:

The picture is from March 2021 protest when people blocked passenger and goods trains
between Amritsar and Beas. According to Indian Express, the rail blockade was called by the
Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and the picture was taken on the tracks near Amritsar's
Jandiala station.
Clearly, the viral pictures are not from the October 18 'rail roko' protest. Old pictures of farmers'
protests have been shared as Monday's demonstration.
Claim Review :   Pictures show October 18 ‘rail roko’ protest

Claimed By :  Social Media Users

Fact Check :  False

Misha Rajani
Misha Rajani is a Fact Checker at NewsMeter. She is currently pursuing her Master's degree in
Mass Communication and Journalism from St. Francis College for Women. She has written a
thesis on “ Role of social media in highlighting injustice”. Apart from pursuing a career in news
writing, Misha is also skilled in graphic designing. You can follow Misha on Twitter
@misharajani00
https://newsmeter.in/fact-check/fact-check-old-pictures-of-framers-protest-shared-as-oct-18-rail-
roko-684834

Director General of Nuklear Malaysia: Committed to

Nuclear Science and Helping Others
Michael Amdi Madsen, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication

Malaysian Nuclear Agency Director General Siti A'iasah Binti Hashim took part in the IAEA’s 65th General
Conference and received her agency’s Outstanding Achievement award in mutation plant breeding. (Photo: F.
Llukmani/IAEA)
With support and guidance, all countries can reap the benefits of peaceful nuclear applications,
and there is no better example of that than Malaysia. Since joining the IAEA in 1969, the
Southeast Asian country has applied nuclear science to improve food security, address pests and
pollution, encourage economic development, and improve people’s health. Recently we spoke to
Siti A'iasah Binti Hashim, Director General of Nuklear Malaysia — the Malaysian Nuclear
Agency (MNA) — as she visited Vienna to receive her organisation’s Outstanding Achievement
Award in plant mutation breeding and take part in the 65th IAEA General Conference. She spoke
about some of her agency’s recent successes, efforts, and challenges in addressing 21st Century
problems:

Q: Congratulations to MNA on the Outstanding Achievement Award in mutation plant

breeding. Why has Malaysia chosen to use mutation breeding and how has the IAEA
supported you?
 Our aim has been to provide a good quality rice breed that is resistant to diseases and can adapt

to uncertain weather conditions such as flood and drought, and this strain does that. Siti A'iasah

Binti Hashim, Director General of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency

A: In Malaysia, we are striving to be food self-sufficient. One way we’re doing this is through
increased and improved rice production. Our celebrated achievement with rice mutation
breeding has come at just the right time, and the strain we developed — NMR152 — was
recently registered and listed in our government’s subsidy scheme, meaning farmers can now
buy its seeds at significantly reduced price. Our aim has been to provide a good quality rice
breed that is resistant to diseases and can adapt to uncertain weather conditions such as flood and
drought, and this strain does that. In fact, its yield is 8-10 tonnes per hectare, which is far above
the 3-4 tonnes seen in the national average — so we’re doubling up!

Earlier this year NMR152 made an impact on flood-devastated communities in an east coast part
of Malaysia. Within 100 days of being given the seeds, the affected farmers recovered their
economic losses and made profit, in time for the Eid al Fitr holiday.

The IAEA has helped us get to this point, primarily through its technical cooperation
programme. The programme has helped us develop human resources capacity in plant mutation
breeding, and initially organised to have our seeds irradiated in other countries. The IAEA then
supported us in establishing our own gamma greenhouse. We became an IAEA International
Collaboration Centre (ICC) in 2019, for the 2019-2023 cycle in Plant Mutation breeding using
Chronic Gamma Irradiation. Now, experts and fellow researchers from other countries come to
Malaysia to be trained in mutation plant breeding and use our facilities.

Q: What other nuclear applications are having an important impact in Malaysia?

A: Aside from plant breeding, radiation processing is an impactful area of our work. MNA is
designated as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in the areas of radiation processing of polymer,
natural polymer, and nanomaterials. Our facilities not only help foreign fellows and researchers.
but support Malaysian small- to medium-sized industry enterprises and add value to their
products. For example, we have helped cable manufacturers switch from conventional
crosslinking to radiation crosslinking to produce superior quality cables. We provide these
enterprises, at low cost, an irradiation service needed to crosslink the cable insulation. They’re
not big companies, so investing in an electron beam facility is too expensive, but with our
support their cables have achieved the stringent quality requirements of the automotive industry.

