Traditional food formulation and its future: examples from South Asia
Uma Ramachandran
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 11(Suppl 6): S137-S148
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0964-7058 DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-6047.11.s6.2.xDocument Number: 262750
Globally, 3 major problems faced by humanity are population explosion, insufficient production of food, especially in South Asian countries, and underdevelopment. These problems are interdependent and need to be tackled soon. Among various factors that limit the world's population, it is undoubtedly the scarcity of food that is most obvious, even to a lay person, because food is essential for survival. The scarcity of food also brings about disastrous effects, some of which have already been witnessed. This means that agricultural output, especially those of the waning food crops, must increase enormously over a brief period if the world food situation is to improve. This is a challenge that will confront humanity on the threshold of the centuries to come. In the aforementioned context, it would be apt and important to consider innovation of region-specific traditional food crops and exploration of novel foods that will strengthen feeding systems in the present changing times, and contribute to food security and better nutritional values. The present paper attempts to illustrate some examples from South Asia.