Food Systems and Society

There is a huge post harvest operation loss of food materials in India. One of the ways suggested to stem this loss is through

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Agriculture occupies a pivotal position for ensuring livelihood, food and nutritional security, sustainable development and eradication of poverty in India. It is the prime sector for generating employment opportunities for majority of the population of any country. 
The contribution of agriculture sector to the national gross domestic product (GDP) has been continuously declining over the years, while other sectors, especially the service sector, are showing an increasing trend. In 1970-71 agriculture sector contributed about 44 per cent of GDP, which declined substantially to 13.5 per cent in 2010-11 (at 2004-05).
During the last decade, there was a paradigm shift in the patterns of production, consumption, and trade in Indian agriculture through the use of new technologies. The shift in production and consumption from food-grains to high-value agricultural commodities such as fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, meat, eggs, fish etc. took place in a big way. Now there is a declining share of traditional crops/commodities in production, consumption and trade in India. Agriculture, horticulture and other non-traditional high-value, agricultural crops occupy an important place in income growth in rural areas.
Despite being one of the largest producers of many agricultural commodities such as fruits, vegetables, milk and livestock etc. in the world, the extent of value addition to raw food material in India is only 8% while it is 23%, 45% and 188% in China, Philippines and UK respectively. Furthermore, only 2.2% of total fruits and vegetables is processed in India as compared to 30% in Thailand, 80% in Malaysia and 70% in UK.
It is pertinent to mention here that total annual loss during the post harvest operations under agriculture produce is approximately Rs. 88000 crore. This trend can be reversed by properly financing to secondary agriculture, which can lead to 2-3 times value addition to primary agriculture products. Most of the primary agriculture produce requires processing before being finally consumed and the value addition/processing of the farm production to transform it into consumable item which is called secondary agriculture. It includes processing and value addition in all food and non-food products for human, animal and industrial use.

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Indian culture is one of the oldest cultures in the history of mankind. Indian life has inspired many others in the world. The way Indians live and lead their lives is very inspirational. Indian food is famous worldwide for its strong flavours and variety.

Which of the following statements regarding Indian food is true?

Which of the following statements is true?

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Food Facts: Different parts of the world have their own local cuisine. The diets and general food habits of various cultures depend on social, religious, economic and safety factors as well as the availability of different foods. Examples of food and cuisine that are popular or famous in certain areas of the world include hummus in the Middle East, apple pie in the USA, raw fish in Japan, cheese in France, roast meat and vegetables in England, curry in India and tortillas in Mexico. Pumpkins are usually labelled as vegetables but they contain seeds and are technically fruit. India is the world’s largest producer of bananas, producing nearly 22 million tons in 2007. Humans use many different methods for gathering food which include farming, hunting, gardening, foraging and fishing. Humans eat meat from a number of different animals, common examples include meat from chickens, cows, sheep and pigs. Other food products that come from animals include milk, eggs and honey. Although humans are omnivores (eating both plants and animals), many people choose not to eat meat and fish, they are known as vegetarians. Those who don’t eat or use any products made from animals (including eggs, dairy products and honey) are known as vegans. Cooking is an important part of food preparation that involves applying heat. In most cases this transforms the chemical make-up of food, altering its texture, flavor, nutritional properties and appearance. The types of equipment used in the cooking process include ovens, microwaves, toasters, grills, pots and frying pans. Various cooking methods include boiling, simmering, steaming, sautéing, pan frying and deep-frying.

Which of the following is a way of collecting food by humans?

Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.

Food Facts: Different parts of the world have their own local cuisine. The diets and general food habits of various cultures depend on social, religious, economic and safety factors as well as the availability of different foods. Examples of food and cuisine that are popular or famous in certain areas of the world include hummus in the Middle East, apple pie in the USA, raw fish in Japan, cheese in France, roast meat and vegetables in England, curry in India and tortillas in Mexico. Pumpkins are usually labelled as vegetables but they contain seeds and are technically fruit. India is the world’s largest producer of bananas, producing nearly 22 million tons in 2007. Humans use many different methods for gathering food which include farming, hunting, gardening, foraging and fishing. Humans eat meat from a number of different animals, common examples include meat from chickens, cows, sheep and pigs. Other food products that come from animals include milk, eggs and honey. Although humans are omnivores (eating both plants and animals), many people choose not to eat meat and fish, they are known as vegetarians. Those who don’t eat or use any products made from animals (including eggs, dairy products and honey) are known as vegans. Cooking is an important part of food preparation that involves applying heat. In most cases this transforms the chemical make-up of food, altering its texture, flavor, nutritional properties and appearance. The types of equipment used in the cooking process include ovens, microwaves, toasters, grills, pots and frying pans. Various cooking methods include boiling, simmering, steaming, sautéing, pan frying and deep-frying.

Which foods are famous among English and Mexicans?

Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.

Different parts of the world have their own local cuisine. The diets and general food habits of various cultures depend on social, religious, economic and safety factors as well as the availability of different foods. Examples of food and cuisine that are popular or famous in certain areas of the world include hummus in the Middle East, apple pie in the USA, raw fish in Japan, cheese in France, roast meat and vegetables in England, curry in India and tortillas in Mexico. Pumpkins are usually labelled as vegetables but they contain seeds and are technically fruit. India is the world’s largest producer of bananas, producing nearly 22 million tons in 2007. Humans use many different methods for gathering food which include farming, hunting, gardening, foraging and fishing. Humans eat meat from a number of different animals; common examples include meat from chicken, cows, sheep and pigs. Other food products that come from animals include milk, eggs and honey. Although humans are omnivores (eating both plants and animals), many people choose not to eat meat and fish; they are known as vegetarians. Those who don’t eat or use any products made from animals (including eggs, dairy products and honey) are known as vegans. Cooking is an important part of food preparation that involves applying heat. In most cases this transforms the chemical make-up of food, altering its texture, flavor, nutritional properties and appearance. The types of equipment used in the cooking process include ovens, microwaves, toasters, grills, pots and frying pans. Various cooking methods include boiling, simmering, steaming, sautéing, pan frying and deep-frying.