Food crisis

I was a bit stirred up by a news item reported in The Jakarta Post on June 15, 1999, that Asia may face a food crisis after 2000. One of the causes is that dwindling resources are putting more and more pressure on land under cultivation and will eventually degrade it, putting the food security of the country at risk.

Since the year 2000 is just a few months away, and Indonesia, whose population remains the fourth largest in the world, is prone to such a crisis, it is high time to make a turning point in our daily menu, so that we do not rely mainly on one type of food i.e. rice. By doing so, not only will we have done something to minimize the crisis, but we will also have taken measures to maintain our healthy life.

Here are some more tips to avert the crisis from a dietary point of view. First, don't eat too much rice, as this type of grain is relatively high in glucose content. It has 75 percent glucose content compared to the 70 percent or 65 percent found in potatoes and sweet potatoes respectively. Besides, I cannot imagine how much rice is to be consumed every day, and what will happen if the UN food official's forecast comes true after 2000.

In his book Eat more, weigh less, Dr. Dean Ornish says: You can eat more and weigh less so long as you know what to eat. And to make our body healthy, Michael Castleman (Nature's cures) says: Your food should be your medicine. Whereas another nutrition expert in his small book Eat Smart suggests that we should eat a great variety of food, but moderately, in order to always maintain good health.

ODO FADLOELI

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