Soybean expressions

Soybean expressions

Author(s): Sangeeta Khanna

I WAS taken by surprise when Lata Bharti, whose family runs a popular homestay in Goshaini village in Himachal Pradesh, told me she was going to use soybean as a stuffing for the whole wheat bhatooras to be served for breakfast. I joined her in the kitchen curiously only to be served another surprise. The soybean was green in colour unlike the commonly found beige and black soybean. Lata had soaked the beans overnight and quickly prepared a coarse paste in a grinder along with some ginger, cumin, coriander and chilies. The green soybean paste was stuffed into fermented whole wheat dough, flattened and deep fried for the pleasure of hungry guests who had returned from an early morning mountain trek.

Conversations with local farmers and shopkeepers revealed that this soybean variety has been growing in the Lesser Himalayas for ages. Soybean originated in northeast China (Manchuria) and is said to have reached the Indian part of Lesser Himalayas through trade routes. Now it is cultivated in many parts of the country, including in Himachal Pradesh.

A green soybean variety, Himso 1563, is used extensively by farmers as it is immune to diseases like bacterial pustules, brown spot, bacterial blight, frog eye leaf spot and pod blight. This variety is also resistant to pod shattering while ripening and drying in situ. The crop is not grown across India due to lack of knowledge about ways of using it. Stuffed bhatoora is just one of the ways communities use the seed and is a popular item in wedding ceremonies.

Global variations

Soybean gained popularity in China as people started recognising its nutritive value and started using different techniques to make soybeans palatable. Soy protein is not easily digestible due to the presence of complex carbohydrates and phytates. Fermenting the soybeans was a method employed by the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and other Southeast Asian countries to make products like Natto and Miso (Japan), Tempeh (Indonesia), Doenjang (Korea), Douchi and Minachi (China) and Tuong (Vietnam). The fermentation process was a result of extensive culinary experimentation to use soybeans as a source of good protein.

The fermentation of soybeans is a traditional practice in Manipur, Nagaland and other north-eastern states in India too. In Manipur, local soybeans, which are pale and smaller in comparison to the hybrid varieties, are used to make a fermented condiment called hawaijar. To prepare hawaijar, soybeans are soaked overnight. The soaking water is drained and the soaked soybeans are boiled in freshwater till they become soft, but not mushy. The soybeans are then strained and wrapped immediately in a muslin cloth, trapping the heat to allow the fermentation process.

Traditionally, the boiled soybeans are wrapped in leaves, placed in bamboo baskets and then wrapped with paddy straw in a warm place, preferably the granaries, so that the fermentation is facilitated by lactic acid bacteria found on the surface of paddy husk. Hawaijar is served as a condiment mixed with bhutjolokia chilies and salt. It can also be added to vegetable stews made with Colocasia leaves or tubers along with smoked dried fish.

In Nagaland, a similar fermented soybean condiment is called akhuni. The people of Nagaland also make a chutney with cooked soybeans. It is evident that wherever soybeans became regular food, the process of cooking was adapted to make it more digestible and nutrition efficient.

Flour to snacks

The black soybeans of Uttarakhand and Himachal are called bhatt and a slow-cooked curry made out of it is called bhattkichudkani. The raw beans are dry roasted in an iron kadhai till they crackle and then the beans are slow-cooked along with spices and tempered to make a rustic, yet delicious curry called bhattkichudkani. Since soybeans are known for their high phytic acid content that causes bloating and retarded absorption of nutrients, this method of soaking and dry roasting must have evolved to denature the phytic acid in soybeans.

Another dish made with a paste of soaked black soybeans is called bhattkadubka. These rustic curries nourish mountain people, who do not get access to good sources of protein in their diet throughout the year. The dry roasted black soybeans are also consumed as nuts.

Soybeans have become popular in urban locales too and is consumed as a flour. Almost everyone who consumes multigrain flour gets soybean flour mixed with multigrain flour. The high-protein content of soybeans is luring, but we need to be careful about the source and variety of soybeans, as well as the way we cook them in our kitchens. To get rid of the high phytic acid content, soybeans need to be soaked for at least 12-14 hours so the water solublephytates are drained away. The soybeans can then be dried and milled to make flour.

