Sociology of Food 9788131611227

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Madhu Nagla

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Food Studies has emerged as an important interdisciplinary field of enquiry. It is not just only about the study of food per se. Food Studies deals with more than the mere production, consumption, and aesthetic appreciation of food. It looks at the relationship between food and people from the variety of perspectives; be it sociology, cultural studies, economics, health, social policy, anthropology, history, art, science, management or technology. Sociology of Food is a comprehensive volume on food and its changing dimensions. Besides offering readings of some established models of change in food patterns from food in transition to dietary change, the book adds its share of interesting empirical studies based on fieldwork and devoted to processes of change. Chapters in this volume reflect on the anthropological, sociological and historical approach to food studies. It provides an excellent platform for the complex factors that shape people’s food habits. The wide range of issues covered in the volume includes: varieties of agricultural production, aspects of food safety and security, the role of household structures and issues of gender in dietary transformations and patterns of food consumption.

The book brings a sociological lens to emerging issues in relation to food and eating. Focussing on key texts and studies, the book will help students identify major concerns and themes for further study in this niche area of sociological enquiry.

Sociology of Food

Sociology of Food

Madhu Nagla

[3 RAWAT

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« Guwahati

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ISBN 978-81-316-1122-7 © Author, 2020

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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Published by Prem Rawat for Rawat Publications Satyam Apts, Sector 3, Jawahar Nagar, Jaipur 302 004 (India) Phone: 0141 265 1748 / 265 7006 E-mail: [email protected] « Website: www.rawatbooks.com New Delhi Office 4858/24, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002 Phone: 011-23263290 Also at Bangalore, Guwahati and Kolkata

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Contents

Acknowledgements

13

Introduction

3

Sociology of Food: Theoretical Orientations

25

Theoretical Approaches Food in Sociological Classics Food and Dialectical Approach Food as a Commodity Language, Symbol, and Food Food and Symbolism Functionalism: Food and Eating Structuralism: Aesthetic and Semiotics of Food and Eating Cultural Construction of Food and Eating System Social Relationships Approach Indological Perspective Historical Approach Developmentalism Approach Social Welfare Approach

Classification of Foods: Emerging Trends What is Fast Food? Emerging Trends of Fast Food Fast Food Industries and their Challenges Implications of Fast Food Industries What is Convenience Food? Classification of Convenience Foods

26 26 27 29 30 31 31 32 33 34 34 35 36 38 41 41 42 45 46 46 47

Contents

¢ e e e

Growth of Convenience and Fast Foods in India What is Functional Food? Functional Food and Consumer What is Home Meal Replacement?

e Restaurant and Street Food

|

¢ Implications for Contemporary Food Consumers and Consumption

Food and Dietary Practices in India e e e ¢ e e e e e e e ¢ e e e ¢

History of Indian Food Diet and Nutrition in Harappan Civilisation Industrialisation and Food Production Food and its Forms Bread/Roti and Timing of Serving Cereals and Pulses Milk and its Products Sweets Water Communities and Dietary Practices in India Food and Diet among Hindus Food and Diet in Islam Contemporary Food Patterning in India Vegetarianism in India Meat and Meat Products in India Regional Characteristics of Indian Dietaries

Food Consumption Pattern: An Indian Basket ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ e e e e e e ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢

Defining Food Pattern Food Production and Consumption Change in Food Consumption and Eating Patterns Food Basket of Indians Food Basket of Westerners Social Structure and Food Consumption Pattern Class and Food Consumption Sex and Food Consumption Age and Food Consumption Youth and Food Consumption Urban-Rural People and Food Consumption Migrants and Food Consumption Pattern Double Earners in the Family and Food Consumption Food Eating, Affluence, and Disorder Food and Consumer Awareness Food as a Hobby Dietary Pattern: An Empirical Analysis

Contents

Food and Women Gendered Relationship with Food Gender, Food, and Culture Gendered Foodways Role of Women and Food Women and Economic Access to Food Women and Natural Resources Women as Preservers of Biodiversity Women and Production of Food Women as Food Processors Women and Food Provision Food Shopping and Preparation Women and Food Security Women and Nutrition Security Pregnancy and Food Women and Non-vegetarianism Female Mortality and Child Nutrition Women and Agricultural Development Policy and Planning

Feeding the Family in India: An Approach to Household Food Consumption Social Structure and Dietary Pattern Acquiring Food for the Family Preparing Food for the Family Serving Food to the Family Dining Together with Family Members Effects of Evil Spirits and the Evil Eye on Food Privacy and Food

| @

90 90 91 92 93 93 94 94 95 97 98 98 98 99 99 102 102 103

107 110 113 114 116 118 119 120

Food, Food Habits, and Culture Defining Food Culture Food Beliefs and Practices in Ethnic Groups Food Culture and Etiquettes Food, Rituals, Ceremonies, and Taboos Food and Fasting Food and Purity-Pollution Food and Pregnancy Food Habits: Change and Continuity

123

Food, Health, and Nutrition: The Interface

134 134 |

¢ Nutrition and Health ¢ Food and Malnutrition

ig3 124 125 125 127 129 130 130

10

Contents

Food and Vitamin D

Supplement Food Intake and Their Regulation Food and Nutritional Stress Classification of Food Food and Work Done Food, Nutrition, and Health Women’s Food and Nutrition Childhood Food and Nutrition

Food, Health, and Disease: An Empirical Analysis Food for Healthier Living Food Satiety and Fat Storage Beliefs and Practices about Food and Health Health Consciousness and Selection of Food Products Food-Related Predicaments Food and Its Scientific Base Food and Bad Health Food and Diseases Lifestyle, Food Intake, and Diseases Food: Chemicals, Pesticides, and Disease

Food and Obesity Overeating and Obesity Food as Medicine

10

Organic and Genetically Modified Food in India What is Organic Farming? Principles of Organic Agriculture Benefits of Organic Farming Projects Encouraging Organic Farming in India Prospects for Organic Farming in India Organic Farming and Certification in India What is Organic Food? Organic Food Production Organic Food Consumption Size of the Organic Food Market Retailers Spur Organic Food Sales Labelling of Organic Food and Certification What is Genetically Modified (GM) Foods? GM Crops in India Labelling of GM Food Safety Issues of GM Food Critical Analysis of GM Foods

137 138 139 139 142 143 144 146

148 148 150 150 152 152 153 155 159 159 160 161 163 164 169 170 170 171 172 172 173 174 175 175 175 176 178 179 179 180 180 181

Contents

11

Food and Technology Food Technology at Production Level Food and Medical Biotechnology Food Processing and Technology Food Distribution and Technology Technology at Food Preservation Level Food Technology: Critical Appraisal

12

Food Safety and Food Labelling Defining Food Safety Food Safety: Emerging Challenges Types of Food Hazards Levels of Food Safety Food Safety in India Food Processing in India Regional Food Safety Issues in India Food Products’ Safety in India Challenges in Food Safety What is Food Labelling? Food and Its Labelling Concerns of Labelling in Food Selection Packaged Foods and Grades Food Labelling and Food Waste Food Brands Labels of Food Products

13

Food Protection Laws: International and National Scenario

International History of Food Laws Protection of Food in Ancient India: A Historical Perspective Protection of Food in Medieval Period Protection of Food in British Period Protection of Food in Independent India Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and Rules 1954 Indian Consumer Protection Act of 1986 Food Safety and Standards Act 2006

14

11

183 184 185 186 188 191 192

195 195 196 196 197 202 203 203 204 204 207 207 208 208 209 210 210

212 213 215 216 216 216 a 218 218

Right to Food and Food Security

220

Origin of Farming Right to Food and United Nations Recognition of the Right to Food Right to Food at International Level Right to Food and Beneficiaries

220 221 221 222 aie

12

| Contents

Defining Food Security Dimensions of Food Security Food Security in India Current Status of Food Security/Insecurity in India Agricultural Productivity Role of Women in Food Security Right to Food Campaign Various Scheme of Food Security

224 224 225 227 232 232 233 233

Food and Nutrition Policy: A Critical Analysis

237 237 238 238 239 242 245 245 246 246 247 248 250 250 251 252

e e e e ¢ e e e

15

¢ e e e e e e e e e e e ¢ e e

16

History of Food Management in India What is Food Policy? Food Policy in India Basic Goals of Food Policy Five-Year Plans and Food Policy Essential Constituents of PDS Management of PDS Restructuring of PDS Critique of PDS and Food Subsidies Instrument of Agriculture Price Policy Critical Evaluation of India’s Food Policy What is Nutrition Policy? Nutrition Policy of 1993 Trends in Nutritional Policy Critical Issues of Nutrition Policy

Food, Globalisation, and Media ¢ Food Production, Trading, Marketing, and Globalisation ¢ Food and Mobile Population ¢ Food and Transnational Corporations ¢ Food and Supermarkets ¢ Consumers of Food and Globalisation ¢ Food Industry, Corporate, and Globalisation e Nutrition Transition and Globalisation ¢ Rise of Agribusiness and Other Global Food Networks ¢ Food and Globalisation in India e Ethnic Food and Globalisation ¢ Food, Media, and Globalisation Index

255 256 257 257 258 258 259 260 261 262 262 264

271

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are both a pleasure and difficult to express. This book has taken a year to materialise; however, the idea germinated when | went for commonwealth scholarship way back in 2004. During my scholarship period, | accumulated a lot of ideas and motivation from a number of professors who made this book possible. It is difficult to quantify their help and it cannot be paid with mere thanks. But there are a few people who deserve special mention. No ethnographic work is possible without respondents in the domains one is researching. The writing of this book has benefited from conversation with sociologists, social anthropologists, and even my family members and friends who provided me ideas about the areas from where the threads are pulled out. Ken Roberts and David Bingham from University of Liverpool have given me important insights on global food pattern and in particular about United Kingdom’s consumption. Anke Niehof from Wageningen University and Anne Murcott from Amsterdam in The Netherlands have been valuable in altering my debate within the health nutrition to food nutrition. | am grateful for the tireless work of my children Gaurav, Archana, Rohit, and Radhika for getting books and other material from various sources for my vast reading on food and culture. I have benefited greatly from my intellectual husband Bhupendra Kumar Nagla, who is my life partner in the family as well as in the academic world. His relentless curiosity and gregarious humility have set an example that I can never live up to but that I will always aspire to and be grateful for. | am also thankful to my Jiji (mother), Sushila Devi, who was always concerned about my work and writing in the academic field.

Introduction

Food is essential not only to humans but also to animals and plants for their very survival. It is the foundation, along with air and water. It is both a basic need and a social need. Human body’s need for food shapes society through all activities related with food production, consumption, and distribution. Some notable sociologists have worked on food and eating from sociological point of view; however, in India, it is still a rare subject of sociological interest. If we start searching the Internet for articles using key words such as food, eating, diet, and cooking, we may find many; however, if you are looking for articles that discuss ‘food’ from sociological point of view, you will find only a few. At the risk of overstating the obvious, food drives our life, without which there is no ‘us’; thus, it is an indisputable and fundamental aspect ofour lives. Food is one of the most important aspects of our everyday life. This everydayness helps to understand the most intimate part ofour lives in relation to the activities we carry out in the society at large. Food refers to anything we consume that sustains and nourishes the body and keeps it healthy. It can be in any form, solid, semi-solid, or liquid. Food is one of the most important things affecting health and well-being of human beings. The main purpose of food consumption is survival of mankind. Social scientists such as Malinowski (1944) and Richards (1939) pointed out that the human body’s need for food has done much to shape society through all of its activities concerned with food production and distribution. However, man does not think of food in terms of energy and nutrients only. Leach (1970) suggested that animals just eat what they can and when they can; however, for the mankind, it is the society that decrees what is food and what is not and what kind of food

should be consumed and when.

16

| Introduction

The word ‘food’ brings to our mind countless images. Food is associated with religion and acts of worshipping the divine, celebration or mourning, family gatherings or community feasting. It is closely interwoven with every feature of our existence. This is not surprising because food plays a crucial role in our lives.

Sociological Relevance of Food and Eating We will now discuss how the sociology of food and eating is emerging as an important area of research in the field of sociology. There are many reasons behind this development. One reason may be the increasing awareness of nutritional issues, media’s, including television and Internet, portrayal of mass poverty worldwide is a nearly constant and ongoing activity that aims to remind us ofits cruelty and goad us to do something about it. This is especially the case within the industrial or developed societies where eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and obesity have become more acute and widespread and life-threatening. This has forced the medical research as well as the governments to pay more attention to these issues as they have serious implications for the very survival of the humankind. Another reason may be _ the professionalisation of nutrition and dietetics and the increasing concern with preventive medicine, which has involved sociologists teaching health-related courses to students undergoing training in these fields. But the new interest in sociology of food and eating also stems from the reassertion of ethnic food due to globalisation and intermingling of different cuisines. The changes in food intake include the most obvious problem - consumption of‘fast food’, which has been proven to be harmful to our health and is threatening the food security of communities. There is acute concern for food and nutrition security that emphasizes the need for dietary and nutritional quality. It has also been observed that there is drastic increase in energy contribution to the food by adding excess amounts

of sugar and salts, which

in turn leads to a variety of disorders,

including The examines pological semiotics

obesity and other lifestyle diseases. opening chapter on ‘Sociology of Food: Theoretical Orientations’ the interdisciplinary approaches to the topic, ranging from the anthroto the historical and postmodern approaches. It examines the of Barthes, the anthropology of Levi-Strauss, Elias’s historical

analysis, and Bourdieu’s work on the relationship between food, consumption,

and cultural identity. The theoretical perspective includes functionality, dialectics, structuralism, postmodernism, development, indology, and symbolism. These perspectives deal with the critiques also and present an alternate perspective to study sociology of food. The way science has developed has also revolutionised food consumption what we eat and how we eat it. Ideas about food and diet clearly have their roots in culture.

Food products are also becoming increasingly sophisticated, focusing more on the ready-to-eat foods that can be consumed on the go and work well for those living a fast-paced, career-oriented life. The consumption of basic food products (cereals, pulses, and starchy foods) is declining, while the consumption

Introduction

| 17

of other food products (sugar, fats, animal products, and, to some extent, fruit

and vegetables) is on the rise. The chapter entitled ‘Classification of Foods: Emerging Trends’ discusses extensively on the parameters of classification of food. In the contemporary times, we can see several factors influencing the food habits of the global mankind, such as a steady rise in the population of middle class, rising income levels, transvaluation of modes of public edibility, and marked changes, both positive and negative, in the culture of consumption. In recent years, food habits such as fast food, convenience food, and functional food have proliferated tremendously. The population in urban regions throng both at internal restaurant chains and brands such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Café Coffee Day and at famous Indian restaurant chains like Haldiram’s,

Bikanervala, and Udupi restaurants. This reflects the fluidity of commerce and commensality. History of food shows the developments and changes that have come about in cultural, economic, social, and environmental spheres of human life. The origins of the culinary aspects of food, including developing new recipes, can be traced back to the ancestry and geographical location of a population group. Both history and sociology look at food as one of the most important elements of culture and also reflect the social and economic structures ofthe society. Marvin Harris explored the relationship between food and ecology, trying to understand how food practices are related to material conditions oflife. In the chapter on ‘Food and Dietary Practices in India’, it is emphasised that what is considered as edible or inedible by a community is a powerful marker of their social identity. There are symbolic aspects of food served on different occasions. Food is ingested and assimilated by our cells to provide energy, maintain life, and stimulate growth. The sum total of food that one consumes is defined as the diet of that person. Naturally, it depends on several components such as dietary habits, availability of food, and capability of purchasing the desired food by an individual. Dietary habits are habitual decisions a person makes when choosing what foods to eat. Dietary choices can also define cultures and play a role in religion. In addition, the dietary choices of different countries or regions have different characteristics that arose from the influence of several factors, such as geographical location, age-old traditions and customs, and so on. The study field of sociology of food enables us to understand the connection between food and social identity. Food is also a marker of class and caste identification. For the sake of being included in a group, people will eat things that they actually hate and avoid perfectly tasty food that is on the list of forbidden foods. The process of social change also applies in terms of food-related practices. Practices of social change and continuity are meaningfully interpreted through an exploration of connection between food and community in the chapter on ‘Food Consumption Pattern: An Indian Basket’. Our diet reflects our identities. The food we eat is influenced by our lifestyles, habits,

upbringing, and our cultural and family heritage. In addition to reflecting our current selves, our diets shape our health and well-being. The purpose of this chapter is to understand different aspects of food consumption and distribution

18

| Introduction

and their influence over different communities, religion, and regions and geographic locations. The food we eat is not simply an expression of individual tastes and has a wider basis in social structure, cultures, and lifestyles. It is also related to class, age, gender, caste, and rural-urban nativity. Food consumption is a powerful

means by which individuals demonstrate their membership

in a privileged

group. Longer networks, faster flows, and intensifying relationships between here and there, both real and imagined, demand reformulation of locality, identity, and notions ofself. The provisioning, preparation, and consumption of food among people in India are based on notions of hierarchy, caste affiliation, class structure, gender constructs, rural-urban divide, regional identity, and so on. Food can be used variously as a signifier of cosmopolitanism, localism, traditionalism, or nationalism, in implicit or explicit negotiations with global hierarchies of value (Herzfeld, 2004). Drawing upon Indian cultural imagery and culinary history, we can conclude that Indian food has acquired not only a domestic and international brand identity but also serves as a marker of Indian cultural identity, clearly establishing the relationship between food choice and citizenship. Consumption pattern is also explored in the context of different parts of the Indian society. Foods are construed as masculine or feminine. Men and women have different relationships with food, with women showing greater concern with food that may cause an increase in body weight. Women perform most of the household work, including planning, provisioning, cooking, and serving of food. Men and children are the beneficiaries of women’s work, and, even though men are increasingly participating in household work, they often do so in a way that maintains traditional gender distinctions created and sustained since time immemorial. It is a social convention, rather than biology, where members of a given society determine what is edible and what is not. In every society, there are certain foods designated as suitable either for men or for women or should only be consumed on holidays or are strictly forbidden for children. The chapter on ‘Food and Women’ focuses on the role of women in production, processing, and provision of food and also food security. Pregnancy is an important event in the life of a woman; thus, the relevance of food to pregnancy is discussed. New economic opportunities and changing strategies of

survival and accumulation have created a general context for the transformation of food habits. As a rule, however, dietary innovation has to be effected within the household and, more concretely, has to be implemented by those primarily concerned with the preparation and serving of meals - women. In order to better understand the dynamics of changes in food consumption, it is imperative to pay attention to the division of labour and the role or status of women within the hierarchy of the family. There is a complex relationship between household members especially when it comes to food. At the household level, food is produced or acquired, purchased, and exchanged, and then consumed. The chapter on ‘Feeding the Family in India: An Approach to Household Food Consumption’ provides an

Introduction

empirical analysis in an attempt to understand

the processes

allocating,

at the household

storing,

cooking,

and

eating

of food

| 19

of growing, level.

