Question – On 11 May, who was announced to be given the prestigious ‘World Food Award’ for the year 2021?
(a) Dr. Soumya Swaminathan
(b) Dr. Ratan Lal
(c) Dr. Shakuntala Hark Singh Thilsted
(d) Dr. Dinesh Lal
Answer – (c)
Related facts
- On May 11, 2021, the World Food Awards Foundation announced the award of the prestigious ‘World Food Prize’ of the year 2021 to Dr. Shakuntala Hark Singh Thilsted, a renowned Indian-origin nutrition scientist.
- Nutrition expert Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted becomes the first woman of Asian heritage to receive the $250,000 award for unlocking the benefits of fish for diets, health and livelihoods acrosstheGlobalSouth.
- Her achievementsachievements — pioneered fish-based food systems to improve nutrition, health and livelihoods for millions around the world.
- Dr. Thilsted was the first to establish that many small fish species commonly eaten across Southeast Asia are an important source of essential micronutrients and fatty acids and improve the absorption of nutrients in plant-based foods, reshaping scientific understanding of the benefits of fish in diets.
- This breakthrough has helped prioritize increases in fish consumption and production, transforming the diets and incomes of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
- The 2021 Laureate Announcement featured pre-recorded remarks from the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack and UN Nutrition Chair Naoko Yamamoto, with World Food Prize Foundation President Barbara Stinson announcing the name of the Laureate.
- Dr. Thilsted is the seventh woman to be awarded the World Food Prize and the first woman of Asian heritage.