We’re also very supportive of non-destructive testing (NDT), and over the last 10 years have
trained almost 2,000 people in the field. Many of these people have gone on to secure jobs in the
NDT sector or become well-paid radiographers in the oil and gas industry. Some have even
created NDT service start-ups. Last month, the IAEA sent an NDT mission to Beirut to help the
city a year on from the blast that wracked its port, and one of the experts was an expert from
MNA. This shows our commitment to the IAEA and the international arena while making a
global statement that we have the expertise and are ready to help.

Q: In August, you were on Malaysian TV discussing the contribution of nuclear technology
in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you tell us about MNA’s role in the
pandemic and how the IAEA has helped?

A: As Malaysia’s national liaison agency for the IAEA, we’ve handled the contributions from
the IAEA’s COVID-19 relief programme. The IAEA sent Malaysia two sets of RT-PCR
equipment as well as X-ray machines. These tools have helped our Ministry of Health detect
COVID-19 cases, but MNA has been able to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 in other
ways, too. Our ICC on radiation processing has facilities to produce face shields worn by
pandemic frontline workers, and we were able to directly support a part of East Malaysia that at
time was badly hit by COVID-19 and ran out of personal protective equipment. We also
participated in the national vaccination programme, where MNA was appointed to manage
volunteers from the public services.

Beyond COVID-19, we’re working with the IAEA in stopping future pandemics and zoonosis
outbreaks through the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative. We liaise with
the IAEA and our Department of Veterinary Services — who are leading most of the action in
Malaysia — and we have the facilities for irradiating insect larvae, which can be used in sterile
insect technique campaigns to control disease carrying insects.

Q: As head of MNA, you are undoubtedly a role model to women and girls across your
country considering careers in nuclear and other scientific disciplines. How do you think
Malaysia can achieve greater gender parity in the nuclear sector?

A: In the MNA, overall we are 46 per cent women and 54 per cent men, so quite evenly
balanced, except in our upper management. But even there we exceed Malaysia’s national target
of 30 per cent women in higher management. If you look at Malaysian universities, on average
60 per cent of the students across the science and technology disciplines are girls, and for us
there is no such thing as gender income inequality — women are paid the same as men and get
equal benefits, especially in the public sector. So in many ways we are already well on our way
to gender parity.

We still do have initiatives to promote women in the nuclear sector, however, and Malaysia has a
Women in Nuclear (WiN) chapter which I am the president of. WiN Malaysia focuses on public
awareness and engagement with students through lectures and career talks. We also participate in
non-student engagement activities to promote better nuclear awareness and understanding among
the general public.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/director-general-of-nuklear-malaysia-committed-to-
nuclear-science-and-helping-others
Food Factory Workers Join “Striketober”
October 20, 2021

