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It’s Time to Put Nutrition First
Food. Politics. Prejudice.
Speakers
Sylvia Karpagam discusses her book Meat of the Matter, challenging prejudices and misconceptions around food in India. Is malnutrition in India simply a policy failure, or are there structural conditions which make it so?
The conversation explores the political, social, and economic contexts surrounding food practices across the country, arguing that malnutrition is structural, not incidental. Beyond failing policies and poorly implemented programmes, Karpagam highlights the role discrimination plays at every level, implicating researchers, academicians, bureaucrats, elected representatives, and the media in perpetuating stereotypical narratives that need to be broken. Small improvements in nutritional indicators, she argues, cannot be read as “successes,” since those left behind face outcomes that are significant, and often irreversible.
Venue: Seminar Halls
Speakers
Sylvia Karpagam
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam is a public health doctor, general practitioner, and researcher who serves on the expert committee of ALEPH2020, an international body on public health nutrition. She is part of the Right to Health and Right to Nutrition campaigns in Karnataka, publishing extensively on laws, policies, and programmes in mainstream media and peer-reviewed journals. She has worked as a consultant to improve access to healthcare, nutrition, and human rights in Karnataka, particularly for marginalised and indigenous communities, and authored The Meat of the Matter: How the Politics of Food Shapes Our Health (HarperCollins India).
Find her blog at: https://drsylviakarpagam.wordpress.com/
Arul Mani
Prof. Arul Mani is Professor of English Literature and Dean at St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru. He teaches English and is the founder of Meta, the university’s campus literature festival, which he established in 2013. His areas of expertise include Latin American literature and linguistics, with a focus on stylistics.
His writing and commentary have appeared in publications including India Today, Scroll and Tank Magazine. His work spans literature, politics, culture and the arts, with writings on subjects ranging from Kannada literature and Indian writing to cinema, urban life and contemporary politics.