The author is a food and nutrition consultant

Diesel cars fail to meet European emission standards, reveals report

Diesel cars fail to meet European emission standards, reveals report

Author(s): Vivek Chattopadhyay

Tests carried out under urban driving conditions showed the NOx emissions of diesel cars to be much higher than the prescribed limit

Diesel cars currently following Euro 5 emission norms and tested under urban driving conditions in the United Kingdom have been found to emit 17 times more nitrogen oxide (NOx) as compared to their petrol counterparts. NOX emission was also six times more for certified diesel cars under the Euro 6 emission standards.

This was revealed recently in a London Assembly report Driving away from diesel. The report assumes significance as Europe is planning to adopt Euro 6 emission standards by September 2015.

Normally, diesel cars are allowed to emit three times more NOx as compared to petrol cars under the current Euro 5 standard. However, in present circumstances NOx emissions by one diesel car equals to that of 17 petrol cars meeting the same norm.

Euro 6 test results

Euro 6 mandates diesel cars to emit 0.08 grams per kilometre of NOx which is almost equal to the norm followed by petrol cars at present (0.06 g/km).

But tests carried out under urban driving conditions showed the NOx emissions of diesel cars to be 0.21 g/km (160 per cent higher than the prescribed limit). In case of petrol cars, the emission limit was less than the prescribed limit of 0.04g/km.

Under the Euro 4 emissions standard introduced in 2006 across Europe, diesel cars were found to emit 27 times more particulate matter (PM) than petrol cars and 10 times more NOx. This is shocking as this standard will be applicable across entire India by April 2017.

Particulate matter

The only saving grace for diesel cars is PM emissions. Under urban driving conditions, both petrol as well as diesel cars following European standards are found to emit PM five times lower than the prescribed limit.

So, it is clear that vehicle makers are dodging the permissible NOx limit. NOx is a potent pollutant that not only affects people’s health, but also helps in forming the ground-level ozone. This is also a major health threat.

The particular graph shows the difference in actual PM and NOx emissions between petrol and diesel cars

redit: Taken from the London Assembly report

The report

The London Assembly report was prepared after the Supreme Court ordered the British government in April 2015 to prepare a new air quality strategy to tackle high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) found in the atmosphere.

According to government estimates, emissions caused by diesel cars contribute to air pollution greatly. Diesel road traffic is responsible for 40 per cent of London’s NOx emissions.

According to the report, the European emission standards have been termed unrealistic. Compliance with the standard is determined by running an engine at a standardised test cycle. But “real world” NOX emissions from diesel cars—tested to reflect the slower speed typical of urban driving—have been shown to be typically three to five times higher than the official test results.

Responsible measures

The most pressing question is how we can ensure that diesel cars do not emit more than the prescribed limit of NOx.

“This problem may be partly solved by improved testing before certifying vehicles. Proposed new tests will hopefully ensure that emission by cars (under Euro 6 standard) is broadly comparable to the petrol Euro 4 standard. But the tests will not be in place before 2017, and possibly later,” the reports says.

It further adds, “Even when effective tests are available, diesel cars will remain dirtier than their petrol counterparts, emitting about 30 per cent more NOX and releasing black carbon in the air.”

This is definitely bad news for diesel car proponents as the new finding reveals that irrespective of the age of vehicles or emission norms, the diesel technology has failed to meet clean standards. Stakes are high as air pollution is a major human health hazard across the world.

Disease caused by reduced blood supply to heart now biggest health scare in India

Disease caused by reduced blood supply to heart now biggest health scare in India

Author(s): Jyotsna Singh

Ischemic heart disease is biggest reason for deteriorating health of men as well as women, says a study

Ischemic heart disease or illness in which blood and oxygen supply to heart is reduced is emerging as the main health problem in India. It often leads to heart attacks.

From 1990 to 2013, health loss among men due to this disease increased by 79.9 per cent, while among women, the loss increased by 69 per cent during the same period.

