Food policy is crucial for countries and global society as it plays a pivotal role in ensuring food security, promoting sustainable agriculture, and fostering economic development. It encompasses a wide range of measures and strategies aimed at regulating and guiding the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Effective food policies can contribute to addressing various challenges such as hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation. Importance of Food Policy for Countries Ensuring Food Security: Food security is a fundamental human right, ensuring that all people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times to meet their dietary needs […]
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Relative Safety of E-Cigarettes
Government of India, in recent years has been taking strict measures to control tobacco and nicotine consumption. Several initiatives in the area have paid positive dividends, albeit few others like the ban on ENDS— Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems can downsize the impact of these very measures. In India, under law of Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulation, 2011, nicotine as an ingredient in any form is prohibited, and therefore ENDS, which also includes E-cigarettes has been declared as drugs. As per Indian Journal of Medical Research, ENDS are being marketed as alternatives to regular smoking; but […]
Weekly Bulletin: Articles from the UN Desk
This is the weekly bulletin bringing to you some interesting articles from UN Desk, covering topics across continents and borders. Africa: Balancing Morocco’s indigenous culture and conservation– The delicate balance between indigenous farming practices and conservation in Morocco is under threat, but according to the UN, local communities in the Western High Atlas Mountains are finding ways to preserve traditions and still make a living from the land. Americas: Murals help heal wounds of bloody conflict in Guatemala— “The villagers knew that the military kidnapped [indigenous] people and brought them here and tortured them. While alive, they were forced to dig their […]
Changing Dynamics of Energy Sector
Energy is the key to socio—economic growth, environmental sustainability and human development in a society. The SDG 2030 Agenda clearly outlines the intrinsic importance of energy in such a holistic development. With approximately 1.1 billion people still lacking access to electricity and an estimated 2.8 billion without access to clean cooking facilities (IEA Energy Access Report 2017) — it is imperative for the world community to constantly innovate and create new mediums to increase the energy outreach. It is crucial to understand that energy issues are at the heart of achieving sustainable development goals and in overcoming issues such as […]
Oil Externalities in Times of Geopolitics of Environment
Oil- bearing areas have been subject to environmental degradation, culminating sometimes into ecological catastrophes. The advent of oil production has resulted in mass destruction of ecological resources- be it forests, aquatic systems, wildlife displacement, endangering or extinction of species and wetlands and swamps among others. Few prevalent oil related geopolitical externalities resulting in environmental damage are: Oil Spillage: The Sanchi Oil spill, possibly the largest oil spill in the last 30 years, has been stealthily causing environmental catastrophe in South China Sea. Both China, in whose 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone the accident occurred, and Japan, in who’s otherwise claimed exclusive […]
Environment and Society
We live in a world full of paradox- social ironies and economic enigmas. As discussed in my article Geopolitics of Environmental Issues, the regions where man first settled down, like the Fertile Crescent or the Indus Valley for instance, and initiated agriculture are today also the regions with greatest number of hungry people and range of other humanitarian crisis. Environment throughout history has been fundamental in shaping the society and the cultural practices. And yet today it has become the most vindictive antihero of the society. The challenge then lies in figuring out the balance between the anthropogenic and ecological practices. […]
Policy Advocacy for Climate Change Mitigation and Global Energy Mix
Policy advocacy plays a crucial role in deployment of renewable energy technologies. Be it wind, solar or geothermal, policy helps in mitigating the risks experienced when operating in the renewables sector. It helps in reducing the perils observed by the private players, through increased capital flow for R&D. However, the trouble does not end there, as organizations face significant challenges in the marketplace. Despite this, the industry has seen phenomenal growth in the last few years. The continued growth in renewables has been driven by several factors. Worldwide awareness of the role of renewable energy in alleviating the greenhouse gas […]