On October 5, 2021, a group of roughly 1,400 food factory workers employed at the Kellogg’s
plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee, and Omaha,
Nebraska, went on strike when their contract expired. These plants produce a number of the food
manufacturer’s most iconic ready-to-eat cereals including Corn Flakes, Froot Loops, Frosted
Flakes, Raisin Bran, and Rice Crispies. The striking workers, members of the Bakery,
Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), object to
Kellogg’s proposed two-tier wage system, which would reduce the wages and benefits offered to
recent hires as compared to legacy workers. Under a two-tier system, 30 percent of Kellogg’s
current workforce would lose access to retirement benefits, face higher health care costs, and
endure pay cuts.
“For more than a year throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kellogg workers around the country
have been working long, hard hours, day in and day out, to produce Kellogg ready-to-eat cereals
for American families,” said BCTGM President Anthony Shelton in a press release dated
October 5th, 2021. “Kellogg’s response to these loyal, hardworking employees has been to
demand these workers give up quality health care, retirement benefits, and holiday and vacation
pay.”
Recent Strikes at Food Manufacturing Plants
The Kellogg’s strike is the latest in a series of labor disputes between members of the BCTGM
and major food manufacturers. In August 2021, thousands of union members employed by
Nabisco (a subsidiary of Mondelez International) went on strike to push back against a new
contract that would have reduced employees’ retirement benefits and increased hourly
shifts from eight hours to 12. The workers also criticized the company’s domestic job
cuts (Recent closures of Nabisco’s Fairlawn, New Jersey, and Atlanta, Georgia, plants resulted in
the loss of roughly 1,000 positions.) and the outsourcing of jobs to Mexico. After six weeks of
negotiations, BCTGM and management finally agreed on a new four-year contract that included
increases in wages and the company’s 401(k) contributions.
Several weeks earlier, in July 2021, BCTGM members at a Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas,
walked off the job to protest what they referred to as “suicide-shifts.” Striking workers accused
the company of imposing forced overtime that left many workers with only eight hours between
shifts. Company officials disputed the claims that workers regularly endured double or triple
shifts as “grossly exaggerated” and noted that only two percent of the plant’s employees worked
more than 60 hours a week. After nearly three weeks on the picket line, workers agreed to a new
two-year contract guaranteeing a four percent wage increase for all employees and promising
workers a greater voice in setting the company’s overtime policy.
The recent flurry of strikes reflects the strained relationships developing between many food
factory workers and food manufacturers as they struggle to meet rising consumer demand.
Throughout the pandemic, workers at food manufacturing plants have shouldered the burden of
the changing food landscape and the increase in at-home dining. Classified as essential workers
and facing an eight percent increase in cereal sales, Kellogg’s employees spent much of 2020 on
the factory line. “We were hailed as heroes, we worked through the pandemic, seven days a
week, 16 hours a day,” said Trevor Bidelman, an employee at the Battle Creek plant and the
president of BCTGM Local3G, in an interview with The Guardian. 
The demand for groceries like Kellogg’s ready-to-eat cereals has not abated even as many
restaurants welcome back vaccinated indoor diners and expand their seating capacity. In
response to the recent resurgence of COVID-19 fueled by the spread of the Delta variant, many
people have begun to spend more time at home. This led to a nearly nine percent increase in
demand for groceries in the second quarter of 2021. Already struggling to keep up consumer
demand even before the strike, in September 2021, Kellogg notified grocery distributors that
capacity constraints and labor shortages would leave its factories unable to fulfill some of the
orders placed for Eggo pancakes, Rice Krispies Treats, and other products.
For Kellogg’s striking workers, the new contract proposal, combined with recent job cuts
(including at the Battle Creek factory), seems to signal that the company is not willing to fairly
compensate employees for their labor over the last eighteen months. Their labor, performed at a
risk to their health, has translated to $1.25 billion in profits for the company and a compensation
of $11.6 million for CEO Steven Cahillane. The stark contrast between these figures and
the $33,000 average salary of food factory employees has prompted striking workers to accuse
the company of greed. “Now apparently, we are no longer heroes,” Bidelman said.
Kellogg disputes the workers’ portrayal of the company, arguing that its labor policies reflect the
demands of the food manufacturing industry. “Kellogg’s provides compensation and benefits for
our US [ready-to-eat] cereal employees that are among the industry’s best,” said spokesperson
Kris Bahner in a statement to CNN. “Our offer includes increases to pay and benefits for our
employees, while helping us meet the challenges of the changing cereal business.” Betting on the
appeal of its current compensation scheme, Kellogg posted a job ad on Indeed on October 11
seeking “Strike Replacement Workers” willing to “cross the picket line.”
Other Recent Strikes
October has seen a spate of protests among unionized workers as labor shortages and policy
shifts under the Biden administration combine to create a political climate favorable to union
organizing. Nationwide, employers are still struggling to fill an estimated 10.4 million jobs as the
economy gradually recovers from the effects of the pandemic. The need for labor gives workers
increased bargaining power to dictate the terms of their employment. President Biden’s repeated
promises to lead “the most pro-union administration in history” have further empowered
organized labor to fight for higher wages and better benefits. The resulting union activity on
display this month has led Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to call it
“Striketober” in a viral tweet.
In this contentious political moment, the striking Kellogg workers are not the only group of
unionized employees to reject contracts featuring a two-tier wage system. On October 11, 2021,
more than 24,000 nurses and healthcare workers employed by Kaiser Permanente in California
and Oregon authorized a strike if the company does not reverse its plans to implement a two-
tiered system. At John Deere, which has already implemented a two-tier system, roughly 10,000
members of the United Auto Workers union are currently on strike to press for higher wages
and better retirement benefits for all employees, including recent and future hires.
Some experts, including University of Rhode Island professor Dr. Erik Loomis, a specialist in
American labor history, predict that strikes will continue to play a key role in labor
negotiations for the foreseeable future. In March, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act
passed Congress with bipartisan support. A core tenet of the act—fines for companies that
impede the rights of unionized workers—is currently up for debate in the Senate as part of the
budget reconciliation bill package. For Loomis, interviewed by Food Dive in October, the
proposed legislation signals that Americans can expect “more strikes within the legal sense.”
And, “Even outside of that,” he added, “workers will take matters into their own hands when
they feel it is necessary to do so.”
Securing lasting improvements in food factory employees’ benefits and pay, however, will likely
require more than union organizing. Consumers must also be willing to pay more for their
groceries to support these workplace gains and higher wages for food workers. Food prices are
already at a ten-year peak as of September due to supply-chain shortages caused by poor
harvests, rising oil prices, unmet labor demands, and a range of other factors. It, therefore,
remains unclear whether American shoppers, many of whom faced their own financial
challenges during the pandemic, are prepared to prop up further price increases