It

discusses the transformation of food once it leaves the farm and comes into the household up until it is consumed. Culture has largely become a special concern in food studies. Cultural aspects are reflected in the habits of a group of people. In sociological and anthropological writings, food is seen in terms of culture and social structure. In Food and Cultural Studies, Bob Ashley, Joanne Hollows, Steve Jones, and Ben

Taylor have associated food with the idea ofcircuit of culture, developed first by Richard Johnson (1986-1987). Johnson argues that ‘the meaning or “life story” of food [as a] cultural phenomenon - a foodstuff, a diet, and table manners needs to be understood in relation to five major cultural processes: production,

regulation, representation, identity and consumption’ (Ashley, Hollows, Jones, & Taylor, 2004). People connect to their cultural or ethnic group identity through their food habits. Immigrants often use food as a means of retaining their cultural identity. People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods. The ingredients, methods of preparation, preservation techniques, and types of food eaten during different times of the day vary among cultures. The geographical location and ancestry also influence food habits and preferences. Such preferences result in the development of specific patterns in the food choices ofa cultural or ethnic group. The discourse in the chapter on ‘Food, Food Habits, and Culture’ focuses on the food preferences and taboos in relation to the structure of the society. Ethnographic studies provide insights into the relationship between food practices and food taboos and the cultural meanings and beliefs as well as social structures that were established because of the food habits, including preferences and taboos. The chapter on ‘Food, Health, and Nutrition: The Interface’ deals with serious risks such as malnutrition, under-nutrition, and health disorders arising out of change in eating habits. Findings about the marked rise in the consumption of pre-cooked or processed food or fast food show such eating habits have indeed become detrimental to our health and cause numerous health disorders, some very severe, such as obesity. The imbalance between the food consumed and energy derived from the food results either in starvation and development of disorders due to depletion of vitamins and minerals that occurs because of starvation or the increase in body fat that results in obesity and other diseases. Poor intake of various vitamins and minerals can lead to diseases that have far-reaching effects on health. Excessive intake of junk food can result in lifestyle diseases, and under-nutrition or hunger on the other hand can lead to morbidity or deaths. Food is essential to the health and growth of the body. Improper food can be harmful to our health and can cause many diseases. Therefore, foods that harm our health should be avoided. We should also be prudent about the amount of food we consume. All of these have implications for the whole humanity and, thus, also to food producers and distributors. Overconsumption

of unhealthy and less nutritious food is a reality of the contemporary society. The consequence is a pervasive state of lifestyle diseases. Lifestyle diseases

20

| Introduction

result from lack of physical work and unhealthy eating habits. The link between diet and health is an inescapable fact of life. Chapter on ‘Food, Health, and Diseases: An Empirical Analysis’ examines the relationship between dietary practices and health. The positive relationship is based on the idea that certain

food items or combinations of food items and dietary habits can produce beneficial health outcomes. In recent times, serious concerns have emerged about the impact ofgenetically modified food that have triggered tensions among the general public and bitter, acrimonious debate worldwide between common citizens and governments. Genetically Modified (GM) seeds enable commercial production ofgrains on an unseen scale that is well neigh impossible with regular methods of agriculture and, thus, has increased the production and access of food manifold for the masses. Such an abnormal growth made possible with the use of GM seeds does come with a price and has major adverse socioeconomic implications worldwide for the common people and more specifically its adverse effect on the arable land. Once you use GM seeds, you cannot use other, natural seeds. An increase in production cannot come at the cost of health. Therefore, people want to go back to nature and prefer organic seeds that do not have chemical ingredients or are altered artificially to yield bigger crop. The demand for organic food has increased tremendously. The preference for organic food can be explained by some of the major advantages that come with consuming organic food, including the fact that it does not create any adverse health effects, is natural, and more environment friendly. The chapter on ‘Organic and Genetically Modified Food in India’ looks at the emerging production and processing of both organic and genetically modified food. The purchasing of organic and local food may reflect a form of unique association between the consumer and the seller, with customers preferring some speciality restaurants with a unique brand image that promotes health foods consisting all-natural ingredients; this association is characteristic of not only the type of food consumed but also the amount of such food consumed. Genetically modified food is basically an alteration of genes in food. It primarily aims to provide food security. However, its adoption and acceptance have caused uncertainty and thus raging debate between different groups. The discourse focuses on organic and genetically modified food in terms of their effects on both the environment and human body, labelling and safety issues, and other ethical concerns associated with large-scale production of crops modified genetically, including their adverse effect on the economy and the ecological environment. The chapter on ‘Food and Technology’ talks ofscientific methods applied to selecting, preserving, processing, packaging, and distributing safe, flavourful, and nutritious food. The application of food science helps in manufacturing safe, wholesome, and nutritious food products. The study of food technology is to develop new methods and systems for keeping food products safe and make them resistant to bacteria and other such harmful microorganisms. The interdisciplinary field of food science draws from disciplines such as biology, chemistry,

Introduction

| 21

engineering, and biochemistry in an attempt to better understand food processes and provide better quality food products to the general public. Food scientists study the physical, microbiological, and chemical makeup of food. The

food we consume every day is the result of research. Along with research on the improvement of food, food technology is connected with the mass production of food products, which is discussed in the chapter on ‘Food and Technology’. The food industry is increasingly embracing technology, social media, and Internet-based mobile applications to reach potential customers to boost sales and generate more revenue. Technology in the food industry has transformed right from ordering for food, pick-up, and delivery. The growth in the food industry can be attributed to technological advancements, streamlined and controlled manufacturing processes, growth in population, and improved cold chain technology. The role of technology in food production, processing, preservation, and distribution is discussed here. Ensuring the quality and safety of food is a multidisciplinary subject and is looked at from various angles. There has been a growing concern regarding environmental contamination of food and excessive use of chemicals in food production and processing in the country in recent times. The use of food additives has grown unprecedented in the food industry. The chapter on ‘Food

Safety and Food Labelling’ highlights the need for discussing both safety and risks associated with eating specific foods in economic and social contexts. Quite clearly, a large number of people in the contemporary society are suffering from numerous health hazards by eating unhealthy foods because they do not have the time or means to consume properly cooked and healthy food. Thus, food safety parameters and food labelling are to be developed, revised, and implemented more vigorously. The omission of certain material facts from the label of a food item is misbranding. Adulteration is rampant in developing countries. The food regulatory environment’s recommendations and guidelines for record-keeping and labelling requirements to ensure and maintain food safety are becoming increasingly complicated worldwide. The chapter on ‘Food Safety and Food Labelling’ provides a comprehensive provision associated with information. The status of information through labelling policies in developing countries is also dealt with. It also addresses the issues of risk and food hazards. The practice of food adulteration and development of control services have drawn attention to the possibility of food control since the beginning of modern society. A review of past experiences and an understanding of the lessons learned from history will help to indicate how and why food laws have evolved, and how to best deal with emerging situations are discussed in the chapter on ‘Food Protection Laws: International and National Scenario’. The chapter outlines food laws at national and international levels. It provides an overview of legal trends and requirements, with an emphasis on issues that impact the trade. Food security means access for all people at all times to sufficient nutritious food that helps them live a healthy and active life. Access can be realised by producing, buying, or exchanging food. The principal holders ofthe right to food under the terms of Article 11 of the Constitution of India are individuals. The

22

| Introduction

right of individuals is formulated in terms of ‘the right of everyone’. The most important thing is to recognise the need to develop at the national level a set of relevant legal norms that reflect and seek to satisfy the state’s international legal obligation to promote the realisation ofthe right of everyone to adequate food. Another level at which one can identify a holder ofthe right to food is that of the state. Whether this is a collective right attached directly to people or to states or of individuals articulated through whether it is an aggregation of human rights the medium of the state is an important theoretical question, but it is of limited

practical relevance. Marginalised and poor people struggle for subsistence rights in the present era, which shows the need to better understand the role of the state in a globalised world. This is the main focus of the chapter on ‘Right to Food and Food Security’. Variations in power exercised by state institutions at the local and national levels have implications for the tactics that various public movements have been mobilised to force governing bodies to accede to their demands for new rules and amendments to existing rules and regulations concerning food production and security. The chapter on ‘Food and Nutrition Policy: A Critical Analysis’ reviews with a critical perspective on the history of food management and the developmental phases of food policy. The chapter addresses a wide range of policy and programme options typically designed and implemented by government agencies and other organisations to address the development challenges such as hunger and malnutrition faced by several households and communities. Such policy and programme options, for example, aim at increasing the availability of food, increasing the household entitlement, improving the efficiency of food distribution programmes, enhancing the market availability for selling and buying food commodities, and reducing the malnutrition of children through midday meals programmes functioning at the schools that are funded by the government and other welfare bodies. It talks about the extent to which people below poverty line and with less education express concerns about food distribution which is directly connected to the livelihood and basic requirement of the body. It also discusses challenges in food distribution to the masses and provides a critique on food and nutrition policy in the Indian context. Good production of food and food consumption and food choices are socio-economically and culturally determined. There is a continuous and complex change in the process of food distribution and social justice of a given economy. Globalisation has distinct impacts on production, consumption, and distribution of food. They are discussed in the chapter on ‘Food, Globalisation, and Media’. Green Revolution has been accompanied by improvement in food supply, both quantitatively and qualitatively; however, it has also led to nutritional deficiencies. Globalisation has also brought changes in the production, processing, distribution, and marketing of food. The chapter discusses the trend of relying on social media in the food world. It offers an account of major changes brought about by globalisation and the mammoth growth in the use of Internet and social networking, and also explores the polarities underlying the active use of social media as a tool to

Introduction

| 23

share views and galvanize public opinion to achieve specific ends. Social media also plays an important role by offering a platform for self-promotion and branding; for example, food bloggers and celebrity chefs use social media extensively to promote specific brands or outlets or restaurant chains and speciality cuisines developed by them or offered at restaurants whose brands they want to promote. How food has been mobilised as a commodity in global

production and trade systems and governed through global institutions and how the idea ofglobalisation has been nourished through food, particularly with the mobility of people, and ideas about cuisine and nutrition are also discussed here. Globalisation becomes more visible when the national boundaries get crystallsed and at the same time a new type of self-consciousness emerges. Cutting across the local and national boundaries, food has become a global phenomenon of taste and cuisine. Thus, food is a particularly productive site to interrogate a new iteration of something old because it links not only the global to the local but also connects the mind to the body and beyond.

References

Ashley, B., J. Hollows, S. Jones, and B. Taylor (2004), Food and Cultural Studies, London: Routledge.

Herzfeld, M. (2004), The Body Impolitic: Artisans and Artifice in the Global Hierarchy of Value, Chicago: University of Chicago. Johnson, R. (1986-87), ‘What Is Cultural Studies Anyway?’, Social Text, 16.

Leach, E. (1970), Claude Levi-Strauss, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Malinowski, B. (1944), A Scientific Theory of Culture and Other Essays, Chapel Hill, N. Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 159.

Richards, A.I. (1939), Land Labour and Diet in Northern University Press.

Rhodesia, London:

Oxford

4

4:

Pea

3 .

ie 24 a

1 Sociology of Food Theoretical Orientations

Asking what food means can bring forth answers that are in large measure either rhetorical or obvious. Like reproduction, eating unites all living things. The primary cry of a newborn human infant as it comes out of the womb soon becomes a cry of hunger. Also, some of us, at least, depart life still eating according to Doran, an Englishmen writing in the middle of the 19th century. ‘Our sires used to make one curious use of sugar, undoubtedly’, Doran tells us, ‘namely, when they put it into the mouth of the dying, so that the souls might pass away with less bitterness’. To eat, in other words, is to live. We, human beings, are touchy about food: deeply affected by its colours, smell, and the context of its consumption. We usually evince sturdy feelings of propriety about the cuisine we love. Food can also excite strong positive feelings. The taste, smell, colours, and textures of foods are enshrined among our earliest memories. Reawakened by association, they can take us back to our infancy: dependent, fragile, and busily soaking up emotional and bodily nourishment in the arms or on the laps of those who made us human by teaching us to like the foods our culture deemed proper human food. Within this maturational process lies much of what foods can mean and, hence, much of their mystery. People everywhere are certain not only that they know what is good for people to eat but also that the way that they are human is somehow connected to their food habits. Why else do members of one culture so often find the food habits of another odd or mildly unpleasant or downright disgusting? Yet, if we

know nothing about the culture, we have no way of knowing what food its folk will consider delicious or repulsive. Because we eat so many different things, prepared in so many different ways, we learn to be prepared for surprises, even unpleasant surprises, when it comes to foreign food practices.

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Eating habits, in other words, are not only acquired habits but also historically derived habits, uninscribed in our natures, except by early social learning.

Though people have some idea about what foods are good for them, in no culture

everything is eaten. What is more, no people eat only what is thought to be good for them. Food taboos operate, and then, wittingly or unwittingly, they are broken. On the contrary, we might argue that taboos are made to be broken - not all of them at once, and for many people, they are never broken. But if there were

no taboos, people would neither know what they ought not to eat, nor what to eat when they wanted to break a taboo. Theoretical Approaches

Until quite recently, few sociologists have given much attention to food and eating as topics of serious intellectual interest. Perhaps, the sheer biological necessity for human beings to take in nutrients at regular intervals and even the importance of meals and commensality in the social life of most human societies were so obvious that they were simply taken for granted. Sociologists have traditionally studied mainly their own societies - chiefly the ‘advanced industrial’ type, which have perhaps helped to depress their curiosity about what people eat, how they cook it and eat it, how they feel about it, and why. Another reason is the gender perspective that women’s lower status in the public spheres of the economy and polity prompted sociologists to investigate the unprestigious activities of household chores and cooking. Besides, hunger is not part of the general experience ofsocieties ofthis sort, especially not of the social strata to which most sociologists belonged. At any rate, anthropologists have, in the past, shown more curiosity about these questions, though sociologists have now begun to follow their lead. When work by anthropologists is included too, however, it is evident that theoretical phases in this field have followed those in anthropology and sociology more widely. Broadly speaking, functionalism; dialectical symbolism; indological, historical,

culturological,

and

social

relationship;

structuralism;

and,

more

recently, developmental and social welfarism perspectives have been prominent. Food in Sociological Classics

There are hardly any discussions on food and eating in the works of most of the classic sociologists. Diet in Marx’s writings refers to a political assembly. To be fair, Engels recorded a fair amount of detail about the abysmal quality of food of the working class in his The Condition of the Working Class in England (1969, originally in 1845). But that in it rather set the model for most later sociologists. Food and food habits, when mentioned at all, were generally recorded as indicators of something else closer to the focus of sociological interest - such as social inequality - rather than as things to be explained in their own right. Marx and Engel were very conscious of food as the most basic means of subsistence, control over which, as Prince Kropotkin more directly signalled in his The Conquest of Bread (1972, originally in 1892), is one of the greatest themes of human history.

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In Durkheim's work, food is mentioned mainly in the context of totemic interdictions and classifications of the sacred and profane, in relation to lineage systems (Durkheim 1915, originally in 1912; Durkheim and Mauss 1963, origi-

nally in 1903). Among the lesser deities in the sociological pantheon, the picture is only a little more promising. Herbert Spencer, like Durkheim, an intellectual ancestor of both present-day sociology and anthropology, also dwelt on the religious functions of foods. He made many references to offerings of food to the dead, speculating that such oblations represented the origins of Church revenues in later stages of social development, and mentioned the part played by fasting in producing abnormal states of excitement as preparation for divining. Besides this, in dwelling on the dominance ofthe warrior class through much of human history (in militant society), he stressed it was based on the

control of food supplies. He also mentioned the irritability that was caused by hunger when food supplies were limited and uncertain. He also wrote interestingly about food in relation to social inequality. Sumptuary laws regulating the uses of foods, he remarked, could be traced far back in social development and went along with ‘the subordination of the young to the old, and females to males’. Finally, he observed that among the more curious of the ‘various class-distinctions which imply superior rank by implying greater wealth’, corpulence - denoting freedom from labour - was a source of pride among Chinese mandarins and admired among women in Africa (Spencer 1898-90). Thorstein Veblen in his writing The Theory of the Leisure Class (1953) talks about food and drink as a means of conspicuous consumption. He drew attention to how ‘the custom of festive gatherings probably originated in motives of conviviality and religion’ but now also serve an invidious purpose; how ‘the consumption of choice articles of food... becomes taboo to women and children’ and members of the superior class.