A study published in international journal The Lancet, on August 27, revealed some startling figures. The study was conducted by an international consortium of researchers working on Global Burden of Disease (GBD). The researchers include those from Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

The study observed that India has shown remarkable progress in increasing life expectancy at birth, but the progress has been slow in quality of life. The study calculated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for each disease; a mark of quality of life till a person is alive, called the health loss.

“The relative contribution of Ischemic heart disease to the disease burden in India has doubled over the past 25 years, making it the leading cause of health loss among both men and women in India presently,” said K Srinath Reddy, president at PHFI.

Diseases of brain are other cause of concern. While health loss men among increased by 59.8 per cent between 1990 and 2013, it increased by 36.8 per cent among women.

Diseases related to mental health have also seen a spike. While a growing concern among men is self-harm, that increased by as high as 149.9 per cent from 1990 to 2013, depressive disorders among women increased by 66.1 per cent during the same period.

“Healthy life expectancy in India is 12 years lower for women and eight years lower for men than in neighbouring Sri Lanka,” said study co-author Lalit Dandona, professor at PHFI and IHME. “This difference indicates that substantial health improvements in India are possible and that public policy should make this a top priority in order to enable India reach its optimal development potential,” he said.

Life expectancy in India increased by 6.9 years for men between 1990 and 2013 and 10.3 years for women in the same period. But healthy life expectancy increased by less: men gained 6.4 years and women gained 8.9 years. Life expectancy for women in India still outpaces that of men, 68.5 years compared to 64.2 years.

Global burden

The study was conducted for 306 diseases in 188 countries. It said that due to marked declines in death and illness caused by HIV/AIDS and malaria in the past decade and advances made in addressing communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional disorders, health has improved significantly around the world. Global life expectancy at birth for both sexes rose by 6.2 years (from 65.3 in 1990 to 71.5 in 2013), while healthy life expectancy at birth rose by 5.4 years (from 56.9 in 1990 to 62.3 in 2013). 

Zimbabwe lifts ban on lion hunting

Zimbabwe lifts ban on lion hunting

Author(s): DTE Staff

Ban was imposed recently, in the wake of Cecil the lion’s death

Zimbabwe has lifted a hastily-imposed countrywide ban on lion, leopard and elephant hunting in the wake of Cecil the lion's death, though it remains in force in a limited area, according to a report on the website ‘AllAfrica.com’.

The ban was imposed on August 2 in the wake of global outrage over the illegal killing of Cecil by US dentist Walter Palmer outside Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe.

“We are pleased to inform you that, following some useful discussions between operators and the relevant Zimbabwean authorities, the suspension has now been uplifted throughout the country, though there are some exceptions,” a statement from the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association, which was leaked last weekend, read.

Lion-hunting is still banned in the Antoinette farm that Cecil was killed in early July, another farm where a second lion was recently illegally hunted, and in two other areas.

The statement also notes that the Zimbabwe authorities appear to have banned all hunting of "collared iconic animals".

Cecil was wearing a collar when he was killed, and was the fourth or fifth collared lion in Hwange to be killed so far this year, according to conservationists. A second lion killed in July— whose death is also being investigated by the authorities—was not collared.

India prone to vector-borne diseases, heatwaves, say experts

India prone to vector-borne diseases, heatwaves, say experts

Author(s): DTE Staff

A good weather prediction system can go a long way to raise public awareness

India's extreme vulnerability to climate change will have a direct impact on the health of its population, experts said at a seminar on Friday. The World Health Organization has predicted in a report that between 2030-50, climate change will cause 250,000 additional deaths.

The Himalayan region is prone to vector-borne diseases, especially malaria and dengue, Ramesh Dhiman of the National Institute of Malaria Research, said at a seminar on “Climate Change and Health Risks”. The event was organised by the French embassy in association with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

Another major problem which India will have to deal with is the prevalence of heatwaves. According to Dileep Mavalankar, Director of the Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, “Heat stress is an understudied area of climate change.”

He cited the instance of slum dwellers and construction-site workers, who are not aware about the dangers of heat, adding that strengthening the information network to fight heatwave is important.

India will witness a temperature rise of about 2-4 degrees Celsius by 2030. A good weather prediction system can go a long way to raise public awareness, Mavalankar added.

