The country is quite diverse in food consumption. Do policymakers take this into account while fighting the curse of malnutritionIJ
Asked an owner of a dairy at the outskirts of Delhi: “Yah doodh pee kar log marte kyon nahinIJ (Why don’t people die after drinking this milkIJ)” In connection with my study on changing food habits among cattle, I had gone to that dairy cluster. I was accompanied by Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Delhi Chapter, head NK Chandan.
I introduced myself as a journalist trying to understand the problems the dairy industry had to face. The buffalos lived in extremely unhygienic conditions. Many of them would spend hours on their own dung. They were fed barley dust used in beer manufacturing and considered highly toxic. Buffalos hardly got any green fodder. To extract more milk, owners deploy all kinds of medicine on them. It was in this context that the dairy owner made opening sentence of this column.
Three days back, I and Chandan met with a Dalit entrepreneur running a chain of MBA Colleges in Noida, Kolkata and Bangalore. Some hundred km east of Delhi, the entrepreneur in question has developed a dairy farm where he feeds cows and buffalos the natural food their ancestors once ate. His milk is sold on the counter itself.
“Food determines the quality of milk”, says the entrepreneur, who is an IITian.In all my life, I have never attended a seminar organised by Dalit groups that discussed the kind of food Dalits eat. In fact, I cannot recall them debating food habit changes taking place among Dalits. Sure, I am aware of beef agitation in Hyderabad by Dalit students. Why blame Dalits aloneIJ I don’t recall an occasion when mainstream opinion-makers have debated food Indians eat (except elite Indians who advocate organic stuff). Sure, people and institutions belonging to departments of health might have debated that. But that’s profession-related stuff hardly impacting the popular opinion.
This means that India doesn’t discuss food habits of its citizens. Instead the focus is mostly on food shortages or food prices. What India doesn’t discuss is the contradiction in access to food and food choices people make.
let’s take the case of States that share boundaries with oceans and are fish-rich. The all-India data for fish intake at least once a week is 28.2 per cent. Remember, once a week could also mean only once a week. Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat, for instance, have long sea boundaries. No doubt, the three States are among India’s biggest fish-producing States. So, what’s the fish consumption pattern in the three StatesIJ
According to the National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHC-3), 85.8 per cent women and 87.6 per cent men in Kerala consume fish at least once a week. In Maharashtra, 35.9 per cent women and 33.4 per cent men consume fish at least once a week. In Gujarat, 11.1 per cent women and 9.8 per cent men do so. West Bengal is known for fish consumption. Here, 85.9 per cent women and 82.7 per cent men consume fish at least once a week. The case of Rajasthan can be understood given its geography. In this desert State, a mere 1.8 per cent women and 2.7 per cent men consume fish at least once a week.
Now, if we contrast Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra with Kerala and West Bengal, the two groups would appear different civilisations.Further, Punjab is a prosperous State, and a highly vegetarian. The State should be high on consumption of fruits. According to NFHC-3, 37.6 per cent women and 71.5 per cent men consume fruits at least once a week. Punjab, however, is ranked 18th as far as women’s consumption of fruits is concerned; it stands fifth in the male section.
According to NFHC-3, 49 per cent women in Gujarat consume fruits at least once a week; the State is ranked eighth on this count. The data shows that 48.8 per cent men in Gujarat consume fruits at least once a week, and the State is ranked 14th on this count. As the data shows, different regions in India have different food choices. Food choices are part of cultures. Northwest India is neither eats enough non-vegetarian nor takes vegetarian food despite affluence in Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra. India is highly diverse in food consumption and full of contradictions. Do policymakers take this into account while fighting malnutritionIJ