Food and Dialectical Approach In a very characteristic essay on The Sociology of the Meal (1910), George Simmel also begins from the ceremonial uses of food in religion from ancient times and more generally stresses the social significance of commensality - both its prescription and proscription. To preserve real gains in focusses on cultural and social structure, Simmel employs a dialectical mode of thinking, based ona hierarchical motif of form and content. Although emphasising form, he shows how to break the bounds offood structuralism. He also shows how one can think of structures as both rigid constraints and yet fictions of our mind, as both dominant and emerging out of lower levels. Structuralist explanations can be made just by using one tool of gastronomic sociology that allows two-way interactions over time, especially among culture, society, and rest of the nature (Symons 1994: 341). Meal provides the satisfaction of bodily needs and the operation of cultural refinements. According to Simmel (1957a: 243), eating from a communal dish with the hand was more individualistic than eating froma single plate with knife and fork. ‘What I think, I can let others know; what | see, | can let them see; what I say, hundreds can hear but what the individual eats, no one can eat under any circumstances’. It means that meal in its physical

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substance cannot be shared is far from trivial axioms. It has enabled generations of ascetic philosophers to declare that eating is elfish and transitory, unlike the

pursuit of higher and more eternal varieties. Then, Simmel reverses his opening remark that ‘eating is shared’. First, the physical function is absolutely common to all individuals. We might eat our own food, and we all must eat. While this is at a level shared with animals, Simmel finds that eating is shared, secondly, in a social sense. Before people share society, they must share their lowest drives and interests, particularly thirst and hunger. The commonality among people is that all people eat and drink. In fact, he argues that the physiological sharing is the common basis upon which the social, and thus cultural, sharing is built, and this transformation occurs in the meal. The very universality of the basic needs inevitably brings people together more firmly and frequently than ‘higher spiritual motives’. The meal is a foundation, and that can be seen in the way the religious cults develop communal eating and drinking. Eating and drinking with an enemy transforms him or her into a friend (Simmel 1957a: 243-4). In the primitive society, physical possibility for anyone to share a meal lies within the

immense sociological significance of the meal (Simmel 1957a: 244). The meal’s very polarity lets the dialectician Simmel argue that the highest reaches of culture belong to the appetites or, as he puts it, the mere physical aspects of nourishment conditions infinitely higher levels (Simmel 1957a: 245). To confirm this, Simmel demonstrates that the basic act of sharing a meal necessitates structure. With whom, when, how, and what we eat forms patterns, which are to be examined sociologically. For instance, sharing a meal requires previously thoughtless individuals to agree on a regular mealtime. He postulates that primordial people eat anarchistically, when they feel hungry, but taking meals together enforces temporal regularity (Simmel 1957b: 25). Indeed, it can be argued that the human concept of time has a gastronomic basis (Symons 1994: 342). Sharing meals also has a rule which governs companions. A meal can be a means of both social inclusion and exclusion. Simmel cites various historical prohibitions concerning table companions (1957a: 244-5). People also have to wait for their turn and follow all the other rules of etiquette. Such formalisation occurs right up to the table conversation and, even beyond that, to the utmost aesthetic levels. In the cultural regulation, the meal is more refined higher up the

social scale. At the lower level, the meal centres on food as fuel and has minimal regulation. Simmel contrasts eating in a farmhouse or at a workers’ festival to the refinements of a cultured circle. There are strict regulations for the intricacies ofdining, and they have no external purpose. As an instance of refinement given by Simmel, eating with the hand is decidedly self-centred. Connecting the person directly with the material world, it expresses unmitigated greed. Having to eat with a knife and fork then becomes a classic case of social constraint. Modern individualism emerges at the table, with the appropriating plate as its material basis. The shared meal becomes the origin of individual choice. Notwithstanding this view, Simmel opposes the taking of individualism in case of selecting one’s own food items on the basis of individual taste from the menu chart. He contends that to maintain the tension between individuality and commonality, plates must be identical. A modern person may eat from their own

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plates, but they should not neglect the shared need to feed. ‘The individual look of a food would not be congruent with its purpose’ to be consumed for the shared reason of appetite (Simmel 1957b: 24). Naturalistic feeding develops with increasing politeness. In asking that a meal should both transcend gross naturalism and yet not become so ridiculously ultra-refined as to be too individualistic in the idealistic direction, Simmel argues for what we might call the ‘simplicity’ of the meal, for something of a ‘homely’ or ‘family’ atmosphere. Dining room furnishing needs to be calm, dark, and heavy. Thus, according to Simmel, through his dialectic form and content, higher things in life are achieved. One might relish the mystique generated by sharing a culture when sharing a meal. One might enjoy its elevated refinements, which permit individual expression. Simmel argues that one should not become so preoccupied with the culture of the meal that one forgets its lowly origins. He warns explicitly of the alienation inherent within the extraordinary paradox that the refinements of table culture are the dialectical negation of material individualism. There is a tremendous social power in the meal. ‘The aesthetic of the meal never forget what it is actually supposed to stylise: something situated in the nether regions of organic life’ (Simmel 1957: 24). Thus, we must accept that we can never really share food. Instead, we share this animalistic need, and we share the society and cultural forms that develop out of this need. We share only our dining table. Drawing on his usual Kantian distinction between form and content, Simmel emphasised on the consequences of the socialisation of the meal, the imposition of formal norms on the fluctuating needs of the individual, making possible an ‘aesthetic stylisation’ of the meal independent of its actual food content, and this aesthetic stylisation then reacts back on to individual needs. Simmel also gave some passing remarks about the development of table manners, which partly anticipate the later and much more detailed work of Norbert Elias, The Civilising Process (1978).

Food as a Commodity Under the capitalist mode of production, food is a commodity just like any other commodity. It does not matter what kind of food it is. If enough people want it and have the money to buy it, someone will turn it into a commodity and sell it. And, of course, even if people do not know they want it, companies will do their best through the wonders of advertising to try to convince them to buy it, in effect creating a market for a new (or even a slightly changed) food product. However, we are explaining some of Marx’s key concepts from Capital in order to explain why and how the capitalist food system works as it does. It satisfies the basic human need to eat. Food is at the core of nay society. Without food, capitalism or any other economic system would grind to a halt. Food is incorporated in our bodies; we cannot live without it because we will be very hungry without it. Food is clearly a special commodity with essential properties that make it unlike all others. Food is not commodity to be bought and sold. It goes to the heart of human livelihood and society. Food’s difference is important, though in capitalism, it is just another product that is bought and sold (Rosset

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2006). As a commodity, food - similar to shirts, automobiles, or smart phones is produced to be sold in a market. The production and sale of food commodities respond to market demand, which is different from its need. If you have enough money, you can buy as much food as you like. Those who need food but cannot afford it must produce it themselves, barter for it, steal it, or rely on charity or else they can go hungry, as do over 1 billion people around the world (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 58). Food is indispensable to human labour, and since human labour is a part of the value of all commodities, the value of food permeates the entire economic system. Just how is the value of food determined? And how does food’s value affect its price? Why is organic food more expensive than food from small sustainable family farms? How does food’s value affect our health and the environment? Partial answer to these questions can be found in the laws of food and supply. For example, when affluent consumers in India found that Jowar (a type of grain) and maize are good for health, they were willing to pay high prices for it. The poor people’s food quickly became too expensive for the poor, forcing them to look towards other food like wheat for nourishment. Another reason is economies of scale. Large farms, even though they frequently produce less per acre than small farms, have more market power for buying and selling than small farms, can leverage more capital, and usually benefit from more direct and indirect subsidies than small farms do. Industrial agriculture also does not pay the high energy cost. They also do not pay for any of the social and environmental harms caused by them through industrial pollution, green house gas emission, food contamination, antibioticpoverty, dispossession, and diseases, bacteria, diet-related resistant displacement. According to Holt-Gimenez (2017: 60), food can be considered as a particular part of a culture, the amount of energy used to produce it, access to land, the phenomenon of hunger amid plenty, and so on. But what is the most critical for the understanding that food is a capitalist food system is the fact that food is a commodity, valued not just as a substance but as a potential capital. Food has a use value (to feed people) and an exchange value (as a commodity). What value is common to all commodities? All commodities, including food, are the products of human labour. Even honey, made by the planet’s beleaguered bees, needs to be collected and processed by human labour. In one way or another, human labour - physical and mental - is common to all commodities and directly or indirectly embeds the value oflabour into everything we buy and sell. The value of labour within our food is not easily perceived. As David Harvey says, ‘When you go to the supermarket you can see the exchange values (prices) but you can’t see or measure the human labour embodied in the commodities directly. The embodiment of human labour has a phantom-like presence on the supermarket shelves. Think of the next time you are in a supermarket surrounded by these phantoms!’ (Rosset 2003).

Language, Symbol, and Food In line of succession

from Simmel and Veblen, David Riesman devoted some

brief but illuminating pages of The Lonely Crowd (1961, Original 1950: 142-5) to ‘changes in the symbolic meaning offood’ - pages which also anticipate the work

of Pierre Bourdieu. Herbert Blumer was right to point out how much may supervene between hunger and eating, but he makes it sound very coolly

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cerebral: his actor is already very self-controlled. One would hardly guess how compelling a force hunger can be. In avery different mode is Pitirim A. Sorokin’s Hunger as a Factor in Human Affairs (1975), written as a consequence of Sorokin’s direct experience in the

famines which were followed by the Russian Revolution. With the thoroughness characteristic of his later work, Sorokin carefully classifies the forms of starvation: deficiency or absolute starvation and non-deficiency or comparative starvation; the latter was further divided into individual-comparative and social-comparative forms, raising the problems of what was later to be called ‘relative deprivation’. Sorokin then explores among other things the effects on the hunger of temperament and its relation to techniques of food production, imports and exports, migration, war, criminality, riots, insurrections and revolutions, and the organisation ofthe state.

Food and Symbolism Food is not only a lens but something we pay particular attention to - its material and symbolic constitution. Food allows theoretical possibilities more fecund than almost any other material object precisely because of its ability to be at one moment inside and at another outside the body, and to be a-routine-and- a-ritual, and for its ubiquity-and-specialty (Bennett 2010). Food, when aligned with body and place, allows us to imagine both rootedness and routes of dispersal. This is a feature that R.S. Khare and M.S.A. Rao drew attention to long ago when they stated that food ‘mediates body and mind, work and thought, and individual person and society’ (Khare and Rao 1986: 6). Discourse about food is meta-discourse which reframes the symbolic and substantive meanings of food in the South Asian milieu. R.S. Khare’s argument

about food serving as a communicative function in South Asia is to strengthen the ties among the people. Functionalism: Food and Eating Most notable among functionalist anthropologists with a specific interest in food and eating was Bronislaw Malinowski’s student Audrey Richards (1932, 1937, 1939; Richards and Widdowson 1936). Richards set the production, preparation, and consumption of food in their psychological context. She intends to seek that now food is related to the life cycle, interpersonal relationships, and the structure of social groups. Food-seeing activities necessitated and fostered cooperation within the human group. The preparation and receiving of food played their part in the maintenance of social structures; thus, ‘the preparation of porridge... is the woman’s most usual way of expressing the correct kinship sentiment towards her male relatives’ (Richards 1939: 127). This mode of reasoning is subject to the standard objections - teleology, circularity, a temporality, and so on - levelled at functionalism in sociology and anthropology generally; on the other hand, with the rise of neo-functionalism in the 1980s, sociologists are now a little more aware of its strengths and weaknesses. A functionalist orientation also unconsciously underlies much collaboration between sociologists and nutritionists, a common form of research in

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recent decades in which current nutritional science is used to evaluate the results of questionnaire or interview surveys of why people eat particular

things; the resulting explanations often have a somewhat ad hoc character. For instance, Yudkin and McKenzie (1964: 15-19) contended that, on the whole, there is a direct relationship between palatability and good nutritional! value for example, protein-rich animal foods are in general tastier than starch-rich

vegetables foods. But he admitted that the activities of modern food manufacturers have now permitted a very significant degree of dissociation between palatability and nutritional values. Besides, the correlation is plausible only if the standards ofpalatability which prevail in the familiar world of Europe, North America, and similar countries are taken as a yardstick.

Structuralism: Aesthetic and Semiotics of Food and Eating The great virtue of the structuralist approach is that it clearly recognises that taste is culturally shaped and socially controlled. It thus avoids the ad hockery, biological reductionism, and implicit ethnocentrism found in sociological and anthropological writings. Its weakness, arguably, is that in avoiding any suspicion

of ethnocentrism;

it moves

so far to the role of extreme

cultural

relativism that it overlooks any possibility of explaining differing food habits particularly their origins - in terms of purpose, function, or utility. Structuralism has made itself felt in the sociology of food and eating via the influence of anthropologists like Claude Levi-Strauss and Mary Douglas and the semiologist Roland Barthes. In contrast to some utilitarian slant of the social nutritionists and the functionalist, the structuralists have always focussed more on the aesthetic aspects of food and eating: in Fischler’s phrase, ‘while the functionalists looked at food, the structuralists examined cuisine’ (1990: 17). Levi-Strauss

Structuralism since Levi-Strauss has concerned itself more with variability and much less with universality, ‘no doubt retreating from the notion of “human nature” which was suspect in its eyes’, and it was ‘thus that cultural relativism gained its ascendancy in the study of human eating’ (Fischler 1990: 17). Levi-Strauss structuralism has had less direct influence on the sociology of food and eating than that of Mary Douglas. Unlike him, Douglas does not expect to find any universal message, valid for all humankind, encoded in the language of food. Yet, at the same time, since research into small remote societies ‘suggests that each individual, by cultural training, enters a sensory world that is pre-segmented and prejudged for him’; she shares Levi-Strauss’s general hope that research into the cultural aspects of food habits will eventually enable us at least ‘to discover the principles and ranking of tastes and smells’ (1978: 59) - but the actual segmentation and ranking will differ from one society to another. Roland Barthes deserves mention as a structuralist because ofhis influence on the sociology of food and eating. Barthes, too, sought the code or grammar underlying people’s preferences in the foods they eat. His particular focus was on the semiotics of food advertising and cookery writing.

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Attention to the past in the shaping of the present is one quality which makes Pierre Bourdieu an interstitial figure between the structuralist theorists and the later developmentalist whom we shall discuss shortly. Bourdieu can be enlisted as a sociologist of food and eating largely on the basis of his book La Distinction (1979), subtitled A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. It deals not just with people’s choices of food but with several other aspects of behaviour (clothes, furniture, music, visual arts, cinema, and literature) which are apparently according to their own preferences, and yet, at the same time, what these preferences are will be highly predictable if we know a person’s social background.

The

link

with

social

stratification

is close,

and

lower-class

individuals are said to have ‘vulgar’ tastes, while upper-class ones are said to have ‘refined’ tastes. The struggle over ‘titles of cultural nobility’ has gone on for centuries, says Bourdieu, and in this respect, his explanation for the social genesis of tastes, emphasising the competitive struggle between groups in society for marks of social ‘distinction’, is more historically informed than the approaches of Levi-Strauss, Barthes, and Douglas. The work of Claude Fischler - who along with Christiane Gringnon and Claude Gringnon is the most prolific among the French sociologists of food and eating - shows the principal influence of structuralism, and yet, at the same time, Fischler also shares in the criticisms levelled at that tradition. Like Goody (1982: 29), he finds the attempt to define biological factors of the explanation of social patterns the least satisfactory part of the legacy of Durkheim (Fischler 1990), and for him, ‘nature/culture’ is a ‘false dilemma’ (1990: 48-59). Fischler is highly conscious of change and the necessity of explaining eating habits sociologically.

Cultural Construction of Food and Eating System How might we understand a person for whom food is so important? Prominent among anthropological works on food are those of Mary Douglas, who has consistently argued for greater attention to the social (as opposed to the nutritive and physiological) aspects of food and eating. Her theory of pollution suggests that pollution is a quality attributed to things that do not fit in the category system that is marginal and intestinal. Douglas defines the aesthetic as distinct from the nutritional aspects of food as ‘that part which is subject to pattern-making rules, like the rules of poetry, music or dance’, adding that ‘the explanation of any one such rule will only be found in its contribution to the pattern it helps to create’ (1974: 84). Mary Douglas has for many years been calling for the recognition of the social significance of food and eating (1966, 1982, 1984). She has focussed on categories relevant to food and eating systems. Food systems are like myth or ritual systems. Douglas says, codes wherein the patterns by which a culture ‘sees’ are embedded. Through an analysis of food and eating systems, one can gain information about how a culture understands some of the basic categories of its world. The first step in such an analysis is the discovery of the constituent units or categories of the eating system; the second step is the discovery of how this system of classification for foods relates to the wider system of social classification.

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Mary Douglas (1984: 3) said, ‘unlike livestock, humans make some choices that are not governed by physiological process. They choose what to eat, when and how often to eat, in what order, and with whom’. In any society, acceptable and preferred foods are largely cultural. Contemporary food preferences in India that vary from halwa puri to masala dosa etc. are based on the cultural values. Low-income people express their membership in the society and their adherence to its dominant values through many of the same food choices that characterise the rest of the population, and so they, too, desire and purchase foods with these characteristics (Fitchen 1988: 323). Social Relationships Approach

Within anthropology, another sociological perspective on food exists. Whereas Douglas focusses on how food and eating systems reflect distinctions of social category, the work of another group of anthropologists centres on how food is used to develop social relationships of exchange and alliance between the various individuals and larger social units of the system. Marcel Mauss's The Gift, first published in 1925, is important to this line of thought. The Gift is a reflection on economic systems organised not around the sale but around the principle of reciprocal gift giving. Mauss focusses on how reciprocal gift exchanges, often of food, bind members of a society together in relation with mutual participation and unity. Mauss stresses that the obligation to repay the original gift derives from the fact that each gift contains some of the self of the giver: ‘To give something is to a part ofoneself... In this system of ideas one gives away what is in reality a part of one’s nature and substance, while to receive something is to receive a part of someone’s spiritual essence’ (1967: 10). The Gift is permeated with an idea analogous to the idea that some of the ‘self is inherent in objects that a person gives away. Thus, to give a gift is to give some of oneself and to receive is to take in some ofthe self of another person. A gift economy, according to Mauss, is not only a system that promotes the circulation of material goods (as in a market economy) but also a system that promotes the circulation of ‘selves’ and thus creates a mystical economy of participation among individuals, organisms, and objects. Like capital, our food implies a social relation that embodies the labour, value, ownership, expertise, biology, and power relationships of the capitalist system. This logic of capital - rather than the logic of fairness, compassion, ecology, conservation, or health - governs our food. Attempts to change or transform the food system hinge on changing the social relation embedded in food. Because food is both a commodity and an existential necessity, our food system impacts all other aspects of our social and economic system, and because we all eat, the social relation of food is pivotal in terms of human well-being. The firms controlling our food system understand this perfectly, exploiting the public use value of food to extract exchange values for corporate profit. Substantive changes to the food system will affect the entire economic system (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 80). Indological Perspective

Charles Malamoud’s sharp textual analysis on Cooking the World: Ritual and Thought in Ancient India (1996) picks the Sanskritic phrase in Satapatha

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Brahmana, translating it as ‘Cooking the World’. Malamoud’s litany rites are not exhaustive because it excludes the ultimate offering of the uncooked soma that the Vedas go on about. Yet, in case of the soma, too, it is food and food for thought. So, it is not always cooking exactly, but at all times; it is the offering of

food that ties the world together across ritual cleavages (Ray and Srinivas 2012: 14). Paul Toomey’s Food from the Mouth of Krishna (1994) zeroes in on Govardhan as an exemplary Vaishnava pilgrimage place in northern India, at the intersection of folk and sectarian traditions, focussing on the ‘kinds of food events observed at temple and feasts; food classification systems and coded sequences followed by ritual specialists in cooking, offering and distributing food; and finally, meanings conveyed by menu changes and changes in quantities of food offerings in different groups’ (Toomey 1994: 4). Toomey ties ritual and everyday practice together, and thus, it is a domain of indological

approach. Francis Zimmermann’s The Jungle and the Aroma of Meats (1987) developed a theory of taste and knowledge by taking the example of Indus and Ganges. He suggested that a different body and body of imagination may be at work and traces the system of classification of the natural world.

