I request readers to see at least the first fifteen minutes of this video, The Secrets of Sugar, before you read this blog.
We as a nation have tremendous traditional knowledge of nutrition and power of herbs to nourish, cure and heal. Many people do not even know what they know but they know a lot as this knowledge was passed on orally in the house. This knowledge is tested across millennia and available to people all across the country at a low cost as many of them are available as raw materials or can be grown at home or in nearby farms.
Yet for a variety of factors, this traditional knowledge is dying out and is not used to the best extent possible. There is no incentive for the private sector to promote any of these products as they may not get any benefits from it and it may paradoxically cut into sales of existing products. For example it is difficult to expect any private corporation to spend Rs 50 crores to educate the public on the uses and consumption of turmeric and make a profit through selling turmeric or related products. Even if their campaign is successful in spreading the message they may not get the sales to give them return on the advertising investment.
Since the idea is relevant and will have high impact on society and yet it is not profitable for any one to do it, it falls squarely in the domain of the government.
The government needs to create a education campaign to improve the consumption of the right kind of foods and herbs with the knowledge of how to process and consume them. They should involve an element of fun and should not be talking down to the targeted audience. These campaigns need to be done by the top class advertising agencies ie the same guys who are trying to sell the junk food too.
The items, among many others, whose consumption could be easily improved are
Lastly we need to create an automatic dampener which slowly down the growth of junk foods. The best way to do this perhaps is to create a National nutrition education mission from a portion of the taxes collected from the sale of junk foods. This way as the sale of junk foods increase the amount of money available to spread the knowledge of nutrition will also increase.
The idea here is not to replace or remove allopathy/ modern medical healthcare. It is very valuable thing but has one drawback - it is very very expensive so much so that most people cant really afford it. For a society such as ours spending 15% or 20% of our GDP on healthcare and insurance is not really a viable option. As the proverb, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
This will reduce the incidence of ill-health and disease and reduce the burden on the government and citizens from expenditure that could be easily avoided or reduced. It will also release national resources from creation of additional healthcare arising from poor diets and go a long way to create a healthier and happier society.
At current levels, we could easily create a Rs 100 crore fund per annum to do this. The payback on this can be in very large multiples of the same.
This may be the future for our country if we do not spread our knowledge of nutrition existent in our Indian civilization for thousands of years. This knowledge is time tested and arguably beats any double-dummy testing and statistical procedure that scientists can come up with to validate new foods.
We as a nation have tremendous traditional knowledge of nutrition and power of herbs to nourish, cure and heal. Many people do not even know what they know but they know a lot as this knowledge was passed on orally in the house. This knowledge is tested across millennia and available to people all across the country at a low cost as many of them are available as raw materials or can be grown at home or in nearby farms.
Yet for a variety of factors, this traditional knowledge is dying out and is not used to the best extent possible. There is no incentive for the private sector to promote any of these products as they may not get any benefits from it and it may paradoxically cut into sales of existing products. For example it is difficult to expect any private corporation to spend Rs 50 crores to educate the public on the uses and consumption of turmeric and make a profit through selling turmeric or related products. Even if their campaign is successful in spreading the message they may not get the sales to give them return on the advertising investment.
Since the idea is relevant and will have high impact on society and yet it is not profitable for any one to do it, it falls squarely in the domain of the government.
The government needs to create a education campaign to improve the consumption of the right kind of foods and herbs with the knowledge of how to process and consume them. They should involve an element of fun and should not be talking down to the targeted audience. These campaigns need to be done by the top class advertising agencies ie the same guys who are trying to sell the junk food too.
The items, among many others, whose consumption could be easily improved are
- Turmeric
- Neem
- Flax seeds
- Millets
- Amla
- Pepper, cloves, cinnamon
The idea here is not to replace or remove allopathy/ modern medical healthcare. It is very valuable thing but has one drawback - it is very very expensive so much so that most people cant really afford it. For a society such as ours spending 15% or 20% of our GDP on healthcare and insurance is not really a viable option. As the proverb, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
This will reduce the incidence of ill-health and disease and reduce the burden on the government and citizens from expenditure that could be easily avoided or reduced. It will also release national resources from creation of additional healthcare arising from poor diets and go a long way to create a healthier and happier society.
At current levels, we could easily create a Rs 100 crore fund per annum to do this. The payback on this can be in very large multiples of the same.
Great post Koushik, Have given it a push on FB. The best that I could do as my blog will be of no use to you as my readership is mostlty Western.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and very valid. I think along with the government, people who can really influence the process of eating right and discourage junk food are educational institutions.In fact my son's school via the teachers is doing a wonderful job in this area.
ReplyDeleteNice post...I look forward to reading more, and getting a more active part in the talks here, whilst picking up some knowledge as well..
ReplyDeleteTOSHIBA PLT-1204BT