Diets, Nutrition, and Poverty - The Oxford Topic of Food, Politics, and Society - page 349

combined with more sensible policies that aim to augment low productivity in agricul-
ture, avoid market imperfections that come in the way of remunerative farm gate food
prices, and expand livelihood options, fulfillment of food entitlements could be far less
costly. In fact, an analysis of round 61 of the NSS yields two useful insights: The higher
the agricultural wage rate, the lower is the demand for rural public works; and the lower
the food price, the lower is the demand for subsidised food (Gaiha et al., 2009). A cru-
cial requirement is a clear enunciation of time-bound objectives and a coherent policy
framework. Although not specific to the right to food, what really matters is the effective
use of resources in enforcement. As experience accumulates—both juridical and policy
related—these costs may decline substantially (Gaiha, 2003).
Finally, Himanshu and Sen (2011) are dismissive of the macroconstraints of food
availability and fiscal food subsidy under the universal scheme, emphasized by the
Rangarajan Committee (RC). Their alternative requirements, based on the assumptions
that 60% of the households access the full 7 kg per person per month under the uni-
versal scheme, are 60 million tons. If the off-take is lower, about 4-5 kg per person per
month, the total requirements are about 43 million tons, as compared with the actual
TPDS off-take of 42.4 million tons and the RC's projected off-take of 41.9 million tons
if PDS entitlements are restricted to only 40% of the population. On the face of it, the
Himanshu-Sen endorsement seems persuasive, except that it does not guarantee that
the benefit to the poor would be substantially greater. In any case, the food subsidy (esti-
mated to be Rs 560 billion in 2009-2010 or about 1% of GDP and 3.3% of government
expenditure) arguably diverts resources from more productive use.58 The long and short
of it is that the TPDS cries out for reforms without which more ambitious interventions
are just as likely to fail.
Hence, contrary to the assertions that “right to food” is both “undefinable” and “unde-
liverable,” we find that the right is evolving slowly into an enforceable right. Its potential
for enabling governments to do what they should by providing a strong foundation for
their poverty alleviation programs and policies, and for sharpening the focus of civil
society organizations as active agents in such programs is substantial. Although realiza-
tion of this right is likely to be slow, difficult, and uncertain, and not synonymous with a
universal food subsidy, it would be a mistake to discard it on the ground that “too many
rights may well make a wrong” ( (The Economist , 2001, p. 20).
Concluding Observations
This chapter focused on dietary changes, their nutritional implications, and policy
responses to alleviate nutritional deprivation in a rapidly changing economy that retains
a high degree of poverty. India provides a valuable laboratory for examining compli-
cated relationships too often oversimplified in discussions of food and food security.
There is a rich database with great variation over time and space, and vigorous debate in
civil society and the political system over best practices in alleviating malnutrition.