Historical Approach K.T. Achaya’s book Indian Food: A Historical Companion (1998) discusses the relationship among discourse, diet, and domesticities. Bernard Cohn’s (1996) attention to the materiality of clothes, the body, and forms of knowledge since the mid-1950s, and his productive harnessing of methodologies in anthropology and history, provided the opening to consider diet, disease, and the body. Nupur Chaudhuri's ‘Shawls, Jewelry, Curry and Rice in Victorian Britain’ (1992) and Susan Zlotnick’s ‘Domesticating Imperialism’ (1996) provided a template ofthis direction of inquiry leading to food. A rich seam of research on domesticity and intimacy has subsequently been uncovered using new sources such as domestic manuals in vernaculars (especially in Bengali) and by revisiting old manuscripts in Persian and English (Banerjee 2004; Lal 2005; Sengupta 2010; Walsh 2004). Goody (1982) and Mennell (1985) were both less concerned with the traditional anthropological question of preference for and avoidance of particular foods than with the development of systems of cuisine as a whole. Elias (1982) traced changes in personality make-up and forms of cultural expression in Europe since the middle ages, relating them to broader processes of change in the structure of society, particularly the internal pacification of territory in the course of state formation. Mennell (1985) took over from Elias an understanding of how broad social, political, and economic changes shape the expression of emotion, manners, taste, and lifestyle, and he applies this in accounting for changing food preferences and emerging cuisines. In a highly simplified form, Mennell’s argument is that taste in eating, even

appetite itself (see Mennell 1986, 1987), is formed in the same way that Elias details the shaping of personality make-up more generally. The transition from the medieval oscillation between feasting and fasting, plenty and want, to an emphasis on discrimination at table parallels indeed is an aspect of the broader shift in the balance between external constraints and self-constraints. In early

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modern Europe, food supplies improved; but more than that, the extension of trade, the progressive division oflabour, and the process of state formation and internal pacification improved the security of food supplies. This theoretical perspective, thus, gives historical context to the very extensive body of research on eating. Developmentalism Approach

Anne Murcott (1988) had grouped together the books of Harris (1986), Goody (1982), Mennell (1985), and Mintz (1985) as representing a ‘materialist’ response to structuralism. They share dissatisfaction with the structuralist legacy, but there is considerable common ground between the structuralists and developmentalists. The latter do not at all deny the power of the symbolic meanings of food in shaping and controlling social behaviour. Nor they would fail to acknowledge that, even if he dressed it in a metaphysical graph garb, Levi-Strauss was making an important connection when he reached the activity to ‘nature’ and ‘culture’. This connection has been set in the developmental context by Goudsblom (1992, cf. Perles 1979), drawing on recent discussions on the origins of human species. Probably, the first cooked foods consumed by Hominids were seeds and meat accidentally roasted and found in naturally occurring wildfires. But it would be a ‘short-step’ (Brewer 1978) from there for hominids to gather seeds or hunt small animals and cook them in these natural ovens. And subsequently, at least by the time of Homo erectus, the active use of fire for cooking was mastered. From these earliest origins onwards, however, ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ stood not in static contrast but in dynamic interaction with each other. Cooking opened up new resources, broadening the range of edible vegetable manner, in particular, available for human consumption. On the other hand, the regular consumption of a wide range of cooked food most probably influenced the biology of the human digestive system in the long run (Stahl 1984), and so, that cannot be assumed to be a ‘natural’ constant. Besides having these nutritional effects, cooking also - Goudsblom argues - affected social organisation and mentality. Thus, cooking may well have played a significant part in the development of human capacities and social dispositions - though the developmental perspective puts this in a very different light from Levi-Strauss’s more one-sided mentalistic approach. Marvin Harris’s Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture (1986) is determinedly anti-structuralist. The very title is an allusion to Levi-Strauss’ famous dictum that some foods are ‘good to think’. Harris contended that ‘whether they are good or bad to think depends on whether they are good or bad to “eat” (1986: 15). It has long been known that no human group eats everything of potential nutritional value available to it. They all have patterns of preference and aversion, but how are these to be explained? The geographer Simons (1961) surveyed the food avoidances of the Old World and showed that none of the common sense explanations - such as that people do not eat animals they domesticate as pets hold water. Anthropological orthodoxy is that the connection between food objects

and

their

meanings

is arbitrary,

and

therefore,

no

instrumentalist

Sociology ofFood

| 37

explanation of food avoidances can be valid. This is the view that Harris sets out to

challenge. He sets out to calculate the practical costs and benefits which, in a broad ecological context, underlie some of the most perplexing food preferences and avoidances, though he admits this is no easy matter. He says that ‘Each puzzling food item has to be seen as part of a whole system of food production, a distinction must be made between long- and short-term consequences, and one must not forget that food is often a source of wealth and power for the few as well as of nourishment for the many’ (Harris 1986: 17). One of the puzzles tackled by Harris is that of the sacred cow in India. While not doubting its symbolic power, Harris questions how the ban on its slaughter arose. He points out that in the Rig Veda, the sacred text of early Hinduism, the slaughter and sacrifice of cattle were central activities. Harris argues that with the rapidly rising population — itself made possible by the spread ofagriculture using the ox-drawn plough - this could no longer be sustained. Beef-eating became increasingly the privilege of the Brahman priestly and Kshatriya warrior castes, while peasants and trades people increasingly ate grain, legumes, and dairy products. Long before modern nutritional knowledge, people must have been aware of the inefficiency of meat production compared with grain production as a means of generating nourishment for humans: if grain is consumed by cattle, 9 out of 10 calories in the grain and 4 out of 5 grams of protein are lost for human consumption. In the face of this, there arose popular religious movements like Buddhism and Jainism totally opposed to killing. In the ensuing conflict of religions, Hinduism eventually triumphed - Buddhism disappeared from the subcontinent by the 8th century AD - but not before the Buddhist and Jain opposition to meat-eating had been adopted by the high castes. The nutritionally more efficient use of dairy produce survived in all castes, as did the essential use of the ox by the peasant. Harris's explanation is thus implicitly developmental and even in a sense evolutionary. Solutions that ‘fit’ a particular ecological context are hit upon, usually less by rational deliberation than through unplanned social conflict. The mechanisms generating a range of possible solutions may be in part random (though processes of social development often resemble Lamarckain more than purely Darwinian evolution), but the mechanisms through which one solution emerges is not random, involving, as it does, selection for an ecological context. Ecological context, however, must be understood to include the prevailing repugnance. The symbolism may seem arbitrary now, but was not so in its origins. Underlying Sidney Mintz’s Sweetness and Power (1985), a study of the supply of and demands for sugar is yet another theoretical orientation of world systems theory, but the outcome has much in common with Harris, Goody, and Mennell’s work. Mintz, too, is critical of structuralism, arguing that meaning is not simply to be ‘read’ or ‘deciphered’, but arises from cultural applications. Meaning is the consequence of activity, and ‘not to ask how meaning is put into behaviour... is to ignore history again’ (1985: 14). He traces the development of European sugarcane plantations in the West Indies and elsewhere from the early 16th century - involving indentured labour slaves and the rise of factory-like time discipline in the colonies possibly before it arose in the home economies - and the

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| Sociology of Food

creation of amass market for sugar, especially in Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. ‘Sugar surrendered its place as a luxury and rarity and became the first mass-produced exotic necessity of a proletarian working-class’. The consumption of sugar per capita in Britain increased 25 times between 1700 and 1809 and five times more in the 19th century. For all beyond reasonable doubt,

this huge increase can only be explained in terms of the interaction through time of economic interests, political power, nutritional needs, and cultural meanings. Interestingly, in view of the prominence of social competition and emulation in the work of Mennell and Goody, Mintz argues that the adoption of sugar and sweet manufactured foods by the working class in the 19th century had little to do with imitation, but a more convenient and provided energy.

Social Welfare Approach Research by sociologists into food and eating has been predominantly empiricist, usually motivated by a concern for social welfare and the unequal distribution of nutrition. This concern with food and poverty has more recently been transported on to the global level and given new impetus through the book Poverty and Famines by the economist Amartya Sen (1981). Sen contended that famines are not the result of a simple shortage of food available per head of population. Even during famines, food is available - entitlement through employment and earnings - through social security or through ownership. In other words, people go short of food because of the economic, social, and political relationships in which they are bound up.

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The Principles of Sociology, Vol. 2 (Parts 5), New York: D.

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in Victorian

Z Classification of Foods Emerging Trends

The growth of fast food and convenience food in developing countries like India is significant as it is directly linked with a significant share of additional income which is spent on food due to higher income elasticity. There is also a substitution of staple food with animal protein and processed foods. Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism. Food is a nourishing substance which is eaten to sustain life, provide energy, and promote growth. It helps the body to work, grow, and repair itself. There can be several ways to classify food. One may classify it according to the processing form, cooking method, its quality, convenience, etc. In the present chapter, we are concerned about the emerging trends of food contemporarily. What is Fast Food?

The concept of fast food popped up during the 1920s. The 1950s first witnessed its rapid proliferation. Several factors that contributed to its explosive growth in the 1950s were:

1. 2. 3. 4.

America and rapid growth of automobiles The construction of a major new highway system The development of sub-urban communities The baby boom subsequent to World War II.

The term ‘fast food’ means just that. However, the boundary between fast foods and traditional dishes is fluid. In particular, it is difficult to provide a qualitative distinction because fast foods can also include salads and fruit in addition to classic offerings such as hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, patties, French fries, and fish and chips. Those who eat fast foods do not want to spend a lot of time selecting and eating and, if necessary, will eat standing or walking, in the bus or train, on the park bench, or at work.

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| Classification of Foods

Fast food is one of the world’s fastest growing food types. It now accounts

for roughly half of all restaurants’ revenues in the developed countries and continues to expand there and in many other industrial countries in the coming years. But some of the most rapid growth is occurring in the developing world, where it is radically changing the way people eat. People buy fast food because it is cheap, easy to prepare, and heavily promoted. Fast food is kind of addictive; in spite of knowing that it is unhealthy, most

of the people get hooked on to it and continue to consume it in an uncontrolled way. Fast food tastes good, but it is not nutritionally balanced and, therefore, unhealthy in the long run if consumed on a regular basis. It might lead to various disorders which may be fatal at times. Fast food is deficient in dietary fibre and essential micronutrients like vitamins and minerals which are required for the body to stay healthy. The variety of foods and beverages is usually very limited. Fast food does not require to be eaten with forks and knives. It is eaten in disposable plates or cups. Jennifer Parker Talwar (2002) described fast food restaurant as a venue in which immigrants adapt to American culture, simultaneously shaping the local operations of what are often global corporations.

Emerging Trends of Fast Food The growing segment comprises formats like fast food chains, cafes, and fine dining restaurants. Pizzas and burgers have now developed as a part of the nation’s eating habits. Their share is continuously growing with the Key global brands such as Domino’s, McDonald’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) making their marks quickly. Transnational food companies like KFC and McDonald’s are all considered as the drivers of fast food and processed-food markets. The Western style has influenced and become a part of developing countries like India. Not only are these outlets promoting fast food but they are also creating processed-food versions which are inspired from the traditional food. Due to globalisation in food patterns, traditional food in the developing countries is getting transformed. More varieties of dishes are available in this category of fast food calorie-rich pattern which has developed in developing countries. These foods are popular as they are very cheap, and this is due to the advancement achieved in food processing technology (Harvey 2005). Liberalisation of the Indian economy in the early 1990s and the subsequent entry of new players set a significant change in lifestyles and food tastes of Indians. Fast food is one which gained acceptance of Indian palate after the multinational fast food players adapted the basic Indian food requirements, namely vegetarian meals and selected non-vegetarian options excluding beef and pork totally from their menu. Today fast food industry is getting adapted to Indian food requirements and is growing in India. It is gaining acceptance primarily among youths and younger generations and is becoming a part of their life. Young consumers are spending a considerable amount of their income on eating outside due to convenience as it saves their time (Prabhavathi et al. 2014).

Classification of Foods

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India is a developing country with 2 per cent of organised and 98 per cent of unorganised sectors. Most of the fast foods came from outside in India and subsequently it is resulting in high growth rate of food like Dominos, McDonald, Pizza Hut, Barista, Coffee Day, etc. Trending towards industrialisation, charac-

teristics of modern societies are favoured by proliferation of fast food facilities. The time needed for food preparation is drastically reduced with the availability of a variety of food in every corner of the street. Suppliers of food, dishes, and complete meals are found in every street. Not only household and individual consumers but also industrial, school, railways, and sports-centre canteens as well as hospitals and other institutions of care are nowadays largely dependent on the market food industry. It has been noticed that traditionally, the Indian consumers have been eating at roadside eateries and stalls, which still occupy a major share of the unorganised sector, where fast food has been traditionally used. However, with

changes in the economy ofthe country and forces of globalisation, the non-home food market has changed (Deivanai 2013; Malhotra 2010). The market is dominated by global players, especially in the organised fast food segment. The

growing trend of consumption of multi-cuisine and increasing brand awareness have led to the increase of global players. Organised modern structures like malls and supermarkets have also become a favourite destination for the outlets. Larger companies are tying up with small franchisers and mall owners to promote their brand. Youngsters visit fast food outlets just for the sake of fun and some change from daily routine. It was found that lifestyle changes and taste buds are backed by the urban culture and have a strong impact on the kind of food demanded and the utilisation patterns by the people. Young consumers of fast food visit fast food outlets one to two times in a week or in a month. It is not a regular behaviour of their eating habits. Goyal and Singh (2007) found that food taste and quality have the highest importance in the minds of fast food consumers

while selecting a fast food outlet for outings followed by ambience and hygiene, service speed, price, varieties, and location of outlet. Majority of the consumers believe that fast foods have inadequate nutritional values, and young consumers are very particular about the nutritional value and hygiene factor of fast food outlets. The most interesting part of the finding is about the preference of fast food vs home-cooked food. Eighty-one per cent of the consumers prefer home-cooked food in comparison to fast food outlets. The major reasons cited by the consumers are home-made food is more nutritious, delicious, tasty, fresh, clean, and healthy for the body. Fast food outlets may be harmful. Siddiqui and Anusha (2012) in their study on ‘Deleterious effects of Food Habits in Present Era’ found that consumption offast food among people seems to have an adverse effect on dietary quality in ways that could increase the risk of obesity, heart diseases, high blood pressure, hypertension, malnutrition, etc. Consuming junk food or fast food on a regular basis leads to many health hazards. Excess sodium intake from highly salted foods can cause disease over time as well. The negative impact on the metabolism can be exacerbated by deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. These may be lacking in fast food meals

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| Classification of Foods

due to their greater amount of injurious nutrients. A high intake ofjunk food can lead to obesity and also a number of diseases, including heart disease, the leading cause of death in America according to the Centre for Disease Control

and Prevention. Tiwari and Verma (2008) in their research paper on ‘Consumer Perception about Fast Food in India: An Empirical Study of Dehradun City’ pointed out that fast food is one of the world’s fastest growing food types. It now accounts for roughly half of the restaurant revenues in the developed countries where it continues to expand. However, some of the most rapid growth is occurring in the developing world, where it is radically changing the way people eat. People buy fast food because it is cheap, easy to prepare, and heavily promoted. People prefer to visit the fast food joints once in a week because of easy access, reasonable prices, fascination of eating out, changing lifestyle, taste and cultural impact, and home-delivery system (Kashyap et al. 2013). Young consumers are looking for foods which are homemade and nutritious and have more vegetables to suit their healthy lifestyle. However, they do not get the same

and, therefore,

opt for fast food. Taste, convenience,

and

substitute for home food were found to be major reasons for consuming fast food by young consumers. Young consumers are spending a considerable amount of their income for eating outside due to convenient lifestyle as it saves their time (Prabhavathi et al. 2014). We can divide fast food into three categories: 1.

Self-service restaurants with a fast food palette like McDonald’s, Barista, Domino’s, and Pizza Hut 2. Take-out (or take-away that sell ready-to-eat [RTE] foods and beverages) 3. | Hot dog stands and snack stands with counters or a pair of stand-up tables Self-service Restaurants with a Fast Food Palette McDonald's

McDonald's is the leading global retailer with more than 31,000 local restaurants serving more than 58 million people in 118 countries each day. More than 75 per cent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women. McDonald’s predominantly sells hamburgers, various types of chicken sandwiches and products, french fries, soft drinks, breakfast items, and desserts. In most markets, McDonald’s offers salads and vegetarian wraps and other localised food. This characteristic oflocal deviation from the standard menu is the reason for which the chain is particularly known. They abide by regional food taboos (such as the religious prohibition of beef consumption in India) or to make available foods with which the regional market is more familiar. McDonald's has for decades maintained an extensive advertising campaign. In addition to the usual media (television, radio, and newspaper), the company makes significant use of billboards and signage and sponsors sporting events ranging from Little League to the Olympic Games, and makes coolers of orange drink with their logo available for local events ofall kinds.

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Barista

Barista coffee was established in 1999 with the aim ofidentifying growth opportunities in the coffee business. Increasing disposable incomes and global trends in coffee indicate immense growth potential in one particular segment. Barista is a chain of espresso bars in India. Headquartered in Delhi, Barista currently has espresso bars across India, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East. It was founded in 1997 by Amit Judge and was part of his group of companies. Barista Lavazza serves the finest Arabica coffees and cuisine at great value prices. Domino's

Domino’s has launched its peppy paneer pizza keeping in mind the Indian taste buds. This segment is witnessing high growth of around 25-30 per cent per annum, and so, the market has a lot of potential to grow.

Take-out (or Take-aways That Sell RTE Foods and Beverages) There is an Reasons are population, constraints. mobile apps.

elevation of demand for take-away and home-delivery services. explained as urbanisation, growth of working women, younger and higher disposable incomes combined with increased time Powerful market trends are made-for-delivery internet sites and

Hot Dog Stands and Snack Stands with Counters or a Pair of Stand-up Tables Just one table or stand with no sitting arrangement is also popular in the fast food segment. People pay at the counter and pack up their fund from the counter which saves the space of food joints. Fast Food Industries and their Challenges Environment-Friendly Products Cost High Governmentis legislating laws in order to keep a check on the fast food industry, and it is emphasising more on the usage of biodegradable and environment-friendly products. But associated with this issue is the problem that fast food players face the cost associated with the environment-friendly products. They cost much higher than the normal products that companies use for packaging or wrapping their products.

Balance between Societal Expectation and Companies’ Economic Objectives To balance society's expectation and maintain the economic profit, the food providers comes out with new ideas. Thus, one can see that one side pushes for higher standards, and the other side tries to beat the standard back, thereby making it an arm wrestling and mind boggling exercise. Health-related Issues

Fast food contains more calories; therefore, it leads to health issues like obesity.

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| Classification ofFoods

Implications of Fast Food Industries

Recently, there has been an increase in the sale and consumption offast foods on the roadside. The growing pressure of population, increase in the number of working women, the breakdown of the joint family system, and increase in the cost of living force people to depend on such RTE foods. These foods have

economic, social, and nutritional implications. Social and Cultural Implications of Indians Switching to Western Breakfast Food

Generally, Hindus avoid all foods that are believed to inhibit physical and spiritual development. Eating meat is not explicitly prohibited, but many Hindus are vegetarian because they adhere to the concept of ahimsa. Those seeking spiritual unity may avoid garlic and onions. The concept of purity influences Hindu food practices. Products from cows (e.g. milk, yoghurt, and ghee or clarified butter) are considered pure. Pure foods can improve the purity of impure foods when they are prepared together. Some foods, such as beef or alcohol, are innately polluted and can never be made pure. But now, Indians are switching to fast food that contains all those things that are considered impure or against their beliefs. Emphasis on the Usage of Biodegradable Products

Glasses, silverware, plates, and cloth napkins are never Instead, paper plates and napkins, plastic cups and carton bottles are used, and these are all disposable. tossed in the garbage bin instead of being recycled thrown on the ground.

provided with fast food. tableware, and draining Many of these items are or, even worse, merely

Retrenchment of Employees

Most of the new industries are e-capital intensive and, in near future, may drive local competitors, which have more workers, out of business.

