Maharashtra Board Class 4 EVS Chapter 8 The Value of Food PDF Download

The Value Of Food

Arjun and Varsha are brother and sister. They love to eat hot bajra bhakaris with butter.

Mother makes a number of other dishes for them to eat with bhakaris. They like those, too.

What could be those dishes that mother makes to go with bhakaris? What are those dishes made from?

In Varsha and Arjun's home, they use a lot of other foodstuffs, too. From where are they obtained?

Wheat, rice, jowar, pulses, sugarcane.

Karavanda, jamun, bor, honey.

Salt-water fish and salt.

Fresh water fish, singadas (water chestnuts), makhanas (lotus seed).

Fruits and vegetables.

Meat and eggs.

Often when serving Varsha and Arjun a meal, Mother says, "Take only as much as you want. Food shouldn't get wasted."

Teacher's Note

Many people work hard to grow and bring food to our tables. Just like the farmer who grows rice in Punjab, we should never waste food.

Exam Trick

Remember: Food comes from many people - farmers, fishermen, sellers. So wasting food means wasting their hard work. Never waste!

Points to Remember

Food comes from many different places like fields, lakes, and forests.
Farmers use tractors and tools to grow crops.
Many people work hard to bring food to our home.
We should never waste food.
Every piece of food has the effort of many workers in it.

The Story Of A Bhakari

One day Arjun asked her, "Mother, why do you tell this to us every day?"

Mother answered, "Why should we waste any good thing? Besides, we must give a thought to how we get the food we eat. Let me tell you the story of a bhakari."

You know Dada, my father, is a farmer. And you know that schools have summer vacations. When I was small, we often went to my father's fields riding on his tractor. That would be the time for readying the fields. Father would attach different implements to the tractor to carry out various farming tasks. First he would plough the fields and then, crush the lumps of soil. Finally, he would level the field to make it ready for sowing.

The pre-monsoon showers would make the hot soil humid. That was the time father would sow bajra.

Within some days, the bajra seeds sprout and the seedlings are seen above the ground. Along with the bajra, weeds also flourish. But they have to be removed. My father would employ labourers to do that. The labourers have to be paid.

Rainwater is enough for bajra to grow vigorously.

After a while, ears of bajra appear on every stalk. The grain forms and the ears grow fuller. As the grains grow, birds come in flocks to eat the tender grains. Then scarecrows have to be set up and sling shots used to frighten the birds away.

When the ears of corn are full, it is harvest time. That is, all the ears of bajra must be cut and gathered. Then follows threshing and winnowing. That is how we get the grain from the ears of bajra.

Teacher's Note

A farmer's life is very hard. They wake up early and work all day in the sun and rain. Our mothers do the same work at home without asking for money.

Exam Trick

Remember the steps: Plough - Sow - Remove weeds - Protect from birds - Harvest - Thresh - Winnow. This is how we get grain for bhakari!

Points to Remember

Farmers plough and prepare the field first.
Then they sow seeds when the soil is wet.
Weeds grow with the crop and must be removed.
Birds come to eat the grain, so scarecrows are used.
Finally, the grain is harvested, threshed, and winnowed.

Do you know? Winnowing means separating the grain from the chaff (light parts). The grain falls down and the chaff blows away. A machine can do this work fast, but labourers and money are still needed.

The grain obtained after winnowing is filled in sacks. Proper care is taken to make sure that it will not be attacked by insects or other pests such as mice and rats. After putting aside some grain for the family, the remaining sacks are sent to the market-place to be sold. When the traders there buy the grain, the farmer gets money for the crop that he has grown.

Arjun: But the bhakari is not ready yet!

Mother: No, of course not. And the story is not finished either. Listen.

The grain that the traders buy is sold all over the country. It is transported by means of trucks or goods trains. It is the turn of porters and truck-drivers to put in their labour. Transport costs a lot, too.

Now, the sacks of grain reach the provision stores. People buy the grain from them. They sort out any stones or rubbish to clean the grain. They get it milled into flour.

Then, while cooking, the flour is kneaded into lumps. The lumps are then flattened into a bhakari and roasted. We spend on fuel too. And thus, at the end of all this, the bhakari appears in Varsha's and Arjun's plate.

Now, would it be right to waste food that we get through the efforts of so many people?

Teacher's Note

Food travels through many hands before it reaches our plate - farmers, traders, truck drivers, shop owners, and our mother. Each person works hard to feed us.

Exam Trick

From field to plate - remember this chain! Farmer grows it, trader sells it, transporter moves it, shopkeeper stores it, mother cooks it. So never waste!

Points to Remember

After harvest, traders buy the grain and sell it in the market.
Truck drivers and porters transport grain to different places.
People buy grain from shops and get it milled into flour.
The flour is made into bhakari at home by cooking.
Fuel and cooking also cost money and effort.

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