Morning Briefing

The cause of malnutrition in India -- which "results in a loss of productivity, indirect losses from impaired cognitive development, and losses from increased long-term health care costs" -- is "not so much a lack of nutrient-rich food, but rather a weakness in the food supply chain," William Thomson, a research assistant at the U.S. Naval War College, writes in an opinion piece in The Diplomat. "Rather than correct supply chain issues, which would increase availability of food while reducing costs, the government" has passed a National Food Security Bill that would subsidize grain purchases "at a time when it can ill afford the expense associated with underwriting grain purchases for almost two thirds of the country's population," he continues.