https://www.nycfoodpolicy.org/food-factory-workers-join-strike-tober/

Energy crunch hits global recovery as winter approaches

ASSOCIATED PRESS1

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2021 file photo, steam billows out of the cooling towers at a coal-fired power
station in Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu province. The world's facing an energy crunch. Europe is
feeling it worst as natural gas prices skyrocket to five times normal, forcing some factories to hold back
production. Reserves depleted last winter haven't been made up, and chief supplier Russia has held back
on supplying extra. Meanwhile, the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline won't start operating in time to help
if the weather is cold, and there's talk Europe could wind up rationing electricity. China is feeling it too,
seeing power outages in some towns. (Chinatopix via AP, file)

By DAVID McHUGH, COLLEEN BARRY, JOE McDONALD and TATIANA POLLASTRI

Associated Press

Power shortages are turning out streetlights and shutting down factories in China. The poor in
Brazil are choosing between paying for food or electricity. German corn and wheat farmers can’t
find fertilizer, made using natural gas. And fears are rising that Europe will have to ration
electricity if it’s a cold winter.
The world is gripped by an energy crunch — a fierce squeeze on some of the key markets for
natural gas, oil and other fuels that keep the global economy running and the lights and heat on
in homes. Heading into winter, that has meant higher utility bills, more expensive products and
growing concern about how energy-consuming Europe and China will recover from the COVID-
19 pandemic.

Rising energy costs are another pressure point on businesses and consumers already feeling the
pinch of higher prices from supply chain and labor constraints.

The biggest squeeze is on natural gas in Europe, which imports 90% of its supply — largely
from Russia — and where prices have risen to five times what they were at the start of the year,
to 95 euros from about 19 euros per megawatt hour.

It’s hitting the Italian food chain hard, with methane prices expected to increase sixfold and push
up the cost of drying grains. That could eventually raise the price of bread and pasta at
supermarkets, but meat and dairy aisles are more vulnerable as beef and dairy farmers are forced
to pay more for grain to feed their animals and pass the cost along to customers.

“From October we are starting to suffer a lot,’’ said Valentino Miotto of the AIRES association
that represents the grain sector.

Analysts blame a confluence of events for the gas crunch: Demand rose sharply as the economy
rebounded from the pandemic. A cold winter depleted reserves, then the summer was less windy
than usual, so wind turbines didn’t generate as much energy as expected. Europe’s chief supplier,
Russia’s Gazprom, held back extra summer supplies beyond its long-term contracts to fill
reserves at home for winter. China’s electricity demand has come roaring back, vacuuming up
limited supplies of liquid natural gas, which moves by ship, not pipeline. There also are limited
facilities to export natural gas from the United States.
FILE – In this Aug. 26, 2021 file photo, a flare burns natural gas at an oil well Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford
City, N.D. The world’s facing an energy crunch. Europe is feeling it worst as natural gas prices skyrocket
to five times normal, forcing some factories to hold back production. Reserves depleted last winter
haven’t been made up, and chief supplier Russia has held back on supplying extra. Meanwhile, the new
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline won’t start operating in time to help if the weather is cold, and there’s talk
Europe could wind up rationing electricity. China is feeling it too, seeing power outages in some towns.
(AP Photo/Matthew Brown, file)
Costlier natural gas has even pushed up oil prices because some power generators in Asia can
switch from using gas to oil-based products. U.S. crude is over $83 per barrel, the highest in
seven years, while international benchmark Brent is around $85, with oil cartel OPEC and allied
countries cautious about restoring production cuts made during the pandemic.