Profit Repatriation Repatriation of profits is another area of concern for Indian economy. As and when multinational companies enter in any country, people and government hope that it will increase the employment rate and result in economic growth. What is Convenience Food?

The single most important development in the evolution of convenience can be traced back to the 18th century, when Nicolas Appert invented the process of canning. With the introduction of canning, consumers have a variety of foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and soups all year round and at reasonable prices. Canned foods played a significant role in feeding the army of Napoleonic wars, World Wars | and II, and Gulf war in 1991. Convenience foods are tertiary processed foods which are designed to save consumers’ time in the kitchen, reduce costs due to spoilage, and reduce costs using economies of scale. Convenience foods are those foods that go for major

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processing by the manufacturer such that they require little or no secondary processing and cooking before consumption. This means that apart from

warming, thawing, cooking, frying, diluting, and reconstitution, the foodstuffs are RTE. They are developing specifically to preserve the over-supply ofagricultural products available at the time of harvest in order to stabilise the food markets in developed countries. Convenience food choice of the day can be designed to suit all segments of the population including army, airways, railways, and even patients with suitable supplements for their health. The demand for convenience foods is growing at a faster pace due to changes in social and economic pattern, as well as globalisation and urbanisation.

Classification of Convenience Foods A food may be classified as convenience food if it meets the following criteria: 1.

2. 3.

The food must have undergone considerable amount of food preparation by the manufacturer before it reaches the retailer. It must require minimal time for cooking or processing of food items. Prepared items should contain nutritional quality.

There are three major categories of convenience foods: Ready-to-Eat Increased women workforce participation has the dual impact of increasing income which can be splurged on consumption, and, on the other hand, due to time and leisure becoming a more valued good, RTE food is gaining importance. The RTE market in India is expanding at an unprecedented rate. RTE foods are those which can be directly consumed from the packages with or without warming/thawing and without preparation. RTE are complete meals and require minimum processing. Even if they require processing, it is minimal. Many times, they require reheating to the desired temperature or addition of water. Few of them include dairy snacks, dairy sweets, biscuits, breads, snacks, and frozen foods. The toxic effects of refined flour are well-known. Baked cookies are prepared using a high amount of edible vegetable oil from which nutrients have been stripped, which have a load on the liver. Invert syrup, which is a mix of glucose and fructose, creates a sense ofbeing full, and this also makes a person crave for more sugar. So, while most products scream no sugar, they mean white sugar, they still add glucose, fructose, or, for diabetics, chemical sweeteners, which actually have long-term effects. Milk solids have also been

linked to schizophrenia, autism, depression, and multiple sclerosis. A physician and cardiometabolic specialist at Tardeo’s Bhatia Hospital, Dr Hemant Thacker, says that RTE meals are full of dehydrated vegetables which are nutrient-empty. They are only fibre and calories. Worse, the process of reheating the vegetable kills whatever micronutrients are left in the food. Ready-to-Use

Ready-to-use foods are those foods which need some preparations like cooking, frying, reconstitution, and dilution before consumption. These foods include spices; fresh cut vegetables which are sorted, washed, and cut into slices, cubes,

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| Classification ofFoods

shreds, and modified and atmospherically packed; ready to cook; ready to reconstitute; and breakfast cereals which need some preparations like addition of milk and fruits if desired before consumption. Ready to Drink/Serve

Ready-to-drink foods are those foods which can be directly consumed from the container. They basically have fruit juices, soups, and milk drinks. Ready-toserve

foods need some

preparation

like dilution and reconstitution

before

consumption. Growth of Convenience and Fast Foods in India

There are several factors which are responsible for accelerating consumption of convenience foods. They are discussed below:

the

Increasing Quality Consciousness Indian customers are more demanding, and they are increasingly conscious and also seek maximum value for the money they spend.

quality

Brand-Conscious Consumers

Indian consumers are brand-conscious. The branded packaged snacks have grown very rapidly. It is because the urban lifestyle is changing rapidly. In the cosmopolitan lifestyle, snacks are easily portable and hygienic and have become a ready substitute for home-made food items. Health Consciousness

An increased preference for healthier product alternatives appears to be stemming from a greater health consciousness and is further heightened by rapidly evolving work and lifestyle habits that have increased the consumption of product categories like non-carbonated soft drinks and breakfast cereals. Impulse foods with superior packaging technology satisfy the consumer's need for hygiene and cleanliness.

Need for Convenience Another important lifestyle-related aspect that gives a boost to convenience food is the carrying, cooking, and eating convenience. Portability and singleserve packing are on the rise to meet consumers’ need to ‘eat-where-your-are’. The fast lifestyle of consumers due to an increase in the ratio of working couples, longer working hours, and rising number of nuclear families leave very little time for cooking. Cooking of traditional foods is time-consuming. Modern food retail outlets are offering a wide variety of food products in one place at a reasonable price. This offers the customers a wide variety to choose form and at a convenient packing size. What is Functional Food?

There is now increasing scientific evidence to support the hypothesis that some foods and food components have beneficial physiological and psychological

Classification ofFoods

| 49

effects over and above the provision ofbasic nutrients. Today, nutrition science has moved on from the classical concepts of avoiding nutrient deficiencies and basic nutritional adequacy to the concept of‘positive’ or ‘optimal’ nutrition. The research

focus has shifted more

to the identification

of biologically active

components in foods that have the potential to optimise mental well-being and which may also reduce the risk of disease. Many traditional food products including fruits, vegetables, soya, whole grains, and milk have been found to contain components with potential health benefits. In addition to these foods, new. foods are being developed to enhance or incorporate these beneficial components for their health benefits or desirable physiological effects. The concept of functional foods was born in Japan in 1984. Health authorities in Japan recognised that an improved quality of life must accompany increasing life expectancy for the expanding number of elderly people in the

population if healthcare costs are to be controlled. The concept of food was developed specifically to promote health or reduce the risk of disease. In Japan, ‘functional food’ has been given a formal legislative food category recognition called Food For Specific Health Uses (FOSHU). In order to qualify, food must satisfy three nutritional requirements: (1) effectiveness in clinical studies, (2) safety in clinical and non-clinical studies, and (3) determination of active/ effective components (Lee and Foo 2014). Moreover, in order to obtain a FOSHU designation, manufacturers must provide scientific evidence, nutritional link, the suggested dose of the functional food, safety of the food, and description of the food’s physical/chemical qualities, experimental methods, and composition (Heller et al. 2001). In Europe, ‘food products can only be considered functional if together with the basic nutritional impact it has beneficial effects on one or more functions of the human organism thus either improving the general and physical conditions or/and decreasing the risk of evolution of diseases’ (Diplock et al. 1999; Siro et al. 2008). Unlike Japan, however, the European Union does not have a formal legislative definition for ‘functional foods’. Food developers in the European Union are permitted to make two types ofclaims: nutritional and health claims. ‘Nutritional claims’ refer to a food’s basic nutrient content and ability to provide energy. ‘Health claims’ refer to a food’s ability to prevent, manage, or treat illness. As a part of the European Union’s initiative to regulate food ‘labelling, presentation, and advertising’, the requirements for health claims are very strict. As a result, they prevent many food developers from printing health claims on their proposed functional foods. While the US Food and Drug Administration recognises dietary supplements and medical foods, the United States Department of Agriculture does not have a formal definition for ‘functional Food’. However, they provide guidelines for assessing health claims in the form of evidence-based review system. Functional foods have been developing for over 30 years and are quickly becoming staples in international markets (Siro et al. 2008). Along with the functional food, other terms have also emerged in food, namely ‘nutraceuticals’,

‘designer foods’, ‘farmafoods’, ‘medifoods’, ‘vitafoods’, ‘dietary supplements’, and ‘fortified foods’. Functional Food Centre (FFC) in 2014 in the 17th

50

| Classification of Foods

International Conference in Santa Barbara, California defined functional food as ; follows:

Natural or processed foods that contains known or unknown biologically-active compounds, which is defined effective non-toxics amounts, provide a clinically proven and documented health benefits for the prevention, management, or treatment ofchronic disease.

In the current definition, their pure unchanged or changed form can be functional. A natural unchanged food has not undergone human interference. A changed food has undergone some chemical modification, whether it is the addition, removal, alteration, or increased bioavailability of a chemical compound in the food (Roberfroid 2000). For example, a natural food may be a pure orange or avocado, while a processed food may be folate-fortified cereal or milk infused with vitamin C. As for the meaning offood, scientists and governing bodies disagree. Japan includes pills and capsules under functional foods, while the European Union does not. The FFC defines food as components of a normal diet for optimised nutrition. This includes conventional foods and not pills or capsules. The active components of functional foods may be ‘an essential macronutrient, if it has specific physiological effects, or an essential micronutrient, if its intake is over and above the daily recommendations’ (Dhiman et al. 2014). A micronutrient (e.g. vitamins or minerals) is required and must be ingested in certain trace amounts. Bioactive compounds are considered the source of functional food effectiveness. Functional foods containing bioactive compounds must be consumed in certain effective non-toxic amounts. For example, vitamin C is a known bioactive compound that should be consumed at 90 mg in order to maintain normal health. A food containing more than 200-300 mg of vitamin C per day may act therapeutically in terms of reducing one’s risk of contracting a cold, thereby acting as a functional food. However, there comes a point at which consuming vitamin C becomes toxic, which is at approximately 2,000 mg or more daily (Pacier and Martirosyan 2015). In order to demonstrate causal relationships between functional foods and the prevention, management, or treatment of chronic disease, extensive preclinical and clinical trials must be performed (Martirosyan and Singh 2015: 217). Functional Food and Consumer

There are many types of food in the market, and consumers are able to choose from a large range of food products. Functional foods, apart from offering necessary nutrients, also provide specific effect due to certain ingredients. However, the consumer is not always able to make an informed choice as the information about products is not always clear and is often a cause of confusion. The absence of legislation in many countries leads to inadequate protection of consumers’ interests. The communication of the supposed benefits of functional foods to the public, through claims on labels or packaging or through advertising, is a particularly controversial area. Such claims, particularly health claims, can have a significant impact on the consumer but are often imprecise or lacking any true scientific basis. The consumption of functional foods might not have the beneficial effects promised and, in some cases, might even cause

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Classification ofFoods

undesirable consumption

side effects. The of the added

reasons

ingredients;

for this are

various:

a reaction between

an

| 51

excessive

these and other

components; the eventual presence of residual toxic substances used in the extraction; or formulation of said ingredients’ (Mazza 1998) individual biological responses. Such foods can interfere with the efficacy of pharmacological therapeutic agents taken at the same time (Camaggio et al. 2002: 78). Consumers offunctional food often become the object of fraud. Functional foods are kept alongside traditional products in the supermarkets. In such a situation,

it allows consumers to make a direct comparison between the two products (especially of price; functional foods tend to be more expensive, sometimes 40-50 per cent more expensive than traditional products); it can also lead to confusion in case the consumer is not sufficiently well informed about the characteristics of functional foods and effects on health. Another possible fraud is connected to the quantity of the added ingredient. In some cases, in fact, the presence of the ingredient is far inferior to that needed to have the desired effects proclaimed on the label. Food manufacturers have attempted, with functional foods, to increase their markets by taking recourse to different strategies: insistence on their experience in the field; using the production, advertising, and marketing capabilities open to them to convince consumers to buy ‘new’ commodities. Food manufacturers are competing with pharmaceutical industries to enter into and have impact on this new field, a field of possibly enormous profits, but fail to take into account the real needs of consumers (Camaggio et al. 2002: 79). What is Home Meal Replacement? For most ofthe active population, there is not much time to eat and even less for shopping and cooking. This trend has been extensively reported along with increasingly shorter shopping cycles (Dade 1992; Datamonitor 1998; McHugh et al. 1991; Ritson and Hutchins 1995). However, and in spite of the generalised ‘need for speed’, consumers do not always seem ready to compromise the pleasure of eating a tasty meal for the sake of earning extra time. According to Sloan (1997), there are indeed situations in which consumers willingly spend time preparing and eating meals, for instance, on weekends or if they have guests. Eating remains a key part of leisure or socialising, as well as a valued personal experience (Datamonitor 1998; Gofton 1995; Marshall 1995). Thus, food chain partakers - manufacturers, caterers, and retailers alike - are showing a growing interest in being able to supply high-quality meals that can bring more choice to the hurried consumer (Bond 1992; Larson 1998). The concept of Home Meal Replacements (HMRs) was created in the United States to designate meals that have been produced away from home for household consumption (Datamonitor 1998; Ghazala 1999). This concept, or food category, has been recently redefined in order to clarify its domain and increase its degree of consumer orientation. HMRs are main courses or preas-

sembled main course components of a meal - a protein (animal/plant), a carbohydrate (starch), and a vegetable source - in a single or multiple portion containers, designed to fully and speedily replace the main LOUFS9 of a 0 LimorvAArs home-made main meal.

National Law Schooi

7

52

| Classification of Foods

This concept excludes, therefore, main course components packed. in non-assembled, separate containers as well as all kinds of desserts, breakfast’s cereals, yoghurts, candy bars, etc. Some snacks (foods usually eaten in between main meals), starters, soups, or salads can be considered as HMR as long as they respect the readiness and compositional requisites set by the definition and can be regarded by consumers as a meal’s main dish (Costa et al. 2001). There is an increasing diversity of production/distribution solutions offered to consumers with the aim of partially or fully replacing home-made meals. Consequently, HMR terminology is also increasingly intricate, with food chain actors mostly resorting to their own (more or less) obscure designations, like cook-chill, frozen television dinner, or RTE. These designations intend to

reflect the various degrees of readiness for consumption ofthe products and the manufacturing processes behind them, but this intention is not always clear to the public authorities or to consumers. Direct results of these misunderstandings are, for instance, the difficulty of harmonising safety criteria for HMR and holding them accountable for food-borne illness incidents. It is clear that public health authorities and food scientists are in need of an unambiguous classification system for HMRs. Moreover, food product developers, marketers, and home economists could also greatly benefit from a clear product classification in order to be able to better analyse patterns of food consumption. Restaurant and Street Food

If we consider reshaping the Indian diet, it is important to examine the emergence in the past one decade a large number of food chains, each with thousands of outlets, and more recently of chains of casual dining restaurants. These include Haldiram, Bikaner, Udupi, and Rasoi. The proliferation, convenience, and affordability of these restaurants have shaped what we eat, often in unhealthy ways. Big food has a large food restaurants component, which has very effectively put its icons in front of us and gotten us to spend a lot of money buying very unhealthy food. The success of these restaurants is exhibited through the huge rush and opening of more restaurants. Thus, it compounds the obesity problem in India and contributes to an array of negative health outcomes associated with excessive sugar, salt, and fat. While consuming food served in restaurants, we generally ignore questions like what conditions it is cooked in, the hygiene of the food prepared, or whether cooks were wearing gloves while preparing food. And often street food vendors do not wear gloves while preparing a dish, and they exchange money with the same hand. According to Public Health Association, only 53 per cent of the Indians wash their hands with soap after defecating, 38 per cent do so before eating, and only 30 per cent before preparing food. Bacteria transmitted in food, like coliform, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, and pseudomonas, are the major causes of infections such as diarrhoea, typhoid, food poisoning, urinary tract infection, and pneumonia. These bacteria are found in the faeces of human and animals. They grow quickly if the food is kept in moist, warm conditions and can enter human bodies if the vegetables or meat is not washed properly or there is a faecal contamination during food

Classification of Foods

| 53

production or handling. Bacteria can also reach our food through flies, exchange of cash with infected hands, or through contaminated water. Street foods play a very important role in providing inexpensive and nutritious food, particularly for millions in the middle- and low-income groups. Such foods are available where they are needed and are accessible to those who have no opportunity to go home for their mid-day meal. Many itinerant workers who do not have proper housing and cooking facilities have no option but to depend upon street foods. While it is an age-old phenomenon, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation have brought about a sudden spurt in street food vending throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. There has been quite a bit of concern about street foods at the international level. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have carried out several studies on street foods in countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Besides their convenience and employment potential,

the greatest factor in their favour is the fact that they can provide per capita calorie and protein requirements within a cost of around $1.' There are, however, serious problems. More often than not, the microbiological quality of street foods, especially that of prepared dishes and drinks, is below standards, indicating inappropriate sanitary and hygienic practices in preparation and handling. There are also problems with the use of unauthorised food colours and some other additives, as well as chemical contamination from the environment. The consumer has, therefore, a high potential risk of serious health problems from streets foods. However, because of the many socio-economic issues involved, any attempt to ban street food vending is bound to fail. Keeping in mind the scale of operation of such enterprises, it is quite a challenge to bring about improvements in the street food scenario. Policing action has to be coupled with training. Local bodies have to also provide facilities for safe water supply, garbage disposal, etc. Codes on ‘Practice for Street Foods’ are being prepared by the joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. These would call for appropriate implementation. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points approach can be applied to reduce hazards to consumers. What is required is the recognition of the problem and full cognizance ofthis informal sector ofthe food system. It is only then that strategies can be determined to meet local socio-economic situations.

Implications for Contemporary Food Consumers and Consumption Trends towards individualisation in the modern societies are furthered characterised by proliferation of fast food facilities. This development takes place on two fronts: eating at home and eating outside. The time needed for preparation at home has been drastically reduced with the availability of a variety of prefabricated foods in every supermarket. This is even more the case when kitchens are equipped with advanced equipment and implements like food processors, freezers, and microwave ovens. Individual household members can now, quickly and easily, take care of themselves at times to suit their own convenience, which creates greater possibilities for fewer meals being consumed together although whether this is actually the result, in our view, needs further research

and documentation.

