Ending unsustainable lifestyles and unacceptable poverty are pre-requisites for achieving harmony with nature, said Professor M S Swaminathan. He was speaking at the conference on Sustainable Living held on the sidelines of the World Environment Day celebrations. The professor pointed out that between 1996 and 2007, human demand on the biosphere more than doubled.
In order to achieve this sustainability, traditional models of sustainable agriculture and land use patterns must be studied. In these traditional models, the community has been able to weave its needs and aspirations around agriculture in such a way that it was sustainable. The traditional agricultural systems in Koraput where tribes have conserved hundreds of varieties of rice is an example of this.
Speaking at the event, Advisor to Food Security at MSSRF, Professor Venkatesh Athreya said that sustainability goes hand in hand with equitable growth.
“For over three decades now, the world has seen the dominance of finance capital and implementation of neoliberal policies. This has meant unsustainable consumption by the super rich and destruction of the agrarian and rural economies across the world.
This is in spite of the fact that the reports like the State of Food Insecurity 2012 expressly state that agricultural growth is particularly effective in reducing hunger and malnutrition.
But governments of developing countries have been complicit in the process of unsustainable consumption and production patterns.
A striking example is the promotion of the individualised private motor transport and neglect of energy efficient mass transportation systems in urban centres.
Similarly, in the Food Security Bill, one would find that it would be much more sustainable if it was universal. Universalising the Public Distribution System would mean that the loss of food grain is reduced, more poor people are reached and hence becomes is more sustainable.
An estimated 40 per cent of food produced in the country is lost due to wastage, said Dr Prasun Kumar Das, expert in agricultural and rural finance. This is estimated to be around `58,000 crore annually. About 21 metric tonnes of wheat alone is wasted every year which is the annual production of the whole of Australia. This kind of loss has become unsustainable especially in times of such hunger.
Efficient distribution of the food coupled with effecting storage, etc would go a long way in correcting these, he said.