Assessing the Deepening Problem
A.R. Vasavi
FOOD SECURITY IN ASIA by Amitava Mukherjee Sage Publications, 2013, 393 pp., 895
October 2013, volume 37, No 10

If there is any one specific condition that belies the hype of the success of the new economy in India, then it is that of the state of food security. As data and several reports indicate, there are now extant and deepening forms of malnutrition, starvation, and deprivation indicating that there are gross problems in the most essential aspects of the national economy and society. While assessments of the levels of poverty and of the promulgation of the National Food Security Act have become prey to our complex politics, Amitava Mukherjee’s comprehensive study provides data and details highlighting the persistence of problems and the growth of new forms of food insecurity that emanate from layered structures of inequities.

The book is rich in details from all the Asian countries, including that from Kazakhstan, and provides an insightful overview of the conditions, policies, and trends in these countries with additional details and case studies from India.

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