The crunch is likely short term but it’s difficult to say how long higher fossil fuel prices will last,
said Claudia Kemfert, an energy economics expert at the German Institute for Economic
Research in Berlin.

FILE – In this Monday, April 11, 2011 file photo, workers of the German energy company RWE prepare
power supply on a high power pylon in Moers, Germany. The world’s facing an energy crunch. Europe is
feeling it worst as natural gas prices skyrocket to five times normal, forcing some factories to hold back
production. Reserves depleted last winter haven’t been made up, and chief supplier Russia has held back
on supplying extra. Meanwhile, the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline won’t start operating in time to help
if the weather is cold, and there’s talk Europe could wind up rationing electricity. China is feeling it too,
seeing power outages in some towns. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

But “the long-term answer that has to be taken out of this is to invest in renewables and energy
saving,” she said.

The European Union’s executive commission urged member nations last week to speed up
approvals for renewable energy projects like wind and solar, saying the “clean energy transition
is the best insurance against price shocks in the future and needs to be accelerated.”

In the meantime, some gas-dependent European industries are throttling back production.
German chemical companies BASF and SKW Piesteritz have cut output of ammonia, a key
ingredient in fertilizer.

That left Hermann Greif, a farmer in the village of Pinzberg in Germany’s southern Bavaria
region, unexpectedly emptyhanded when he tried to order fertilizer for next year.

“There’s no product, no price, not even a contract,” he said. “It’s a situation we’ve never seen
before.” One thing is certain: “If I don’t give the crops the food they need, they react with lower
yields. It’s as simple as that.”

High energy prices already were hitting the region’s farmers, who need diesel to operate
machinery and heat to keep animals warm, said Greif, who grows corn to feed a bioenergy power
facility that feeds emission-free energy into the power grid.

Likewise in Italy, the cost of energy to process wheat and corn is expected to go up more than
600% for the three months ending Dec. 31, according to the grain association. That includes
turning wheat into flour, and corn into feed for cows and pigs.

Giampietro Scusato, an energy consultant who negotiates contracts for the AIRES association
and others, expects the volatility and high prices to persist for the coming year.
High energy prices also seep into bread and pasta production through transport costs and
electricity use, which could eventually affect store prices. Dairy and meat sections are especially
exposed because prices are low now and farmers may be forced to pass along the higher cost of
animal feed to shoppers.

People worldwide also are facing higher utility bills this winter, including in the U.S., where
officials have warned home heating prices could jump as much as 54%. Governments in Spain,
France, Italy and Greece have announced measures to help low-income households, while the
European Union has urged similar aid.

Much depends on the weather. Europe’s gas reserves, usually replenished in summer, are at
unusually low levels.

“A cold winter in both Europe and Asia would risk European storage levels dropping to zero,”
says Massimo Di Odoardo at research firm Wood Mackenzie.

That would leave Europe dependent on additional natural gas from a just-completed Russian
pipeline or on Russian willingness to send more through pipelines across Ukraine. But the new
Nord Stream 2 pipeline has not passed regulatory approval in Europe and may not be
contributing gas until next year.
FILE – In this Jan. 14, 2021, file photo, tugboats get into position on the Russian pipe-laying vessel
“Fortuna” in the port of Wismar, Germany. The world’s facing an energy crunch. Europe is feeling it
worst as natural gas prices skyrocket to five times normal, forcing some factories to hold back production.
Reserves depleted last winter haven’t been made up, and chief supplier Russia has held back on supplying
extra. Meanwhile, the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline won’t start operating in time to help if the weather
is cold, and there’s talk Europe could wind up rationing electricity. China is feeling it too, seeing power
outages in some towns. (Jens Buettner/DPA via AP, File)
Russian suppliers’ decision to sell less gas on spot markets reflects “an intention to put pressure
on the early certification of Nord Stream 2,” said Kemfert, the energy economics expert.

In China, outages have followed high prices for coal and gas as electric companies power down
amid limits in passing costs to customers or government orders to stay under emission
thresholds.

Factories in Jiangsu province, northwest of Shanghai, and Zhejiang in the southeast shut down in
mid-September, and dozens warned deliveries might be delayed ahead of the Christmas shopping
season.

Chenchen Jewelry Factory in Dongyang, a city in Zhejiang, faced power cuts over 10 days,
general manager Joanna Lan said. The factory makes hairbands, stationery and promotional gifts
and exports 80% to 90% of its goods to the U.S., Europe and other markets.

