Food habits of the Nation.

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Date:14/08/2006 URL:

http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/14/stories/2006081403771200.htm

 

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The food habits of a nation

 

Yogendra Yadav and Sanjay Kumar

 

Is India a predominantly vegetarian country? How are eating habits related to

caste, community and region?The Hindu-CNN-IBN State of the Nation Survey throws

fresh light on Indian attitudes to food, drink and tobacco.

 

New Delhi: Food habits and dietary preferences are of considerable interest to a

wide variety of scholars. Those who study Indian culture have often wondered if

the image of India as a predominantly vegetarian country is correct. Market

analysts want to know about the new eating habits of the Indian middle class.

Economists think of food as the measure of well-being. Despite such widespread

interest, there have been very few attempts to study the food habits of the

Indian population. The Hindu -CNN-IBN State of the Nation Survey is one of the

few such attempts. The poll, conducted between August 1 and 6, is based on

interviews with 14,680 respondents, spread across 883 villages and urban areas

in 19 States.

 

Off the mark

 

The survey confirms the widespread impression that the popular image of a

vegetarian India is off the mark. The late Professor Kumar Suresh Singh analysed

the data of the People of India project to show that a majority of our

communities are non-vegetarians. The present survey fixes figures not only for

communities but also for individuals and families.

 

The findings show that only 31 per cent of Indians are vegetarians. The figure

is 21 per cent for families (with all vegetarian members). Another nine per cent

of the population is `eggetarian,' or vegetarians who eat eggs.

 

Vegetarianism has a predictable pattern: women are more likely to be vegetarian

than men and so are those above the age of 55. But there is no broad

correspondence between age and vegetarianism. Among the young, the figure is

only slightly below the national average.

 

The findings show that vegetarianism is a function of inherited cultural

practice rather than individual belief. Religion and community matter: as many

as 55 per cent of Brahmins are vegetarians. The corresponding figure for

Adivasis is 12 per cent. Hindus who worship every day are more likely to be

vegetarian, but the majority of all Hindus are non-vegetarian. Interestingly,

eight per cent of Christians are also vegetarians.

 

Coastal States

 

The survey shows that regional location matters more than caste or community. As

expected, the lowest proportion of vegetarian families are in coastal States

such as Kerala (two per cent), Tamil Nadu (eight per cent), Andhra Pradesh (four

per cent), Orissa (eight per cent) and Bengal (three per cent). Most land-locked

States, especially in the west and north, are places with the highest proportion

of vegetarian families: Rajasthan (63 per cent), Haryana (62 per cent), Punjab

(48 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (33 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (35 per cent) and

Gujarat (45 per cent).

 

The survey also throws light on some changing food habits due to the influence

of `modernity.' Tea or coffee is consumed by 77 per cent of the people every

day. Cold drinks are yet to catch up: only four per cent consume it every day.

But this figure goes up to 30 per cent if irregular consumers are included. The

consumption is markedly higher among the young. A little less than half of urban

India and a little less than a quarter of rural India consume cold drinks.

 

Smoking is widespread. Twenty one per cent smoke cigarettes or bidis every day.

But there is no evidence of the rise of smoking among the youth.

 

Similarly, there is no evidence that more youth are drinking. Thirteen per cent

drink regularly or sometimes. The highest incidence is among the middle-aged

(between 36 and 45 years) and among communities where there are no taboos on

drinking.

 

But these findings could be an underestimation as nearly two-thirds of those

polled believe that drinking has increased in their locality over the last

decade. This is true even in Gujarat, where prohibition is in force. An

overwhelming majority is in favour of state action to prevent the spread of

alcohol consumption. Every survey conducted in the last decade has reported

similar levels of support for state-enforced prohibition.

 

The Hindu -CNN-IBN survey also provides evidence on the nutritional quality of

food and the extent of food deprivation. A majority report that the quality of

their food intake is better than what it was 10 years ago and better than what

their parents ate. The same is true of the intake of nutritional ingredients

such as milk for children, and pulses and cereals. Many scholarly studies have

pointed to the decline or stagnation in the consumption of pulses and cereals,

but this is not reflected in the perceptions of the people. But there is an

underclass comprising the bottom one-fifth that reports a decline in the quality

of food consumption.

 

Alarming signal

 

The most alarming signal from this survey comes in response to a question about

the experience of hunger. As many as 35 per cent say that, at least once during

the last year, they or someone in their family could not have two square meals a

day. Seven per cent say this happened `often.' This incidence is higher among

the Dalits, the Adivasis, and the urban and rural poor. The survey is a reminder

that hunger is not related only to natural calamities or famine. It is a living

everyday reality in our country.

 

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