Mira Kamdar In New Delhi

The threat of global food shortages

Big agribusiness may boost crops temporarily, but wreaks environmental havoc over the long term. Punjab's grand narrative, a success story of bumper harvests, conceals dangerous subplots of pesticide poisoning, water shortages, soil salinity, fertiliser runoff, skyrocketing cancer rates, farmer indebtedness and drug addiction. The world is faced with hungry populations and a collapsing environment is how to reconcile the powerful forces of a global economic system.