Deliveries were delayed “by at least a week,” Lan said. “We had to buy generators.”

The biggest city in the northeast, Shenyang, shut down streetlights and elevators and cut power
to restaurants and shops a few hours a day.

China’s gas imports have jumped, but surging demand in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also
helped push up global prices, said Jenny Yang, research manager for the gas, power and energy
futures team for China at IHS Markit.

In Brazil, higher gas and oil prices have been compounded by the worst drought in 91 years,
which has left hydropower plants unable to supply electricity and more expensive bills.

Rosa Benta, a 67-year-old from a Sao Paulo working-class neighborhood, fears she will no
longer be able to provide for her unemployed children and grandkids.

“Several times, (energy company) Enel called me saying I had debt. I told them: ‘I’m not going
to stop feeding my son to pay you,’” Benta said outside her concrete house on a steep, narrow
street. “If they want to cut the electricity, they can come.”

Benta lives on 1,400 reais (about $250) a month and says she often has to choose between
buying gas for cooking or rice and beans.
“I don’t know what we are going to do with our lives,” she said.McHugh reported from
Frankfurt, Germany, Barry from Milan, McDonald from Beijing and Pollastri from Sao Paulo.

https://www.examiner.org/energy-crunch-hits-global-recovery-as-winter-approaches/

Mohan Guruswamy | India’s agriculture: The failure

of the success…

PublishedOct 21, 2021, 10:23 am IST

UpdatedOct 21, 2021, 10:24 am IST

The pitiable condition of the majority of farmers who cultivate small patches of land has generally gone
unnoticed

 The story of India’s agricultural takeoff began as the nation was forced to import a record 20
million tonnes of grain in 1964-66. (Photo: DC/Representational Image)

India’s agriculture has come a long way since we awaited shiploads of American grain over half
a century ago to feed our people. India now produces more than enough for our national appetite.
The issue now is how to make agriculture an economically attractive occupation. The farmers’
movement is supposed to be all about this. But what is really interesting is that the farmers who
are protesting the loudest and most vigorously are those from the farming tracts that benefit the
most from the Minimum Price Support procurement and from the sugarcane belt of Uttar
Pradesh where cane prices are fixed by the state. These form the bulk of the wealthiest and most
well-off cohort of farmers in India.
The pitiable condition of the majority of India’s farmers who cultivate small patches of land in
the mostly rain-fed areas of India has generally gone unnoticed, both by the social media and the
political class. The protesting farmers are not agitating for the assured procurement at MSP for
all farm produce and all over the country.
 
The story of India’s agricultural takeoff began as the nation was forced to import a record 20
million tonnes of grain in 1964-66.  The annual wheat production has grown from 11.28 million
tonnes in 1962-63 to almost 110 million tonnes for wheat and 122 million tonnes for rice in
2020.
This level of production has created a problem of plenty.
Despite its falling share of GDP, agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy. Over 58 per
cent of rural households depend on agriculture as their principal means of livelihood. Census
2011 says there are 118.9 million cultivators and 144 million agricultural workers across India,
or 24.6 per cent of the total workforce of over 481 million. Read this with the fact that
agriculture now only contributes 13.7 per cent of the GDP.
 
With 157.35 million hectares, India holds the world’s second largest agricultural land area. India
has about 20 agro-climatic regions, and all 15 major climates in the world exist here.
Consequently, it is a large producer of a wide variety of foods. India is the world’s largest
producer of spices, pulses, milk, tea, cashew and jute; and the second largest producer of wheat,
rice, fruits and vegetables, sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds. Agricultural exports constitute 10 per
cent of our total exports and is the fourth-largest exported principal commodity.
 
The irony is that only 58.1 million hectares, or just a third of agricultural land, is actually
irrigated. Of this, 38 per cent is from surface water and 62 per cent from groundwater. India has
the world’s largest groundwater well-equipped irrigation system.
There is a flip side to this great Indian agriculture story. The Indian subcontinent boasts nearly
half the world’s hungry people. Half of all children under five in South Asia are malnourished,
which is more than even sub-Saharan Africa.
More than 65 per cent of farmland consists of marginal and small farms less than one hectare in
size. Moreover, the average farm size has been decreasing. The average size of operational
holdings has almost halved since 1970 to 1.05 hectares. Approximately 92 million households, or
490 million people, are dependent on marginal or small farm holdings as per the 2001 census.
This translates into 60 per cent of the rural population, or 42 per cent of total population.
 