54

| Classification of Foods

Choices in eating out are also multifarious: snack corners and fast food restaurants of every kind from fish-and-chips and hamburgers to pizzas and kebabs. Suppliers of food, dishes, and complete meals are to be found in every

street. Not only households and individual consumers but also industrial, school, and sports-centre canteens as well as hospitals and other institutions of care are nowadays largely dependent on the convenience products of a sophisticated food industry. There are consequences other than pleasure and convenience in this preparation and consumption of enormous quantities of food made possible by advanced technological control over nature. Modern consumers struggle with many fears concerning food. First, they are afraid to eat too much owing to the fear of abundance and of becoming obese. This problem of quantity sometimes goes together with the problems of quality: there is a considerable fear among the consuming public about additives and other strange and suspicious elements in the food (Farrer 1983; Kapferer 1989; Millstone 1986). Worries about health are accompanied by those about taste. Convenience foods taste worse than others, in the opinion of many critical consumers, and they contribute to ecological problems through high energy use and necessary waste (Driver 1983: 132-46). It is reported that the industrial production of flavours even leads to long-term changes in the perception of the senses of smell and taste (Barolosius 1989). The growing popularity of vegetarianism, macrobiotics, reform, and other ‘natural’ or whole foods can be interpreted as a reaction of the consuming public to this type of development. Belasco (1989) and other authors studied these movements as counter-cultural reactions to modern ways ofliving and eating. This unease has been expressed, notably in Britain, in a number of ‘food scares’ (about, for example, Salmonella in eggs and Listeria in soft cheese) which, as already noted above, have caused considerable political stir in recent years. According to one or two scientific authorities, such as Richard Lacey (1989, 1991), these fears are far from being without foundation. Dutch nutritionists, though, put these scares into perspective: in their opinion, in the Netherlands, the food is safe when it arrives in the kitchen, but possible dangers start with what happens next. The sociological relevance of these tendencies in modern industrial

societies, which are closely interwoven with the growth of food technology, has barely been recognised as the fairly blatant lack of specifically sociological literature among the work.

Note

1. Winarno, F.G. (1993), ‘Street Foods in Developing Countries Lessons from Asia: Street Foods, Epidemiological and Practical Approaches’, Sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Preventive medicine, International Life Sciences Institute, in cooperation with FAO and WHO, 19.20.

Classification of Foods

| 55

References

Barolosius,

E. (1989),

‘Riechen

and

Schmecken-

Riechendes

und

Schmeckendes.

Ermadhrungssoziologische Anmerkungen zum Wandel der _ sinnlichen Wahmehmung beim Essen, dardestellt an den Beispielen der grande cuisine Frankreichs

und

der

modermen

Aromatherstellun’,

Kolner

Zeitschrifit

Fur

Socioloue und Social-Psychologue, 39(2): 367-75. Belasco, W.]. (1989), Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry 1966-1988, New York: Pantheon Books. Bond, S. (1992), ‘Market Place Product Knowledge - from the Consumer Viewpoint’, in C. Denis and M. Stringer (eds), Chilled Foods: A Comprehensive Guide, Chichester: Ellis Horwood.

Camaggio, G. et al. (2002), ‘Functional Foods: Regulation and Consumer Protection’, in C.A.A. Butijn (ed.), Changes at the other End of the Chain; Everyday Consumption in a Multidisciplinary Perspective, The Netherlands: Shaker Publishing. Costa, A.A. et al. (2001), ‘A Consumer-Oriented Classification System for Home Replacements’, Food Quality and Preference, 12(4): 229-42.

Meal

Dade, P. (1992), ‘Trends in Consumer Tastes and Preferences’, in C. Denis and M. Stringer (eds), Chilled Foods: A Comprehensive Guide, Chichester: Ellis Horwood. Datamonitor (1998), Ready Meals: In-the-Home Convenience (Market Report), London: Datamonitor, p. 261. Deivanai, P. (2013), ‘A Study on Determinants of Customer Satisfaction Towards Fast Food Industries in Madurai District’, /ntercontinental Journal of Marketing Research Review, 1(9): 35-42. Dhiman, A. et al. (2014), ‘Introduction to the Functional Foods’, in T.X. Richardson (ed.), Introduction to Functional Food Science: Textbook, Dallas, TX: Functional Food Centre.

Diplock, A.T. et al. (1999), ‘Scientific Concepts of Functional Foods in Europe: Consensus Document’, British Journal of Nutrition, 1: $1-27. Driver, C. (1983), The British at Table, 1940-80, London: Chatto and Windus.

Farrer, K.T.H. (1983), Fancy Eating That!A Closer Look at the Food Additives and Contaminants, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. Ghazala, S. (1999), ‘Overview of Applications of Sous Vide and Cook-Chill Processes in Home Meal Replacement (HMR) Products’, Proceedings of 3rd European Symposium on Sous Vide, Leuven, pp. 397-409.

—— (1995), ‘Dollar Rich and Time Poor? Some Problems in Interpreting Changing Food Habits’, British Food Journal, 97(10): 11-6. Goyal, A. and N.P. Singh (2007), ‘Consumer Perception about Fast Food in India: An Exploratory Study’, British Food Journal, 109(2): 182-95. Harvey, D. (2005), A Brief History of Neo-liberalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Heller, R. (2001), ‘Functional Foods: Regulatory and Marketing Derenpniants:, Food and Drug Law Journal, 56: 197.

Kapferer, J.-N. (1989), ‘A Mass Poisoning Rumour in Europe’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 53(4): 47-1. Kashyap, M. et al. (2013), ‘A Study of Growth of Fast Food Industry with Reference to Shift in Consumer’s Buying Habits in Nagpur City’, International Journal of

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| Classification of Foods

Application or Innovation in Engineering and Management. Special Issue National Conference on Recent Trends in Technology and Management Integrated Growth.

for for

Lacey, R. (1989), Safe Shopping, Safe Cooking, Safe Eating, Harmondsworth: Penguin.

——

(1991), Unfit for Human Consumption: Food in Crisis: The Consequences of Putting Profit before Safety, London: Souvenir.

Larson, R.B. (1998), ‘The Home Meal Replacement Opportunity: A Marketing Perspective’, The Retail Food Industry Centre-Working Paper 9-01, St. Paul: University of Minnesota, p. 68.

Lee, S.C. and M.H. Foo (2014), ‘Functional Foods and its Biomarkers’, in /ntroduction to Functional Food Science, Richardson: Functional Food Centre.

Malhotra, A. (2010), ‘Fast Food Grows in India’, DESIblitz Wen Magazine [Online: web], URL: www.desiblitz.com/content/fast-food-grows-in-india

Marshall, D.W. (1995), Food Choice and the Consumer, London: Blackie Academic and Professional. Martirosyan, D.M. and J. Singh (2015), ‘A New Definition of Functional Food by FFC; What Makes a New Definition Unique?’, Functional Foods in Health and Disease, 5(6): 209-22. Mazza, G. (1998), Functional Foods: Technomic Publishing Co.

Biochemical

and

Processing

Aspects,

Canada:

McHugh, M. et al. (1991), ‘Food Shopping and Cooking Cycles: Time: A Critical Dimension’, British Food Journal, 93(5S): 12-16. Millstone, E. (1986), Food Additives: Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Taking

the

Lid

off What

We

Really

Eat,

Pacier, C. and D.M. Martirosyan (2015), ‘Vitamin C: Optimal Dosages, Supplementation and Use in Disease Prevention’, Functional Foods in Health and Disease, 5(3): 89-107. Prabhavathi, Y. et al. (2014), ‘Consumer Preference and Spending Pattern in Indian Fast Food Industry’, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(2): 1-5.

Ritson, C. and R. Hutchins (1995), ‘Food Choice and the Demand for Food’, in D.W. Marshall, Food Choice and the Consumer, Cambridge: Chapman and Hall, pp. 43-76.

Roberfroid, M.B. (2000), ‘Defining Functional Foods’, Functional Foods, 9. Siddiqui, A. and Anusha, N. (2012), ‘Deleterious Effects of Food Habits in Present Era’, Journal of Allergy and Therapy, 3: 1.

Siro, I. et al. (2008), ‘Functional Food: Product Development, Marketing and Consumer Acceptance: A Review’, Appetite, 51(3): 456-67.

Sloan, A.E. (1997), ‘What is Cooking?’, Food Technology, 51(9): 32. Talwar, J.P. (2002), Fast Food, Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream, Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Tiwari, A. and M.V. Verma (2008), ‘Consumer Perception about Fast Food in India: An

Empirical Study of Dehradun City’, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 3(4): 80-91.

3 Food and Dietary Practices in India

India has an extremely complex history, and it is a land of enormous climatic variation, which created a modern state of distinct regimes, each of which has a distinct cuisine. It is typical of an agricultural society, being a traditional state underpinned by an ideological system located in religion, politics, and the global economy, which justifies the order of society. In India, as elsewhere, the world view of agriculturalists places humans firmly in the capacity of dominating nature, with a little help from Gods and spirits. The attitude permeates the nature of relations between people as much as those between people and nature (Crowthen 2018: 54). Information regarding the dietaries and dietetic habits of the various Indian communities and ofindividuals at different ages in different occupations is meagre and less documented. However, whatever literature is available regarding food and diet, we have tried to present in this chapter.

History of Indian Food The history of Indian food goes back to approximately 4,000 years and is characterised by the migration of people from different countries who brought their own cultural influence. Each time it added new crops to support the native population and form the basis of culinary traditions. Indian agriculture, the major staples, and the use of spices have been shaped by Dravidians, the Harappans, and, from 2000 BC, the Aryans. These migrants brought new food crops such as spinach, okra (lady finger), and ginger and other flavourings such as fenugreek, cardamom, and cumin. They also brought religious beliefs that were codified into the Hindu sacred texts, the Vedas, over the next centuries.

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| Food and Dietary Practices in India

These included the caste system and the dietary rules that become people’s dharma. From 1500 CE, the Mughal dynasty, originating in Turkey and Afghanistan, brought an Islamic influence, including what is regarded as the origins of India’s ‘high cuisine’. After that, the Portuguese brought the European influence, and in 1700, the Britishers also influenced the culinary practices. Historically, food items were quite small and localised. For a long time, humans produced and processed much of their own food, depending only on their family or clan for what they needed. As technologies advanced and population grew, food variety become more complex, and humans became more interdependent. Some people produced food items that could be processed into food, other people processed it, and still others distributed it. Eventually, most people through industrialisation ended up far removed from these social processes and now exclusively became consumers.

Diet and Nutrition in Harappan Civilisation The Harappan civilisation was sustained by a relatively advanced stage of agriculture marked by the use of plough and artificial irrigation. The peasants cultivated the rabi and kharif crops, growing wheat, barley, millet, pulses, oil seeds, etc. (Ratnagar 1986; Vishnu-Mittre and Savithri 1982). The discovery of granaries and bins speaks ofstorage by peasants to avoid scarcities by gathering wild plants, fruits, and roots. Their meat intake depended heavily on domesticated cattle, as 50 per cent of the bones recovered from the cities were of domesticated cattle. Wild fruit included the jujube. The food grains were milled with the help of grinding stones. Food was cooked in tandoors and ovens, and earthen and copper utensils were used. So far as we can judge from the evidence at urban sites, it appears that the Harappans ate soft (i.e. well-cooked and/or ground) food. Sushruta Samhita mentions human milk and the milk of cow, buffalo, goat, and sheep, describing the distinct qualities of each. For instance, cow milk had a stabilising effect on body secretions, and buffalo milk was fat rich and more cooling, but impaired digestion. Human milk is recommended for curing eye diseases. Evening milk is more easily digested than morning, and milk freshly drawn and warm from the udder is regarded as wholesome. Milk, in general term, is a cold food, mild in action, and useful both in normal and disturbed

bodily conditions. Cream of milk has many beneficial effects on health. The use of curd in autumn, summer, and spring nor its inclusion in a night meal was recommended. Distinctions are made between sweet, slightly acid, and strongly acid curds. Diluted curd (lassi) made from skimmed milk is heat-producing and digestive (Ray et al. 1980). Industrialisation and Food Production

When

India became

free from colonialism in 1947 with the memory

of the

Bengal Famine seared into middle-class consciousness, it was not surprising that hunger dominated public discussion on Indian food. Michael Worboys (1988) and David Arnold (1994) provided us with the famine’s prehistory in British imperial concerns about diet and malnutrition and their relationship

Food and Dietary Practices inIndia

| 59

with colonial science from the 1860s to the interwar years. Amartya Sen discussed the political economy of hunger. Swaminathan led the torch for the technological response to hunger by way of Green Revolution. Vandana Shiva carried out a critic of ecological and social consequences of Green Revolution in India. Roy (2010), in his book Alimentary Tracts, analysed the ethical and aesthetic consequences of eating. In allowing the other to enter one’s body without the desperate need of purgation, she expertly inverts the critique of hooks (1992), Heldke (2003), and Nandy (2004). She does that drawing on Jacques Derrida’s suggestion of anthropology, not as an abomination but as a ‘parabolic instantiation of unexpected somatic and ethical engagement with the other where the refusal to partake ofthe other is an important breakdown in or rejection of ethical reciprocity with the other’ (Roy 2010: 14). Industrial food on a somewhat larger scale is of comparatively recent origin. It dates back little more than a century. After 1800, new developments in chemistry, biology, and physiology led to various types of specialisation and especially to the beginnings ofthe sciences ofnutrition and microbiology. Other developments opened up the possibility of knowing the exact composition of foodstuffs and about the microprocesses which lead to the growth and decay of food. Mechanisation encountered the organic: tractors, artificial fertilisers, and pesticides structurally changed agriculture, ensuring a much larger harvest (Giedion 1975: 130). Techniques of food processing and preservation, already improved by trial and error like the invention ofsterilisation by Nicolas Appert, could now be perfected. In several Western countries - England, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States, with favourable market conditions and no strong tradition of peasant farming - these scientific developments, combined with rapidly expanding mechanisation on the basis of new energy resources, led to the establishments of giant food companies. The farms and artisans and the making of butter and cheese were quickly replaced by milling, baking, canning (later followed by freezing), and milk and dairying industries. Food and its Forms

The classification of food in Sanskrit and Pali literature is based on the forms in which it is taken. Buddhist monks divided food into two groups, namely cooked and soft food, and uncooked and hard food. Others divided food according to its physical characteristics such as solid, liquid, food taken by licking, and food that is chewed. But with the development of the production and taste of foodstuffs, the classification was made more elaborate. Now we have six forms of food sweet, sour, Salty, bitter, astringent, and pungent. The therapeutic values of foodstuffs are based on Rasas in Ayurveda. All substances of vegetable, animal,

and mineral origin are classified strictly according to the predominant taste, and their physiological action formed the basis of controlling diseases. It was held that tastes and flavour affect the digestive mechanism and should be regarded as a reliable guide in the choice of food. A Hindu food prepared in the orthodox style must of course be vegetarian. In southern India, for example, it would include the Navarasams, which is ofnine tastes, beginning with something bitter and ending with something sweet.

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The predominance ofcereal foods, the preference for vegetables and fruits, the use of germinated pulse, the fondness for milk and milk products, and the consumption of sweets are the main features of aHindu diet; they have not been substantially altered with time. It can be due to the development of transport, free social intercourse among different communities, fresh knowledge of foodstuffs, consequent enterprises relating to their supply, and, above all, the rise in the standard ofliving - all these circumstances facilitated to a great extent the dietary changes. Food instinct, sentiment, tradition, custom, and prejudice

dominated in the choice ofdiet. Bread/Roti and Timing of Serving Ordinary loaf bread is called double roti in India, since it is made in jointed sections. Pao is a Portuguese contribution, rather, like an elastic bun, which is baked to form four sections that can be broken apart. The gutli is a very hard round or rectangular well-risen roll with a brown top, and the Gusty peti-pao (literally box-bread) looks like an ancient treasure chest. There is a large commercial Naan which is vended after cutting into wedges. In fact, all these oven-baked items are sold on the street for consumption as on-the-spot snacks, with vegetables (bhaji), boiled eggs, or minced meat or chicken as an accompaniment (Babbar 1986). By the turn of the century, eating patterns had altered. In the 18th century, the main meal was exemplified by a huge spread served in the middle ofthe day. Siesta, evening visits, and a light dinner at night are acommon practice. A century later, this midday meal had become lighter. Later, the main meal moved to 7 pm or 8 pm in the evening (Ramaswamy 1983: 79). Cereals and Pulses

To begin with, barley was the major grain eaten consumed in the form of cakes dipped in ghee, fashioned out offlour, boiled in water or fried in Khichadi was made from rice and dal. It is eaten

by the Aryans. It was fried and or as sweet cakes called apupa ghee, and then dipped in honey. with curd or ghee.

Milk and its Products

The oldest Indian texts, the Vedas, tell us that at their arrival in India, the Aryans, pastoral peoples who practiced agriculture, were already familiar with milk, dahi (yoghurt), and butter. Milk was drunk, either raw or boiled, or cooked with barley oats. Several plants were known to curdle milk. Dahi was eaten either alone or with barley, or else churned to make butter, which was then clarified. Even at this early period, it was noted, as it is today, that children loved fresh butter, whereas adults used clarified butter that was either produced over finished dishes or used as a cooking fat. Combinations of these products - milk and barley, oats, or later rice, boiled milk, curds, etc. - constituted many dishes, the diversity and number of which increased with the passage of time (Prakash 1961:

13-15).

Although

all of the

milk-producing

animals

were

known,

enumerated, and used no doubt for their milk, cow’s milk was by far the most highly prized from a very early date.

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Milk is intrinsically pure and has purifying powers; it also resists pollution, which justifies the role in Indian cooking of milk as well as that of yoghurt or

butter, The distinction between kaccha and pakka foods is common in north Indian society. At first, the opposition was between the unripe and ripe and the raw and cooked; now, this opposition has taken on culinary and social significance as well: boiled vs fried; daily vs feast day dishes; and foods destined for the endogamous group and lower caste servants vs those to be served to people ofa status equal or superior to one’s own. Butter plays a strategic role in the determination of these categories. Whether a food is exposed directly to water or fire, or whether butter is mixed into it first, determines its classification as kaccha or pakka, respectively, more or less vulnerable to pollution. Milk and dahi possess the same power as butter. The reason is that all of these products are unaffected by fire; even if their physical appearance is modified with exposure to heat, their cultural value is unalterable. Whether they are heated or not or mixed with other foods or not, they themselves are always pakka (Khare 1976: 25). Certain foods at the top of the hierarchical alimentary classification are prepared without being heated, by being mixed with milk, butter, or dahi (Dumont 1966: 13; Khare 1976: 17). As a result, any food to be eaten beyond the closed domestic or family circle, as well as any food to be used in a feast, as a gift, or to

be eaten while travelling, is prepared with great quantities of butter, dahi, or milk (Mahias 1988: 271). As food of the Gods and food of the Brahmans (who are the Gods representatives on earth), milk and, to an even greater extent, butter are bulwarks of ritual purity and therefore of a social order founded upon the opposition of pure and impure. Brahmanism has not by itself brought milk to India, but it has made it an indispensable food, one which, to recall the famous words of Radcliffe-Brown, was not only good to eat but good to think. In fact, it is not the quantity of dairy products used in religious rituals is important, but the role play in culinary, social, and religious practices is more important. India is one of the largest cattle producers in the world, with more than 240 million cattle of which 5 million are dairy animals (Huria and Acharya 1980, 1997). In northern India, cattle are raised, and the villagers particularly like and consume dairy products; ‘milk and milk products are consumed among the wealthier families in the village ... Sit, a kind of buttermilk, is usually available for the asking. In the early hours, poor folk may be seen going to different houses with earthen pitchers, collecting sit’ (Lewis 1958: 41). In the cities, milk is sold through vendors as skimmed milk, toned milk, and double-toned milk. Dahi is eaten pure, salted, or sweetened. Integral to many a meal, it is part both of the daily diet of villagers and of Indian gastronomy. Several dishes are also based on dahi; mixed with spices and thinly sliced vegetables, it is a sauce; mixed with bean paste fritters, it is a festive dish. It is also an indispensable ingredient of the north Indian karhi. It is drunk in the form of lassi, a term actually applied to several beverages: yoghurt whisked together with water and/or ice-cold milk or buttermilk. It is also used as a ferment to make dough rise. Above all, however, dahi is made in order to extract butter from it, thereby furnishing two essential dairy products: clarified butter and buttermilk.