B N Satpathy, consultant, NITI Aayog, warned that the nine coastal states in India were highly vulnerable to climate change. “State governments have not yet come up with a plan to tackle sea-level rise,” he added. He cited the example of Kovalam where houses reported water seepage.

Admitting that the country has a huge “health burden”, he said low-carbon economic growth path was the need of the hour, adding that in the past 50 years no one thought that “high growth rate will ultimately kill you”. 

Switching to recycling

Switching to recycling 

Author(s): Swati Singh Sambyal

Sri Lanka becomes first country in South Asia to recycle compact fluorescent lamps 

At a time when developing countries are struggling with safe disposal of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), Sri Lanka is leading by example. Pitipana, a small town 35 km from the capital Colombo, is home to South Asia’s first CFL recycling plant, Asia Recycling. The plant is owned by Orange Electric, which has a local market share of 48 per cent in CFLS.

“We at Orange Electric manufacture around 0.6 million CFL bulbs every month. Almost 0.5 million of these are disposed in Sri Lanka every month. As a manufacturing company, we wanted to be responsible for safe recycling and treatment mechanism for CFL waste,” says B G Gunathilaka, operations manager, Asia Recycling. Operational since 2011, the state-of-the-art plant has the capacity to recycle up to 30 million CFLs annually—nearly three times more than the annual usage in Sri Lanka. The facility has been set up in partnership with Nordic Recycling AB of Sweden.

The plant collects CFL waste from institutions such as banks, schools and universities, factories, hospitals and government agencies. Households are encouraged to dispose their CFL waste at designated collection centres. Orange Electric has put collection boxes at leading supermarkets and distributor points across the country. The company also entices consumers with monetary incentive. “We give a discount for any brand of CFL bulb that is returned to the vendor. If a person buys a new CFL bulb in exchange of an old and used bulb, s/he gets 10 Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) discount on the new bulb,” Gunathilaka says.

Safe disposal of toxic lamps

Once the CFLs are collected, they are assembled at the Pitipana plant for recycling. Fifteen people are involved in the recycling process. The components of a CFL are first separated manually. The CFL waste is then put inside the Mercury Recovery Technology (MRT) machine, which has been imported from Sweden. The machine breaks down this waste into plastic, metal and glass fractions. The glass containing mercury undergoes a second tumbling cycle (see ‘Bulb breakdown’).

The extraction of mercury, the most toxic component in a CFL, is the last step. Gunathilaka says that mercury in CFLs nowadays is mostly contained in an amalgamated solid form mixed with phosphorous powder to keep it stable. The mercury extracted is stored in barrels at a temperature below 25° Celsius to prevent evaporation. It is transported to Germany, the only country with the technology to recycle mercury, for reuse in new CFLs. The other material recovered in the process are sold to recyclers.

The cost of treatment of one bulb is approximately LKR 25-30.

On the measures to check mercury pollution in the plant, Gunathilaka says that the company maintains 0.1mg/m3 of mercury exposure limit, less than the 1.0 mg/m3 prescribed by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). He adds that all workers have to adhere to safety norms and wear personal protective gear while entering the recycling premises. According to an official of the country’s Central Environmental Authority (CEA), no accidents have occurred in this facility so far. “We conduct periodic surveillances and audits to check the status of compliance to OSHA standard,” he adds.

Making way through hiccups

Despite having a mammoth capacity, Asia Recycling currently receives and recycles 100,000 to 150,000 CFLs every month. “We are working to establish a better collection system,” Gunathilaka says. Another hurdle to recycle CFLs is lack of legislation.

The CEA official, who does not wish to be named, says that Sri Lanka lacks a proper disposal mechanism for CFLs and other solid waste containing mercury. Saman Perera, head of manufacturing at Orange Electric, adds that laws are still being drafted.

Awareness drives to sensitise people about CFL recycling has also not picked up. “We intend to conduct awareness programmes in the future with the help of CEA. We also need to strengthen the recycling sector to enable recycling of plastic, metals and glass, which is not happening on a large scale at the moment,” says Perera. He mentions that Asia Recycling is open to other CFL manufacturers in Sri Lanka who wish to recycle their CFL waste. “We charge LKR 10 per bulb from other companies to cover part of our operational cost since we are running the plant from our corporate social responsibility fund,” Perera adds. The government, however, has not come forward to support the recycling process at the plant.

