The most appropriate reason for the author to be spared many a mishap is that

Foods travel more than the people who eat them. Grocery stores and supermarkets are loaded with preserved and processed foods. This, however, often leads to environmental threats, such as pollution generated by long distance food transportation and wastage of food during processing and transportation, destruction of rain forests, reduced nutritional content, increased demand for preservation and packaging. Food insecurity also increases as the produce comes from regions that are not feeding their own population properly.

 With reference to the above passage, which of the following statements is/are true?

1. Consuming regionally grown food and not depending on long travelled food is a part of eco-friendly behaviour. 
2. Food processing industry puts a burden on our natural resources.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

India accounts for nearly a fifth of the world's child deaths. In terms of numbers, it is the highest in the world - nearly 16 lakhs every year. Of these, more than half die in the first month of life. Officials believe that the reason for this is the absence of steps to propagate basic health practices relating to breast feeding and immunisation. Also the large reproductive population of 2.6 crore remains bereft of care during the critical phases of pregnancy and post-delivery. Added to this is the prevalence of child marriages, anaemia among young women and lack of focus on adolescent sanitation, all of which impact child death rates.

Which is the critical inference that can be made from the above passage?

Many people in India feel that if we cut our defence expenditure on weapon-building, we can create a climate of peace with our neighbours, subsequently reducing the conflict or creating a no-war situation. People who proclaim such ideas are either the victims of war or the propagators of false argument.

With reference to the above passage, which of the following is the most valid assumption?

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely have swelled from seven to nine billion people. To fill all those stomachs - while accounting for shifting consumption patterns, climate change, and a finite amount of arable land and potable water - some experts say food production will have to double. How can we make the numbers add up? Experts say higher yielding crop varieties and more efficient farming methods will be crucial. So will waste reduction. Experts urge cities to reclaim nutrients and water from waste streams and preserve farmland. Poor countries, they say, can improve crop storage and packaging and rich nations could cut back on resource-intensive foods like meat.

Which one of the following statements best sums up the above passage?

Human history abounds in claims and theories confining the right of governing to a few select citizens. Exclusion of the many is justified on the ground that human beings may be rightfully segregated for the good of society and viability of the political process.

Which one of the following statements is least essential as a part of the argument in the above passage?