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Fresh butter is produced industrially and is readily available. Milk is transformed into dahi and then into butter. Buttermilk or /assi is the liquid leftover from churning fermented milk to make butter. It is as discreet as it is ubiquitous

in the daily diet. It is less esteemed because it is associated with peasant food, but buttermilk nevertheless is the common drink of the entire north Indian countryside. Its slightly acid taste is particularly appreciated after a morning's work under the growing Sun, and the addition of cumin, pepper, or chilli pepper makes it all the more attractive (Mahias 1988: 275-6). References to cheese in ancient India are very difficult to interpret and prompt more linguistic questions than dietary ones. The Vedic texts seem to contain one reference: ‘We find the mention of dadhanvat which was probably cheese with two varieties’ (Prakash 1961: 14). Ethnographic accounts, hardly verbose concerning contemporary food habits, are absolutely silent about cheese. Among cattle breeders, one might expect to find cheese if only for personal use; they consume, sell, or exchange milk, buttermilk, and butter, but not cheese. Nowadays, cheese is made from curdled milk, carefully drained, pressed, and moulded into rectangular blocks. This cheese is sold in the market and known as panir. Panir is becoming more widely accepted and finding a place in festive meals. Milk and ghee (clarified butter) are ritually pure and especially are therefore extremely flexible in use as food ingredients. Ghee is quite different ritually from cooking oil: frying in the former constitutes a superior ritual act, not comparable to frying in vegetable oil. Sweets

In India, a great many sweets are made, and they make up two large categories: those in which milk is the principal ingredient, and those made with flour, semolina, or dough cooked in great quantities of butter. Milk-based sweets are made from one of two milk products: khoya and chena. Khoya is highly condensed milk, made by boiling it down until almost all of the water has evaporated. A milk paste is left, and it is worked constantly until cool and firm enough to form into large cakes. The mass is reheated until malleable and then mixed with sugar and dried fruits or spices and allowed to cool. When cool, it is cut into small square, diamond, or rectangular shapes. The other milk products, chena, are specifically curd that is drained and used for making rasgulla, sandesh, etc. The antiquity of sweets in India has often been debated; some authors attribute their introduction to the Moghuls. Tannahill (1973: 310) cited as evidence confections made of sugar, sugar and almonds, and rice and rice flour and of course the famous halwa. Certain sweets and confections were indeed brought by the Moghuls, as names of Arabo_Persian origin attest: not only halwa but also barfi, jalebi, balushahi, kulfi, and many others. But these are not the only Indian confections, and a few cases do not permit the assumption that all Indian sweets are of the same origin. The most ancient of the Vedic texts seem to mention only honey as a sweetening agent, but those that immediately follow them indicate that Indians are perfectly familiar with the resources of sugar cane and knew how to extract juice and boil it down to make a product that has kept the same name for 3,000 years, gur (Prakash 1961: 41).

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Water

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:

The Vedas list rivers, wells, springs, and rain as a source of potable water. The Sutras recommended the filtration of water. Jains were obliged to boil water every few hours and to strain it though a cloth before drinking, and Buddhist texts enjoins the use of pure rain water for consumption. Water meant for

drinking had to be clear, cool, shining like silver, health-giving, and with the fragrance of lotus. In fact, the lotus was frequently grown in tanks to purify the surrounding water. The danger of drinking any kind of water indiscriminately was well recognised: one injunction goes so far as to say that water is for animals to drink and only fit for man to bathe in (lyenagar 1912). Communities and Dietary Practices in India Food can be defined as a substance (of either plant or animal origin) which has one or more ofthe nutritional components such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals whose consumption provides nutritional support to the human body. Food is ingested and assimilated by our cells to provide energy, maintain life, and stimulate growth. The sum total of food that one consumes makes the diet of that person. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions a person makes when choosing what foods to eat. Many cultures hold some food preferences and some food taboos. Dietary choices can also define cultures and play a role in religion. In addition, the dietary choices ofdifferent countries or regions have different characteristics influenced by geographical locations of the place, age-old tradition, and so forth. Owing to the geographical circumstances of the Peninsula which determined the kind and amount of foods available, there are certain common features in the dietaries of the various races and communities. The basis of all diets is cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, and milk. Food in Aryan belief was not simply a means of bodily sustenance; it was a part of cosmic moral cycle (Khare 1976). The Taittiriya Upanishad states: From earth sprang herbs, from herbs food, from food seed, from seed man. Man thus consists of the essence of food ... From food all creatures produced, by food they grow ... The self consists of food, of breath, of mind, of understanding, ofbliss.

Food and Diet among Hindus

Bhagavad Gita says: From food do all creatures come into being. In the great Aryan cosmic cycle, the person who eats, the food he/she eats, and the universe must all be in harmony. All food on being ingested was believed to give rise to three products. The densest of these is faeces which get excreted; the product of intermediate density is transmuted into flesh; and the third product, the first and rarest, is manas which is thought or mind. Prasad, which is leftover of food that has been offered to the Gods, is thought to be pure or rasa or essence that leaves no residue and maintains man’s spirituality. Built on such exalted remises, the Hindu ethos of food has indeed a unique range ofdepth (Khare 1976). It is true that the food rites and rituals which have evolved around different stages of economic life, from the pastoral to the settled agricultural, have left

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their mark on the bad dietary customs and habits of our peoples. They have tenacious preferences for diets determined by religious bias and are usually averse to any change. The influence of certain groups and often function as a deterrent to the choice of new or tabooed foods. The non-vegetarian Hindus will not eat fowl and fowl’s eggs but have no objection to duck, geese, and wild birds (e.g. plover and teal). The dislike for fowl many possibly be traced to its use in ceremonial propitiation by the aboriginal tribes. Even the cult of vegetarianism may have originated from the impulse to distinguish the ‘Aryan’ mode of living from that of the other clans which used animals as totemistic symbols. There are elaborate rules prohibiting consumption of various food items on certain days of the lunar month. For example, if petal (Trichosanthes dioica) is eaten on the third day of the moon, the consumer will have the bad luck of increasing the number ofhis/her enemies; radish on the fourth day would mean loss of wealth; coconut on the eighth day would make the consumer a dunce; beans on the eleventh day would lead to sinful acts; gourd and allied vegetables on the thirteenth day might result in loss of one’s son; if lentils are eaten on the fourteenth day of the moon, one will get chronic disease, and so on. These rather amusing rules are carefully recorded in the Hindu calendar. These have been designed as an attempt to ensure stable conditions of food supply by regulating the distribution of edible fruits and vegetables. Food habits do not get changed easily, but they also do get changed. The increasing consumption of wheat among the rice-eating people, the popularity of potato, and the use of refined sugar and condensed milk are some of the instances which tend to show that the conservatism ofthe Indian does not offer a serious obstacle to effecting a change in his/her diet. From the Vedic literature, we get an idea of the Hindu dietary system. It consisted mainly of grains such as rice (Vrihi), barley (Yava), varieties of beans and lentils, milk and milk products, and fruits. Various preparations of porridge and gruel are recommended, and they are prepared with grains cooked with lentils or milk. A Hindu meal is not complete without some kind of sweet which is usually prepared with milk, rice, and sugar or various milk products and sugar. According to Vatsyayana, a normal diet should consist of rice, wheat, barley, pulse, vegetables, milk, and sweets. The comprehensive term for all that we consume is Anna.

In the Sushruta Samhita, wholesome diet is described as being food which can nourish the body, gladden the heart, invigorate maintain the bodily strength, increase the appetite and vitality, memory and increase the energy span of life’. The attainment beneficial effects is what the modern dietician desires by his/her ‘balanced diet’.

‘that kind of the system, improve the of all these advocacy of

Food and Diet in Islam

While the dietaries among Muslims are comparatively free from the numerous restrictions imposed upon the Hindus, there are taboos in the use of certain foods, which derive religious sanctions from the early days of Islam. The flesh of those animals ‘that are cloven-footed, those that chew the cud’ is lawful food, but

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to quote the words of Koran, ‘that which diet of itself, and blood and swine’s flesh, and that over which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, is

forbidden to you’. Fish found dead in water are prohibited, but if their death occurs after they are caught, it is equivalent to ritual slaughter. The emphasis laid upon ritual slaughter is probably a sanitary code. It is interesting to note that the custom of regarding animals killed for food as a sacrifice is of ancient origin and may be compared with the rites by which certain classes of the Hindus seek to remove the taboo offlesh eating. There is no fundamental difference in the dietaries of Hindus and Muslims except that the Muslims habitually eat meat. A difference, however, exists in the methods of food preparations. Among Muslims, cooking involves a combination of onions, garlic, and ginger. Rice is prepared in various ways in combination with meat, eggs, pulses, nuts, almonds, etc. Wheat is eaten in the form of bread, both leavened and unleavened, but yeast is not used in baking the bread. Milk and milk products enter largely into the diets of Muslims. Curd and buttermilk

are often used in combination with flour of pulses and with fruits and vegetables like cucumber and brinjal. Of the varieties of sweetmeats, halwa, made of cream of wheat, butter, and sugar, is perhaps the favourite dish. Sweets of all kinds prepared from wheat, rice, and gram flours in combination with milk and sugar are used by all Indian communities. Contemporary Food Patterning in India In principle, there are two meals, one at midday and the other at sunset. An account of the manner of serving meals in a Hindu household recorded by a Chinese is as follows: The first course is a small piece or two of ginger with a little soup (dal), which is served with hot butter sauce as flavouring. Then, fruits and cakes are served. After the meal is finished, toothpick and water are supplied to the guests for cleaning their mouths. Sometimes, perfumed paste is given to rub the hands with before washing in order to make them fragrant and clean. Finally, some betel nuts, nutmegs with cloves, etc. are distributed. This helps to make the mouth fragrant, to digest the food, and remove the phlegm. There is no substantial change in serving ofthe meals or ofeating foods. The use of knives, forks, and spoons is confined to a very small section of the people. Even now, foods are chosen in India on the basis of certain beliefs, especially in the north of the country where the seasonal variations in climate are much more extreme and hot-cold food beliefs are more strongly entrenched. During spring, heavy and cold foods are avoided and pungent foods preferred (Sharma 1972). Cold and sweet foods are the choice of the summer months, while the rainy season calls for hot foods such as dry fruits and their confections, coconut and coconut-based items, almond-based delicacies like almond milk and almond halwa, and sweets like /addus (round

balls) rich in fat (Anon 1985). Jaggery is regarded as hot food, but sugar cane juice and honey are cold. Ghee (butter oil) is hot food. Mangoes are summer fruits and must be accompanied by milk. Pregnant women avoid hot foods, particularly papaya. Buttermilk quenches the fires of diarrhoea, and hot foods like pepper, ginger, and turmeric counteract cold and cough. Many dried fruits

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like fig, apricots, raisins, and dates are now known to be highly alkaline. Less so are tubers and green leafy vegetables, and still less so are fruits like citrus,

peaches, grapes, bananas,

and water

melon. Acid formers

include

most

seafoods, meat, fish, many whole grains, and most nuts (Shastri 1986). For Indians, there is a famous proverb: ‘Indians do not eat to live, rather live to eat’. Each and every single family in India definitely has its own recipe (khandani recipe) which transcends from generation to generation. The study by National Council of Applied Economic Research (2014) showed that despite rapid economic growth during the past decades, India’s average per capita calorie and protein intake has grown only modestly, although the per capita fat consumption has registered a higher growth. Calorie and protein sources in Indian diet are diversifying with fruit/vegetable and animal-based food share increasing and cereal and pulse declining. With the rising level of income, per capita fat consumption is growing rapidly, and the share of vegetable oil in the overall calorie intake is increasing, necessitating large imports. Unless domestic production increases, the import requirement will continue to grow with rising per capita income. India’s per capita calorie, protein, and fat consumption remain significantly below that of most developed countries such as China and the United States. The implication is that in coming years, with rising per capita income and urbanisation, India’s demand for various superior food products will continue to increase, necessitating a possible change in the food production system and agricultural trade.

Vegetarianism in India

The circumstances relevant to the development of vegetarianism in India were the sheer abundance and wide range offoodstuffs available even from Harappan times by way of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, and milk and the spices, condiments, and sweetening agents that could fashion aesthetic appeal. It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that nowhere else in the world except in India would it have been possible to be vegetarian in 1000 BC (Achaya 1994). SRS Report of 2016 revealed that 28.85 per cent of the Indian population as a whole are total vegetarians. States with a high proportion of vegetarians are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. At medium levels stand Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Bihar. Low vegetarian states are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Orissa, and West Bengal. Coastal states tend to have a low proportion of vegetarians, since fish is available as a comparatively inexpensive food item. Gujarat constitutes a notable exception for having a high percentage of vegetarians despite being a coastal area (Sample Registration System 2014). Meat and Meat Products in India

Food and Agriculture Organization (2014) mentioned that markets for non-vegetarian products are expanding rapidly. Data from the Organization of

Economic Cooperation and Development and Food and Food and Agriculture Organization show that chicken consumption in India grew at an annual rate of 5.9 per cent between 1992 and 2013. This makes India the fourth fastest-growing market for chicken while it is also the seventh for fish (Times of India 2016).

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In broad terms, food consumption is patterned in association with some of the main ‘key variables’ of social accounting in industrialised nations, namely social class, age, and sex. These patterns are revealed repeatedly in data collected routinely for practical purposes such as market research or the combination of official statistics on food consumption, and they show patterns persisting over and above poverty, want, or scarcity. They form the pre-sociological baseline for explanation of social and cultural bases for the social distribution of ‘choice’, ‘habit’, or ‘taste’.

Regional Characteristics of Indian Dietaries India represents diversity in terms of region, religion, language, ecology, and several other variables. Below, we will discuss the regional diversity of food in the major states. Kashmir

According to Rigveda, Kashmir has a meat-eating tradition, whereas the ancient Kashmiri epic, Nilamat Purana, records that Kashmiris have been meat eaters. This habit of meat eating persists till today. Kashmiri cuisines are meat based; lamb, goat, and many other meats form the basis of many famous dishes. It is flavoured with saffron and Kashmiri chillies which are not too spicy but give a rich red colour to the food and make it presentable. The abundance of dry fruits like apricot, walnut, and almond also inspires Kashmiris to use them with their delicacies. Fresh water fish like trout found in the flowing water of the Himalayas also forms some of the famous delicacies of Kashmir. Food is generally followed by fresh fruits like cherries, apples, and plums which thrive in the cold weather of Kashmir. The spices used are mostly raw round spices that taste bombs different regions of the mouth. Dishes like Rogan josh, Kashmiri Pulao, and even the famous dum aloo are a gift to India from Kashmiri cuisine.

Punjab The chief food crops ofthe region are wheat, millet, and sugar cane, grown under an extensive system of irrigation. Punjabi diet consists largely of freshly ground wholemeal wheat made into a form of unleavened bread called chapattis, legumes, fresh vegetables, and milk products. The vegetables are usually cooked in clarified butter and milk products including buttermilk, curd, and soft cheese. Punjabi’s speciality is that they use a high amount ofclarified butter oil in almost everything they cook. They have both vegetarian food and non-vegetarian food. The Sikhs do not eat beef, but various kinds of animal food are part of their dietaries. Punjabi food is rich in calories which is meant to suit their lifestyle as they work the whole day in farmlands. Some of the dishes which are well renowned all over are Mah-ki-dal (daal makhni), butter chicken, and Sarson-ka-sag. The main spices in Punjabi dishes are made from ginger, onion, and garlic. Tandoori food is the speciality of Punjabi dishes in the non-vegetarian category. Many of the most popular elements of Anglo-Indians like tandoor, naan, pakodas, and paneer were derived from Punjab. Many types of kebabs, fried meat, and tandoori vegetables are being served on the streets of Punjab.

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Rajasthan

Rajasthani cuisine was influenced by both the warrior lifestyle of the inhabitants of Rajasthan and the availability of the ingredients in this region. Food that could be kept for several days without heating was preferred. Overly heated days to chilled nights covering the sand dunes ofthe state affected the flora. The scarcity of water and other fresh green vegetables affected their style of cooking. Although there are varieties of pulses grown and, as for vegetable, one finds pumpkin in abundance. In the desert belts of Jaisalmer, Barmer, and Bikaner, cooks used minimum water and preferred milk and clarified butter. Bajra and corn are used in all the states for rabdi, khichdi, and rotis. Various chutneys are also made from the available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint, and garlic. The best of the Rajasthani food is the combination of dal, bati, and churma. This region is distinguished by its sweets - mawa kachori from Jodhpur, Malpuas from Pushkar, Rasgullas from Bikaner, and Ghevar from Jaipur. Uttar Pradesh

In Uttar Pradesh, cooking is influenced by the Mughal style of cooking. The Awadhi cuisine of Uttar Pradesh, which shares similarities with that of Kashmir and Punjab, is famous for the Nawabi food and use of mutton, paneer, and spices such as cardamom and saffron. Its most famous dishes include kababs and dum birynani. Samosas and pakodas, some of the most famous snacks all over India, are believed to have originated in Uttar Pradesh. Mughlai cuisine is also integral to western and central Uttar Pradesh cuisine.