Despite loopholes at the administrative level, Asia Recycling has ambitious plans. “We wish to set up operations for CFL recycling in other countries, including India, in the future,” Gunathilaka says.

Marathwada in the grip of drought-like situation

Marathwada in the grip of drought-like situation

Author(s): Varsha Torgalkar

With only 58 per cent rainfall this season, Maharashtra is likely to face one of the worst agrarian crises ever

As the fear of drought looms large over India, Beed district in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region is gearing up to face one of its worst agrarian crises this year.

Matters have come to such a pass that the residents of Gangamasla village in the district have threatened self-immolation to protest against the state government’s failure to provide relief.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast the early retreat of monsoon this year. Till the end of August, Maharashtra had received 58 per cent rainfall while the Marathwada region witnessed only 38 per cent.

“There is no hope of rains in September,” P C S Rao of the weather forecast development division, IMD, said.

Relief measures

With the much-needed rainfall missing and farmers committing suicide, the Maharashtra government has to carefully assess the situation even though it has not formally announced drought.

Last year in December, the state government had put aside Rs 7,000 crore for drought relief. Two days ago, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the plan to raise Rs 10,000 crore for drinking water supply and cattle protection in the parched regions of Maharashtra.

To tackle the drought-like situation, the state government has already taken a slew of measures to conserve water. Cultivation of sugarcane, a water-intensive crop, will be banned from mid-September onwards across Marathwada, besides crushing and production of sugar.

Last month, a 10 per cent cut in water supply to the industries was also imposed across the state. At present, around 1,300 tankers are supplying drinking water to 983 villages and 513 wadis in Marathwada every day. Water from the Ujjani dam in Solapur district is being transported to Marathwada by train. In entire Maharashtra, 2,000 tankers are supplying water. Despite this, Latur is receiving water supply only once for two to four hours in 15 days.

Fadnavis is currently on a three-day visit to Marathwada to monitor the situation. As part of relief measures, the chief minister has listed out steps like creation of cattle camps, supply of water through tankers, availability of fodder for cattle at farmers’ doorsteps, waiver of education fees, renovation of village wells and initiation of well-recharge projects.

The people of Marathwada, Vidarbha and western Maharashtra will be entitled to wheat at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg under the National Food Security Act, 2013.

Is Marathwada heading towards fourth consecutive drought?

The Marathwada region is facing a drought-like situation for the fourth consecutive year. All the eight districts in the region have received just 259 mm of rainfall against the yearly average of 541 mm.

The situation is bad as out of 40,000 villages across Marathwada and parts of northern and western Maharashtra, almost 24,000 are reeling under drought-like situation.

To make the situation worse, the water level in dams is also decreasing day by day. The Jayakwadi dam has only 6 per cent water left while the water in five other dams—Manjira, Seena, Kolegaon, Majalgaon and Lower Terna—has finished.

So far, 43 lakh hectares under Kharif and 20 lakh hectares under Rabi crops have been affected, hitting 36 lakh farmers and their families across the state.

Old people have started comparing this year’s drought-like situation with the one experienced in 1972. It was Maharashtra’s worst famine ever with the then chief minister, Vasantrao Naik, promising work and food to the affected people.

According to the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency, 400 villages in the Marathwada region are on the verge of becoming deserts. Local officers have been empowered to take action against those who are pumping water from below 20 feet underground.

The state government’s effort to bring about artificial rain through cloud seeding has not been successful. The Climate Modification Company was given the contract for causing artificial rainfall for 200 hours from August-October at Rs 27 crore. But there are no rains in sight due to the absence of clouds, according to government officials.

Farmer suicides mounting

With crops almost withering in the fields, farmer suicides are on the rise. The state has witnessed 1,300 suicides from January to June this year, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Around 575 suicides were recorded in the Marathwada region alone by the end of August. The state is witnessing around 70 suicides a month despite the announcement of relief packages.