Now we come to the crux of today’s farmers’ ferment. There is a clear bias in the government’s
procurement policy, with Punjab, Haryana, Coastal Andhra, Telangana and western Uttar
Pradesh accounting for the bulk (83.51 per cent) of the procurement. The food subsidies bill has
increased from Rs 24,500 crores in 1990-91 to Rs 1.75 lakh crores in 2001-02 to Rs 2.31 lakh
crores in 2016 to Rs 5 lakh crores in 2021.
Instead of being the buyer of last resort, the Food Corporation of India has become the preferred
buyer for farmers. The government policy has resulted in mountains of foodgrains coinciding
with starvation deaths.
 
The gains of rural prosperity and MSP procurement have resulted in a few regions of
concentrated rural prosperity. In 2020, of the production of 265 million tonnes of foodgrains, as
much as 91.42 million tonnes was procured with MSP, while only 40.5 million tonnes was
distributed. This leaves behind huge mounds in the warehouses. Clearly, there is a limit to how
much can be procured. This still begs the question -- why MSP procurement, which means the
highest prices, should benefit only a few regions?
The total subsidy provided to agricultural consumers by way of fertilisers and free power has
quadrupled from Rs 73,000 crores in 1992-93, to Rs  3.04 lakh crores now. While the subsidy
was launched to reach the lower rung farmers, it has mostly benefited well-off farmers. These
people are now protesting for more.
 
These huge subsidies come at a cost. Public investment in agriculture, in real terms, had
witnessed a steady decline for the last 20 years. Almost all the investment into creating
additional irrigation potential has come from private sources, mostly in the form of more
tubewells, usually powered by free electricity. Free power has also meant huge pressure on the
depleting groundwater resources.
By 2050, India’s population is expected to reach 1.7 billion, which will then be equivalent to
nearly that of China and the US combined. In the four decades starting 1965-66, wheat
production in Punjab and Haryana has risen nine-fold, while rice production increased by more
than 30 times.
 
These two states and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh can now not only produce
enough to feed the country but to leave a significant surplus for export.
Since subsistence farming and farm labour is the main vocation, the priority should be to step up
government expenditure on infrastructure and habitations, to create a demand for alternate
labour. Instead of distributing benefits to the agriculture sector by MSP procurement and
fertiliser subsidies, the Government of India should progressively move towards a transfer of
benefits regime based on acreage under crop and nature of the land, to ensure a more equitable
distribution of the state largesse.
 
Finally, the entire governmental machinery geared to controlling food prices to satisfy the urban
population should be dismantled. If farmers buying a motorcycle or even a tractor have to pay
globally comparative prices, why should the farmers make food available to the industrial sector
and urban consumers at the world’s lowest prices?
Why should Bharat have to feed India at its cost?
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/columnists/211021/mohan-guruswamy-indias-agriculture-the-
failure-of-the-success.html

Sugar, rice prices rise significantly (Video)

Monday, 18 October 2021 - 20:46

It is reported that the prices of sugar and rice in the market are rising uncontrollably. The price has gone
up again at a time when a control price has been imposed on sugar.

The price of a kilogram of sugar has risen sharply to Rs. 230 due to the concealment of sugar stocks in the
recent past. At that time the Consumer Affairs Authority conducted raids and found the relevant stocks of
sugar and the government set a control price for sugar.

Accordingly, a gazette notification has been issued imposing a control price of Rs. 122 per kilogram of
white sugar. However, the Consumer Affairs Authority stated that white sugar is currently being sold at
Rs. 135 in the market.

The controlled price imposed by the government is Rs. 125 per kilogram of brown sugar. However,
market sources say that at present a kilogram of brown sugar is being sold in the market at a price of 138
rupees.

It has also been reported that some traders are hiding their sugar stocks and selling them at inflated prices.

The Consumer Affairs Authority has launched a special operation to find the shops and owners who hid
the sugar stocks and take legal action against them. Meanwhile, the price of rice in the market has also
increased.

Earlier a control price was imposed on rice but the government removed it.

