Food habits of the Nation.

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Date:14/08/2006 URL:http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/14/stories/2006081403771200.htmFront PageThe food habits of a nationYogendra Yadav and Sanjay KumarIs India a predominantly vegetarian country? How are eating habits related tocaste, community and region?The Hindu-CNN-IBN State of the Nation Survey throwsfresh light on Indian attitudes to food, drink and tobacco.New Delhi: Food habits and dietary preferences are of considerable interest to awide variety of scholars. Those who study Indian culture have often wondered ifthe image of India as a predominantly vegetarian country is correct. Marketanalysts 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 widespreadinterest, there have been very few attempts to study the

food habits of theIndian population. The Hindu -CNN-IBN State of the Nation Survey is one of thefew such attempts. The poll, conducted between August 1 and 6, is based oninterviews with 14,680 respondents, spread across 883 villages and urban areasin 19 States.Off the markThe survey confirms the widespread impression that the popular image of avegetarian India is off the mark. The late Professor Kumar Suresh Singh analysedthe data of the People of India project to show that a majority of ourcommunities are non-vegetarians. The present survey fixes figures not only forcommunities but also for individuals and families.The findings show that only 31 per cent of Indians are vegetarians. The figureis 21 per cent for families (with all vegetarian members). Another nine per centof the population is `eggetarian,' or vegetarians who eat eggs.Vegetarianism has a predictable pattern: women are more likely to be

vegetarianthan men and so are those above the age of 55. But there is no broadcorrespondence between age and vegetarianism. Among the young, the figure isonly slightly below the national average.The findings show that vegetarianism is a function of inherited culturalpractice rather than individual belief. Religion and community matter: as manyas 55 per cent of Brahmins are vegetarians. The corresponding figure forAdivasis is 12 per cent. Hindus who worship every day are more likely to bevegetarian, but the majority of all Hindus are non-vegetarian. Interestingly,eight per cent of Christians are also vegetarians.Coastal StatesThe survey shows that regional location matters more than caste or community. Asexpected, the lowest proportion of vegetarian families are in coastal Statessuch as Kerala (two per cent), Tamil Nadu (eight per cent), Andhra Pradesh (fourper cent), Orissa (eight per cent) and Bengal

(three per cent). Most land-lockedStates, especially in the west and north, are places with the highest proportionof vegetarian families: Rajasthan (63 per cent), Haryana (62 per cent), Punjab(48 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (33 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (35 per cent) andGujarat (45 per cent).The survey also throws light on some changing food habits due to the influenceof `modernity.' Tea or coffee is consumed by 77 per cent of the people everyday. 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. Theconsumption is markedly higher among the young. A little less than half of urbanIndia 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 centdrink regularly or sometimes. The highest incidence is among the middle-aged(between 36 and 45 years) and among communities where there are no taboos ondrinking.But these findings could be an underestimation as nearly two-thirds of thosepolled believe that drinking has increased in their locality over the lastdecade. This is true even in Gujarat, where prohibition is in force. Anoverwhelming majority is in favour of state action to prevent the spread ofalcohol consumption. Every survey conducted in the last decade has reportedsimilar levels of support for state-enforced prohibition.The Hindu -CNN-IBN survey also provides evidence on the nutritional quality offood and the extent of food deprivation. A majority report that the quality oftheir food intake is better than what it was 10 years ago and better than whattheir parents ate. The same is true of the

intake of nutritional ingredientssuch as milk for children, and pulses and cereals. Many scholarly studies havepointed 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 anunderclass comprising the bottom one-fifth that reports a decline in the qualityof food consumption.Alarming signalThe most alarming signal from this survey comes in response to a question aboutthe experience of hunger. As many as 35 per cent say that, at least once duringthe last year, they or someone in their family could not have two square meals aday. Seven per cent say this happened `often.' This incidence is higher amongthe Dalits, the Adivasis, and the urban and rural poor. The survey is a reminderthat hunger is not related only to natural calamities or famine. It is a livingeveryday reality in our country.Copyright 2000 - 2006 The

Hindu "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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