write some point of millets
Answers
Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for human food and as fodder. There is evidence of the cultivation of millet in the Korean Peninsula dating to the Middle Jeulmun Pottery Period (around 3,500–2,000BC). In India, millets have been mentioned in some of the oldest Yajurveda texts, identifying foxtail millet (priyangava), Barnyard millet (aanava) and black finger millet (shyaamaka), thus indicating that millet consumption was very common, pre-dating to the Indian Bronze Age (4,500BC).
Importance of different types of millets
According to Rohit Jain, Co-founder of Banyan Roots, an organic store selling products at reasonable and sustainable price points, “There are two broad categories of millets, namely major and minor millets. While pearl millet, sorghum, finger millet and foxtail millets come in the category of being the major millets, others such as sama, qodo, chinna etc., are considered minor millets. Many of the minor millets are endangered, as they are getting depleted, and some of them have even totally been eliminated.”
Each millet has an importance of its own. While some millets, such as finger millet, are full of calcium, some like jowar have potassium and phosphorus, and foxtail is fibrous while qodo is rich in iron. Therefore, it is advisable to keep rotating the kind of millets we are eating. We should also remember that we should not mix millets and should only eat one grain in a meal as each grain has its own requirement as the medium for digestion and mixing them can create imbalances in body.
Some important points regarding millets:
Due to its high resistance against harsh conditions, millets are sustainable to the environment, to the farmer growing it, and provide cheap and high nutrient options for all.
Nearly 40 percent of the food produced in India is wasted every year.. Millets do not get destroyed easily, and some of the millets are good for consumption even after 10-12 years of growing, thus providing food security, and playing an important role in keeping a check on food wastage.
Millet is fibrous in content, has magnesium, Niacin (Vitamin B3), is gluten-free and has a high protein content.
The way forward
There is a strong resurgence as far as millets are concerned, but from an individual’s point of view, it is important to know what one’s body is comfortable with and no drastic change should be made. Millets’ popularity is slowly rising again and many efforts are going on to make them mainstream again. A balanced approach to bring this crop back in the public consciousness will go a long way to solve some of the major food issues in the country.