Accordingly, a kilo of Nadu rice is currently sold at Rs. 125, a kilo of Samba rice at Rs. 150 and a kilo of
Kiri Samba rice at around Rs. 220.
https://www.hirunews.lk/english/285373/sugar-rice-prices-rise-significantly-video
Why European Court ruling on Super Basmati
trademark is unlikely to affect India

Subramani Ra Mancombu  Chennai | Updated on October 19, 2021

Court of Justice upholds non-registered trademark given in 2017

A judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union upholding the European Union (EU)
registration of “Abresham Super Basmati Selaa Grade One World’s Best Rice” under the
Union’s provisions for non-registered trademark in 2017 has led to claims by Pakistan trade that
its geographical indication (GI) rights have been upheld.

However, the claims are seen as a mere “pipe dream” by an expert in Basmati cultivation and its
GI rights, since the trademark was obtained before the Indian Patent Office awarded the GI tag
for Basmati rice growing in specific regions of the country.
In a ruling earlier this month, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice upheld the registration for
the trademark for the non-registered product on the ground that the party opposing the process
did not sufficiently explain how the distinctiveness of the word “Basmati” would be affected.

The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan has reacted saying it had “successfully” worked
against the Indian application of GI tag and exclusive marketing rights for its Basmati rice in the
EU.

Trademark for rice products

The Court of Justice’s ruling came on an appeal filed against the European Union Intellectual
Property Office (EUIPO) judgement by UK-based Indo European Food Ltd, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of India’s Kohinoor Foods Ltd that markets Basmati rice under three brands.

On October 13, 2017, the UK firm had opposed the application of Venice-based Hamid Ahmad
Chakari being published by the EU trade markets in its bulletin, a process that recognises that
Chakari’s request had been accepted.

Chakari, who buys rice from Pakistan and distributes in the EU, had obtained the non-registered
trademark for flour of rice, rice-based snack food, rice cakes, rice pulp for culinary purposes,
extruded food products made of rice, rice meal for forage.

Indo European Food Ltd argued that it was entitled to rely upon the goodwill associated with the
name “Basmati” that had a reputation amongst a significant section in the UK, which recognised
it as a particular class of rice.

Lack of evidence
It said the word element “Abresham Super Basmati Selaa Grade One World’s Best Rice” clearly
tried to represent that the product was “Basmati” rice. In case, the rice was of a type other than
“Basmati”, then the goods would be falsely described, leading to the likelihood of
misrepresentation.

It will result in damage to the goodwill that “Basmati” rice commanded and also constitute “food
fraud” in the UK, where the damage could be substantial. Indo European Ltd argument was
rejected on April 5, 2019, on the grounds that it failed to submit sufficient evidence to prove that
it has suffered or is likely to suffer damage as a result of the registration of the trademark.

The third board of appeal of EUIPO, rejecting the UK firm’s appeal, said the registering of the
trademark “could not cause a direct loss of sales” to Indo European Ltd as the contested goods
were other than rice, whereas the applicant sold only rice.

“Likewise, there was no argument to explain how use of the mark applied for could affect the
distinctiveness of the name ‘basmati’”, the EUIPO board of appeal said.

The Court of Justice, however, agreed that even if the goodwill attached to the name “Basmati”
related only to fragrant, long grain rice as a variety or class of goods, a non-negligible part of the
public might believe that the goods such as flour of rice, rice-based snack food, rice pulp or rice
meal for forage, labelled “Abresham Super Basmati Selaa Grade One World’s Best Rice”, could
in some way be associated with Basmati rice.

But the appeal was rejected since Indo European Ltd “failed to demonstrate” that the trademark
would result in “Basmati” name being misrepresented.

Wrong impression
According to S Chandrasekaran, who has authored the book, Basmati Rice: The Natural History
Geographical Indication”, Pakistan has got a wrong impression that the Court of Justice had
indirectly recognised its Super Basmati variety.

The case revolved around a non-registered product in 2017, a period before India got GI tag for
its Basmati rice. Once the Indian Patent Office gave the GI tag for its Basmati rice, it protects the
fragrant rice across the world for its exclusivity.

The Indian registration supersedes even non-registered claims and it is an internationally settled
law, the expert said.

The domestic protection that Basmati rice has got in India provides New Delhi the legal means to
challenge any registered or non-registered trademark post-2017, Chandrasekaran said.
The issue assumes significance in view of India applying for an exclusive GI tag for its Basmati
rice last year. Though Pakistan has opposed providing the GI tag that could offer India exclusive
marketing rights of the long grain rice, its chances are seen poor since it has not got its domestic
act together on the GI front properly.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/why-european-court-ruling-on-
super-basmati-trademark-is