Everything we eat is sourced from nature. The plant kingdom has been generously providing us with nutritious and healthy foods to make a plethora of dishes. Earlier, historic people used to hunt animals or gather fruits and vegetables readily available in their living surroundings. These nomadic people moved places according to the availability of basic necessities. As humans started evolving, they realized that they could grow their own food by farming. Hence, people began staying static in settlements and farmed their own land. Agriculture later developed and advanced equipment were used for various farming processes. With time, these techniques were modified or replaced with newer ones which demanded lesser effort and yielded better output of production in return. This started revolutionizing traditional farming methods with more yield centric ones. Soon, farming as a livelihood turned into a booming production industry for an ever hungry world with rapidly growing population. Since almost all plant-based food was commercialized due to it being the starting material for many modern food industries, the agricultural sector came under a lot of pressure and focus for more and more food production to satisfy their needs. The quality of crops and fertility of land have reduced drastically with time, owing to continuous cultivation on the same land for numerous centuries and no opportunity for land replenishment. Extensive research was done to innovate and revamp agriculture into a mechanized and efficient process.

Today, farming practices have become highly advanced with a lot of machinery and equipment to lessen human efforts and errors. These methods check the box for sustainability too, doing lesser damage to crops as well as the environment. As a result of modern agricultural practices, the quality of produce has also improved. With the use of advanced technology, it has become possible to introduce certain desirable characteristics in a crop variety, and reduce or completely eliminate the shortcomings. This has been done with genetic manipulation/modification. To improve the aeration and air circulation of farming land and expose the useful soil bacteria to surrounding air, excessive tillage of land is done. Modern farming practices make use of fertilizers to increase the yield of crop. Earlier, synthetic fertilizers were used, but this led to leaching of harmful chemicals in the environment which had adverse effects on other components of nature. So, farmers were directed to make use of organic fertilizers which improved soil fertility as well as were environment-friendly. The use of better and well-planned irrigation technologies like sprinkle and drip irrigation have led to provision of adequate water to plants. These advanced irrigation methods make efficient use of water too. The use of pesticides has led to less crop damage by infestation, reducing invasion of vegetation through pests, and the result is healthful and productive plants. The practice of monocropping gradually lead to depletion of nutrients in the soil making it infertile. So, a lot of research has been done in this arena and recent studies have led to the practice of crop rotation, wherein a series of different types of crops are grown on the same land on a sequence of growing seasons. Usually, after cash crops are grown, leguminous plants are farmed on the same land to enhance soil fertility. This method restores the nutrient level of soil.

The agriculture area has witnessed a lot of modernization for good crop produce and environmental safety. Many more methods are being invented to make conventional farming mechanized, hassle free, environment friendly and sustainable. In the coming years, better use of the small portion of available land will be necessary to overcome shortage of agricultural land and highly developed techniques and technologies might provide the required push to agricultural practices.

Since social media has gained popularity and its use has become ubiquitous everywhere, it is quite obvious that trends and hashtags are in the boom. Communicating, comprehending and following are possible at the drop of a hat, and so when something new or revamped has reached people by the trend wave, it becomes massively famous – or rather say a cult following. A major trend that hit off in the recent years is the fitness and physique target, and we can see massive body transformations reeling all over social media pages. Well, many of them owe it to rigorous gym sessions, some to strict and controlled diet plans and some to major lifestyle changes (like healthy eating, sleep patterns, spirituality and sattvic living). Food manufacturing companies and big names in the market have also taken note of this and have put in substantial efforts and money into developing and refurbishing their product range to suit the requirements of the conscious consumer. These biggies have made major changes in their ingredient labels, nutritional charts and overall product composition, and supermarket shelves are now a healthier place for our grocery baskets and of course, our cravings. Most of these now-healthy products today promise a relishing, absolutely satisfying and guilt free eating experience, and they have truly made that transition to a commendable extent, if not the epitome of their sector.

Let us take an instance of companies selling instant noodles. A few years ago, this same product was on the frowny side of the healthiness scale, with maida as the major ingredient. But a lot of research and development efforts have led to the manufacturers opting for healthier and more nutritious grains like whole wheat and oats, with refined flour in minimal quantity or totally replaced. The frying process still remains similar to a great extent, but researchers are looking for a way to optimise the frying process too. Yet still, the frying process has been successfully replaced or highly modified in extruded snack products, wherein high pressure and temperature are applied rather than frying the product in oil and bringing its fat content to about 8-10%. These products contain minimal oil content in contrast to the conventional fried products, in which the fat content is about 25-30%. Extruded snacks have switched to blending better cereal meals too, like rice, corn and pulses. Fox nuts are emerging as a superfood product, with healthier processing options and high nutritional benefits. Whole wheat semolina is another everyday ingredient which has suited well to the requirements of the snacks segment. Oats have proven as a transformational and magical ingredient in many food items, with super health benefits and good blending properties with other cereals. With major inventios and developments in the food industry, many commercial products have changed their propositions from just ‘tasty’ to ‘healthy and tasty’, and have proved that not every healthy food item needs to taste obnoxious, rather quite the opposite of that. The sweets, bakery foods and confectionery section are going sugar-free and maida-free. They are cutting down or simply replacing empty calorie and unhealthy components and optimising preparation processes to make mouth-watering items, all similar in taste but with enhanced nutritional properties and adding sensible value to their consumption. Cakes and pastry items are switching to the goodness of components like better grains, sugar free options, natural sweeteners, dry fruits, minimal saturated fat ingredients. Frozen unsweetened yogurts are in great demand due to their gut-friendly composition and versatility in blinding with a large variety of fruits and flavours. Frozen dessert and ice cream makers are tilting towards sugar-free and low fat options. Biscuits and cookies are also transforming drastically into healthier versions of their original product formulations.

The products mentioned above are just the visible tip of a huge iceberg underneath the water surface. The way today’s food industry is remoulding itself will be greatly impactful in near and far future, and a range of products with sound taste and nutrition are in the line for a healthier diet and subsequently, a healthier tomorrow!

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Lebanon is the fittest example who is facing political sectarianism. As there is no stable government. Parliament’s 128 seats are divided evenly between Christians and Muslims. Which makes them serve their interests only.