Delicious alternative

Sir — Insects are the latest buzz when it comes to climate-conscious food. House crickets and the larvae of lesser mealworms have made it to the European Union’s list of insects to be sold as food for humans. But diversifying our diets need not only include such novel and radical solutions as eating mealworm larvae. Foraged plants and weeds have long been a part of our diets, but they are slowly being edged out owing to rapid urbanisation which leaves such plants no space to grow. A plate of shapla chingri is both delicious and environment friendly.

Suprita Dhar,Calcutta

Speak freely

Sir — Rahul Gandhi is making news for all the right reasons recently. His comment on V.D. Savarkar at being asked to issue an apology for his statement in the United Kingdom has been blown out of proportion. In Maharashtra, especially, it is being used to try and drive a wedge in the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, in order to wean away Uddhav Thackrey and his party. But it would be wrong to pressure Rahul Gandhi into taking back his statement on Savarkar. This over-sensitisation of matters needs to stop. The saffron parties will find a way to twist anything and everything out of proportion. To appease them, one would have to stop talking and only sing their praises.

S.A.K. Sinha,Patna

Neglected health

Sir — There is research to show that women are seven times more likely than men to be misdiagnosed and discharged while having a heart attack. A woman’s medical struggles are routinely underestimated or treated as hysteria. This translates into doctors treating female patients with apathy and putting their lives at risk. While everyone may look down on medical knowledge gathered from Google, the internet and its endless resources have allowed women to arm themselves with information before visiting a doctor so that they are not gaslighted or sent away without being treated. But self-advocacy can only get women so far. Doctors need to take their female patients seriously.

Tashi Baheti,Ujjain

Weather vane

Sir — A climate reconstruction study has found links between warm or cold conditions in the Arctic and rainfall over the Indian subcontinent. A warmer Arctic leads to a heavier monsoon. It is thus safe to assume that as the world warms up and so does the Arctic, monsoons will intensify in the subcontinent. The government should use such research and data to decide the direction of its policymaking. Crops that favour the monsoon and heavy rains should be subsidised so that farmers do not suffer crop losses from too much rain.

P. Sooryanarayana,Kochi

Harsh critics

Sir — When the Scottish shuttler, Kirsty Gilmour, opened up about receiving death and rape threats on social media from gamblers, she was echoing the daily reality of hundreds of athletes, across sports. Sportspersons from football to tennis, to badminton, are bombarded with hate messages and outright threats by irate fans as well as gamblers who lose money when these athletes end up on the losing side. Sport is hard enough without having to deal with fans who believe they can troll sportspersons for a poor day at work on social media platforms. The worrying trend holds the scary potential of sending athletes down a spiral of self-doubt.

Vijaykumar H.K.,Raichur, Karnataka

Parting shot

Sir — In this age of food and travel shows, it is heartening that one of the pioneers of such television content, Madhur Jaffrey, has been conferred the prestigious James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award.

S.S. Dasgupta,Calcutta