This document discusses the importance of protecting paddy land in Kerala. It outlines three key acts related to essential commodities and land utilization: the Essential Commodities Act of 1955, the Kerala Land Utilization Order of 1967, and the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act of 2008. The document also lists 13 food crops designated under the Kerala Land Utilization Order, and discusses reasons for the conversion of paddy land such as population density, social and economic changes, and the impact of Gulf money on shifting to plantation crops.