The Maharashtra government has announced Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the family of a deceased farmer. Though agriculture minister Eknath Khadse claimed 78 per cent of distressed families have received relief packages till now, experts claimed that hardly 5-10 per cent of families have been covered.

“Small-time farmers or labourers, who take loans from private money lenders, do not fall in the category of farmers for whom packages are promised,” says Kishor Tiwari, an activist from Vidarbha.

Back to toilet school

Back to toilet school

Author(s): Sunita Narain

On August 15, the government announced it had achieved the target of building toilets in all schools in India. But are these toilets functional?

Last August 15, speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the prime minister made a very important announcement—his government would ensure “there is no school in India without separate toilets for boys and girls” by the next Independence Day. Exactly one year later, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has announced that this target has been met and that some 417,000 toilets have been built in 261,000 schools.

This is no mean achievement, especially given the dire urgency and importance of this task. The fact is that lack of sanitation facilities is a reason for high dropout rates in schools—particularly of girls. It is also linked to higher disease burden. It is a basic human need—as basic as eating or breathing—and needs to be secured for human dignity. Most critically, toilets in schools are potential game-changers in society: quite simply, children learn the value of personal hygiene and bring it home.

School toilets are harbingers of tomorrow’s India. So, it must be asked if the target has really been met or is this just about numbers. To know this, the related question is: are the toilets that have been built at this breakneck speed in use? Do they have running water; is there provision for regular cleaning and maintenance? Only then can we boast that the task is done.

The government, while claiming 100 per cent success, says that it has repaired some 151,000 toilets and built the rest anew. On its website, it also explains that if anybody would like to volunteer to build toilets in schools, then it can provide designs. The cost of each toilet ranges from Rs 80,000 to Rs 1,30,000. In addition, it says that a hand pump—in cases where there is no piped water—and water tank will be needed, costing Rs 80,000, and another Rs 20,000 per year will be required for maintenance. The original plan was that corporate India would scale new heights and build these toilets. That has not happened. Private companies have been miserly and public sector undertakings are struggling to meet their school toilet commitments.

Funds however have not been the constraint. The last government’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan—a scheme to enforce the right to universal primary education—includes substantial money for civil works to build school infrastructure, including toilets. In February this year, the government extended the provision to include reconstruction of dysfunctional toilets as well. It is also to the credit of the government that it did not lose sight of the importance of this task.

The Prime Minister’s Office, it is said, monitored week-by-week progress. The deadline was clearly on everybody’s mind. My colleagues have calculated that some 2,850 toilets were built each month between August 2014 and March 2015. As the deadline came closer, construction moved to feverish pace. Between April and August this year, some 100,000 toilets were built each month. This, in itself, is not bad. It could be that the government ramped up its capacity; it wanted to ensure it reached its goal.

But it is exactly because of all this that we must ask again: are the toilets functional? Frankly, there is no information about this in any report of the government. But media reportage from across the country suggests there is still a long way to go before we can talk about total sanitation, even in schools. This is not surprising. There is enough data and experience to tell us that just installing the hardware is not sufficient to ensure a toilet’s functionality. The lack of water is a major concern. India’s water programme has seen that even as settlements are ‘reached’ with supply, through hand pumps or wells, the number of unreached settlements goes up. The water dries up, hand pumps get broken and pipes collapse.

Same is the case with sanitation—toilets are built, but either never used or become dysfunctional. More importantly, there is the matter of where the waste goes and how it is treated. So, building a receptacle to collect human excreta is only a small part of access to sanitation.

We know, however, that school toilets are an easier part of the sanitation challenge. Schools have space for building toilets; ownership and control is clear and maintenance can be ensured. However, we still need a plan to make sure it happens. Unless this is done, the ministry cannot say that it has met its target. In fact, what is happening could have the reverse effect. In this past year, toilets have been built using funds allocated to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. But in the Union Budget 2015, money for this scheme has been cut. Now the question is: how do schools plan to maintain these facilities; who will hold them accountable and how will this be reported?

The fear I have is now that the task is shown as completed—it is checked and off the agenda—there will be little attention to the crucial detail that is everything between success and failure—not just a toilet but a working toilet, which is used and cleaned. This is what total sanitation is about. This is the least we can provide to our children.