Gujarat Gujarati cuisine is in many ways unique from other culinary traditions in India. It is in this state where most of the people are vegetarian. Gujarati cuisine is blended with exquisite flavours and textures. A wide variety of Gujarati cuisines are cooked at home, and many different cuisines in the parts of Gujarat have originated from different regions. A typical Gujarati meal consists of roti, dal, rice, and vegetables. Maharashtra

Maharashtrian cuisines are the cuisines of the Marathi people from the state of Maharashtra. These cuisines includes a wide range of mild or very spicy dishes. These dishes subtly flavoured vegetarian delicacies and hot aromatic meat and fish curries. Their crunchy crisp tastes are mainly due to rice and jaggery. The exotic ‘konkani’ and ‘malwani’ cuisines also have their origins in the coastal parts of this region and are seafood based. Rice is the basic food grain of Maharashtra. All non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes are eaten with boiled rice or with Bhakris (soft rotis made from rice flour). Special rice puris called Vada and Amboli, which is a pancake made from fermented rice, urad dal, and semolina, are also eaten as part of the main meal. Kerala

Kerala cuisine is simple yet unique. It is often cooked in coconut milk and encompasses a blend of vegetables, meat, and seafood. Malabari is known for its

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unique spicy formulation and also known as the ‘best breakfast in the world’. A

favourite breakfast dish is Puttu, rich flour dough is layered with grated coconut and seamed in a hollow cylinder. Kerala has a well-developed vegetarian cuisine. Breakfast is served on a big banana leaf, which is hygienic and easy to dispose also. Malwari equally excels in non-vegetarian dishes such as pathiri and kozhi curry (chicken), biryani, and fish dishes. Bengal

The Presidency of Bengal falls within an area which is interlaced with several great rivers and their tributaries. It is perhaps the foremost rice-growing region of the world. Oilseeds, pulse, and sugar cane are the other important food crops grown in this tract. The staple food ofthe people is rice, chiefly parboiled. Pulse, vegetables, fish, and various kinds of sweet preparations are part of the usual

Bengali dietary. Owing to the availability of fish in East Bengal, the quality ofdiet is better than that of the western part of the province. Mustard oil, which is extensively used in cooking, is the main source of fat. In many households, babies are fed with rice or barley gruel. The daily food of the majority is thus characterised by excessive quantities of carbohydrates consumed in the form of rice and gur or sugar; it is deficient in fat of biological value and in protein. Bengalis have a special love for fish eatery. Many times, fish is marinated in spices, and sometimes it is cooked in curd. Their greatest addition to the Indian cuisine is the great and magnificent spectrum of their sweets made from curdled milk, dahi, gulab jamun, rasgulla, and much more. The speciality of the Bengal food is their use of panchphoron (five basic spices) that include cumin seeds, kaulanji, saunf, fenugreek, and mustard seeds. Bengali food is a mixture of sweets and spices. North-Eastern India

Few years ago, momos were all that belonged to the ‘seven sisters’ in north-eastern India. However, with increased travel in the region and savouring variety of dishes, one finds that flavour profile of north-east is as diverse as its culture. Leading food habits of the North-east are well represented by pork, fermentation and preservation. The sub-regional and sub-tribal threads are woven in seamlessly making it a collective representative for all the states. Smoking, slow cooking, boiling and steaming are the common techniques for the preparation ofcuisines in north-eastern India. Healthy, oil-free cooking is a way oflife in the north-east. Dishes likes Chicken Neiiong with black sesame from Meghalaya, Khasi Pulao; Nga Taoba Thongba; a Manipuri-style fried fish curry with green peas; Kalhang pork or the naga pork curry with raja bhut jolokia chillies, paired with Axonhe vegetables; mosedeg, a fermented soyabean vegetable stew and dry fish chatney; Lengphar Leh tumthang chum, a Mizo fish stew with fresh herbs; Sungt divys misa maas, Assamese style prawns steamed in a green bamboo tube, and Perok ekung an Arunachali, in a green bamboo tube, and Perok ekung an Arunachali, steamed chicken with fermented bamboo shoot, are not dishes you

are likely to sample just anywhere in India.

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Chef Sumalya Sarker, Executive Chef, Vivanta, Guwahati

explains, ‘The

cuisine of any place always gets influenced by the landscape, source of water, weather and heritage. This is applicable to the cuisine of the Seven Sisters. The locals rely on resources from the forest, like wild animals, spices, fruits, fish from the rivers, especially pork, duck and pigeon’. Food in this region is essentially authentic and simple. Instead of spices, it is a common practice to flavour food with fermented fish, soyabean, aromatic leaves, herbs and edible flowers.

References

Acharya, K.T. (1984), ‘Interfaces Between Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Science’, UN University Food Nutrition Bulletin Supplement, 298307, 48.

—— (1994), Indian Food: A Historical Companion, Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Anon (1985, May 11-17), ‘Foods’, Eve’s Weekly, Bombay, p. 17. Arnold, D. (1994), ‘The Discovery of Malnutrition and Diet in Colonial India’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, 31(1): 1-2. Babbar, P. (1986), ‘Breads of India’, Namaskar Air India, 6(1): 19. Crowthen, G. (2018), Eating Culture: An Anthropological University of Toronto Press.

Guide

to Food, Toronto:

Dumont, L. (1966), Homo Hierarchicus, Paris: Mouton. Food and Agricultural Organization (2014), Agricultural Outlook, UN: Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Gadgil, M. and K.C. Malhotra (1979), Ecology ofa Pastoral Caste: The Gavli Dhangars of Peninsular India, Calcutta: Indian Statistical Institute. Giedion, S. (1975), Mechanization Takes Command: A Contribution to Anonymous History, New York: Norton.

Gode, P.K. (n.d.), ‘Some Ancient Observations on the Importance ofMilk in General and of Cow’s Milk in Particular’, Journal of the T.M.S.S.M. Library, 5: 2. Heldke, L. (2003), Exotic Appetites, New York: Routledge. hooks, B. (1992), Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics, Boston: South End press.

Huria, V.K. and K.T. Acharya (1980), ‘Dairy Development in India: Some Critical Issues’, Economic and Political Weekly, 15(45/46): 8-15.

—

(1997), ‘Milk as Quality Food’, in P.R. Gupta, Dairy India 1997, New Priyadarshini Vihar, pp. 137-40.

Delhi:

lyenagar, P.T.S. (1912), Life in Ancient India, New Delhi: Asian: Asian Educational Series. Kane, P.V. (1941), History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law), Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

Khare, R.S. (1976), The Hindu Hearth and Home, Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.

Lewis, O. (1958), Village Life in Northern India, New York: Vintage. Mahias, M.-C. (1988), ‘Milk and its Transmutations in Indian Society’, Food and Foodways, 2: 265-88.

Nandy, A. (2004), ‘Ethnic Food’, in V. Lal and A. Nandy (eds), The Twenty First Century Dictionary: The Future of Knowledge and Culture, New Delhi: Penguin.

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National Council of Applied Economic Research (2014), An Analysis of Changing Food

Consumption Pattern in India, New Delhi. Prakash, O. (1961), Food and Drinks in Ancient India, Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.

Ramaswamy, N.S. (1983) (ed.), The Chief Secretary, Madras: New Era Publications. Rangappa, K.S. and K.T. Achaya (1975), Indian Dairy Products, Bombay: Asia Publishing House. Ratnagar, S. (1986), ‘An Aspect of Harappan Agricultural Production’, Studies in History, 2: 137-53. Ray, P. et al. (1980), Susruta Samhita: A Scientific Synopsis, New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. Ribeiro, M. (2019), ‘Secrets of the Seven Sisters: Exploring the Unknown flavours of the North-East’, published on www.financialexpress.com, 16 June 2019. Roy, P. (2010), Alimentary Tracts: Appetites, Duke Aversions, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

and the Postcolonial,

Sample Registration System (2014), Baseline Survey, New Delhi: Registrar General of India. Sharma, B.N. (1972), Social and Cultural History of North India about 1000-1200 AD, New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Shastri (1986), ‘The Acid Test’, The Times of India, 22 June, Bombay. Tannahill, R. (1973), Food in History, New York: Stein and Day.

Times of India (2016, June 9), ‘Seventy per cent of Indian Eat Non-Vegetarian, but Vegetarian Diet Getting Popular’, Times of India. Vishnu-Mittre and R. Savithri (1982), ‘Food Economy of the Harappans’, in G.L. Possehl (ed.), Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, Warminster: Aris & Philips, pp. 205-21.

Worboys, M. (1988), ‘Manson, Ross and Colonial Medical Policy: Tropical Medicine in London and Liverpool, 1899-1914’, in R. MacLeod and M. Lewis (eds), Disease, Medicine and Empire: Perspectives on Western Medicine and the Experience of European Expansion, London: Routledge, pp. 21-37.

4 Food Consumption Pattern An Indian Basket

Cooking and lifestyle have undergone tremendous changes in the past 25 years. The major factors for these social changes are liberalisation, globalisation, dual income, separate living of couples, innovative kitchen applications, media and advertisement proliferation, etc. The cooking style and eating habits vary drastically from one country to another and from one part to another part. Due to lifestyle pressure, nowadays, people prefer less time-consuming and easy ways of cooking food rather than spending time on cooking. Non-availability of raw materials to prepare masala (spices) and the tedious process involved in doing so have influenced people to choose products which are easy to cook. At the same time, people also prefer to eat ethnic food. Thus, outside the home, there is also a mushrooming growth of ethnic food outlets. In the present chapter, our focus is on food production and consumption patterns of people. What the Indian food basket contains for the consumption is also a concern of the chapter. We will also discuss the structural variables which make the differential pattern of food consumption.

Defining Food Pattern Food patterns are a particular way in which food supply, food choice, food preparation, and eating practices are usually done or organised. As a part of food or nutritional behaviour, it assembles various phenomena from everyday life and defines and arranges them according to natural and technical spheres (environmental and natural conditions like climate, light, and topography) and human sphere, especially to the sphere of individual and social action (peoples’ roles and positions with the corresponding social status; patterns of action in purchasing, handling, preparing, serving, and consuming foodstuff; psycho-physical states such as fatigue, stress, and humour) (Bodenstedt 1983).

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In addition to the social science approach, the physical milieu, the social structure of human relationships, and the cultural system of values, norms, goals, and expectations are to be mentioned (Edema 1984). Consumption expenditure on different food items is generally used as a main yardstick for measuring the standard ofliving in different states. A study of temporal changes in consumption patterns provides an insight into status of ahuman resource of a country and hence is helpful in planning future investment decisions. Food Production and Consumption

Because of the disjuncture of labour and production time, the easiest way for capital to penetrate agriculture is through the upstream and downstream sites of the production process, through what is called appropriationism and substitutionism (Godman 1987). On the upstream (production) side, capital steadily appropriates on-farm labour processes by replacing agro-ecological management practices (like the use of green manures, cover crops, animal-based fertilisation, biological and biodiverse forms of pest control, and farm-grown seed stock) with synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and genetically engineered seeds. On farming’s downstream side (merchandising, processing, retail, and consumption), capital substitutes direct producer-consumer relations with a complex of buyers, wholesalers, carriers, commission merchants, packers, cooperatives, and grower-shippers who send farm products to canners, bottlers, and packers before they end up on supermarket shelves, restaurant plates, and in fast food cartons. Farm products are also broken down into basic ingredients (protein, carbohydrates, and oil) to be reassembled in industrial products like soft drinks, processed food, or cosmetics. The tendency towards overproduction in the farm sector means that new markets must be developed for the ever-increasing volume of production. Increasingly, food scholars look for connections between production and consumption. For instance, Purnima Mankekar (2002) illustrated how specific local consumption is contextualised within the global form. She vibrantly described Indian grocery stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, their commodities - produced in the United States, India, or elsewhere - displayed to evoke, here, the American supermarket and, there, a regional Indian market. The shopper is enmeshed in trans-nationality, aware at one time of her two national identities, Indian and American. Melissa Caldwell’s (2002) ethnographic study of food consumption practices in Moscow linked personal eating experiences to broader political issues, such as growing nationalist sentiments in the context of a globalising Russia. Linking consumption and production is advocated by Ben Fine (2002) in his critique of the literature on eating disorders, which tends, he argues, to overemphasise individual consumption, especially among women. Left unaddressed is the relationship between these disorders and the conditions of production: ‘Compulsions to eat and to diet are heavily created and conditioned

by the economics of food. Both eating and dieting are fed by huge industries, seeking to expand in whatever way possible’ (p. 223). Our food system

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encourages overconsumption and then sells us foods to help us diet. To understand consumption, Fine argues, we must link it to production. Change in Food Consumption and Eating Patterns

The restructuring of the life embedded in the more general social process of industrialisation has had far-reaching consequences for meals and meal patterns, as did the industrialisation of foodstuff production. The time, number, composition, and temperature (hot or cold) of meals changed during the process of transformation from agricultural and artisan societies to industrial and urban ones. Teuteberg and Wiegelmann (1972, 1986) studied a range of such changes in Germany and other parts of Central Europe; Crawford and Broadley (1938) and Oddy and Miller (1976) did so in England; Hartog (1980) and van Otterloo (1990) in the Netherlands; Levenstein (1988) in the United States; and Rotenberg (1981) in Austria. A most general effect of industrialisation of food production and the reorganisation of trade networks was the end of widespread hunger and scarcity. At the turn of the century, more food was available, and by 1950, shortages in Western industrialised countries for the lower economic strata was over. More specifically, improved food technology meant the availability of substitutes, such as beet-sugar and margarine, and new food products. New versions of ready for use products developed in 20th century like dehydrated potato, maize flour, milk powder, biscuits, cornflakes, cereals, tinned meat, fish, and fruits. All these products changed the plight of the kitchen maid and housewife. Preparation of food at home was also made easier when open fires were replaced by gas or electric stoves (improved still further by the introduction of thermostatic controls in the first half of this century) and piped water in houses and kitchens became nearly universal (Schwarz-Cowan 1983; Strasser 1982). Urbanisation and the geographical separation of the home and the workplace led people to change their eating habits: bread, cereals, and coffee or tea in the morning instead of porridge, ham or bacon and eggs, baked potatoes, or pancakes; the hot meal at noon was postponed till the evening; and lunch came to resemble breakfast, at least in northern Europe and the United States. In countries such as France and Italy, the hot meal at noon was more widely maintained. The most important implication of food technology and the quantitative and qualitative changes in food supply (combined with rising incomes) was the considerable rise in the consumption of (high-energy) meat and dairy products and the use of a larger variety of foodstuffs. Food Basket of Indians

Dietary adaptation of diets to include more processed, refined, and branded foods is influenced by dramatic changes in the lifestyle which are driven by, among others, demands of time, increased exposure to advertising, availability of new foods, and emergence of new food retail outlets. Urban residents were the first to undergo lifestyle and environmental changes, but these eventually filtered down into less urbanised areas as well. The National Sample Survey

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Office (NSSO) Report of 2014 mentioned India’s official source of consumption, employment, and other statistics and also provided more insight into India’s consumption habits. The report mentions that the top 5 per cent of urban India spends ¢ 3,000 per capita per month on groceries and eating out on average. This class consumes the least amount ofcereals, save for derivative cereals such as noodles and bread, while their consumption of milk, eggs, meat, and other processed food has increased. NSSO data over the years confirms some of these long-standing trends. The share of cereals in Indian household expenditure, for instance, has decreased from 41 per cent to 18 per cent in rural India and from 23 per cent to 10 per cent in urban India between 1972-73 and 2004. Data from 2004 also shows that Indians are moving away from locally available seasonal vegetables towards high-value vegetable products such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and capsicum (NSSO 2005). Food Basket of Westerners

In modern Western countries, at least two types of food consumption research have been developed. These are in the first place large-scale epidemiological surveys which measure as exactly as possible ‘food intake’, nutritional status, health characteristics, and social variables of national populations (Diehl and Leitzmann 1986; Thomas 1982). Small-scale studies on special groups of the population, with or without biomedical and nutritional data, are also important (Freedman and Grivetti, 1984; Grignon 1987). Frequently, one or other of these special groups - in the opinion ofnutritionists - runs a certain health risk if they do not eat a suitable diet. This is particularly important at several periods in the life cycle of individuals, for instance, pregnancy, birth and infancy, and youth and old age. A great deal of research, therefore, deals with expectant mothers, children, families, young people, and elderly people. Other groups at risk are the sick (at home or in the hospitals and other institutions), the poor, students, migrants, and adherents of ‘alternatives food systems’. Some strict forms of vegetarianism, macrobiotics, and other food belief systems also exist in the society. Mary Harris et al. (1984), for instance, described the food intake in a multicultural community in the South-western United States with special reference to ethnic, gender, and age differences. The authors concluded that nutrition programmes and curriculum development should be adapted and tailored to fit the needs of children of different cultures, sexes, and ages. Other studies are, for instance, directed at the social and nutritional situation of mothers and children living in extended families in Jordan (Miles and Bisharat 1990). It appears that the child’s nutritional status is strongly and adversely influenced by his/her mother’s position of low autonomy within the family. A great many historical and sociological studies, overviews, or commentaries on food consumption, preferences, and eating habits are based in part on or make use of these generally quantitatively analysed data (Essemyr 1986; Fischler 1986a, 1989; Grignon and Grignon 1984, 1987; Kutsch 1986). On long-term changes in eating habits and tastes of nations such as England (Drummond and Wilbraham 1939) and Australia (Symons 1982).

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Social Structure and Food Consumption Pattern Food consumption pattern has been changing. There has been a major shift in food habits in the metropolitan cities, about 86 per cent of households prefer to

have instant food due to a steep rise in dual income level and standard ofliving, convenience, and influence of Western countries (The Hindu 2011). This nutrition transition is associated with changes in lifestyle, such as growing urbanisation, increasing sedentary activities, and changing modes of transport, resulting in a switch from a high to low physical activity. The conjunction of inadequate situations in terms of nutrition, lifestyle, and physical activity has been demonstrated to be associated with increasing risks of overweight, obesity, and diet-related diseases (Shetty 2002; WHO 2003). India, with its population of 1.25 billion, is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. It is also demographically one of the youngest, with around 50 per cent of its population below the age of 25 years and around 65 per cent below the age of 35 years. The majority of Indian consumption of fast food is by people between 18 and 40 years old. The appetite of the young Indian population has been a key driver in ‘Quick Service Restaurant’ industry growth. Increase in disposable income of middle-class families resulted in them spending more on food consumption. Consumers are now spending as high as 51 per cent of their income on food products. The dining out culture has evolved in India over time with casual dining restaurants now forming the second largest segment (32%). In 2013, the size of the casual dining market was estimated at around ¥ 66,000 crore and projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10 per cent to reach a size of ¥ 1,06,818 crore by 2018 (Grant Thornton 2015). According to the National Restaurant Association of India, 50 per cent of the Indian population is eating out at least once every 3 months and eight times every month in bustling metros as compared to the United States (14 times), Brazil (11 times), Thailand (10 times), and China (9 times) (Business Standard 2015). Easy access, reasonable prices, fascination of eating out, changing lifestyle, taste and cultural impact, and home delivery system and reasonable prices of the fast food services influence the consumer behaviour (Kashyap et al. 2013). Vasantha et al. (2015) highlighted that in today’s fast moving life, the lifestyles of people have undergone drastic changes which have majorly influenced their dietary patterns. People are more inclined towards processed food which is high in calorie, sugar, and salt content. These changes have also brought many non-communicable diseases which are generally affecting the people of developing countries like India. They have also suggested few strategies which can be followed to overcome the nutrition-related health problems faced by the people. Class and Food Consumption

Higher socio-economic groups are generally reported to consume a greater range and variety of foodstuffs which are more likely to accord with the nutritionally approved orthodoxy of the day than those lower down the social scale. As the widely adopted dietary guidelines of the 1980s recommended a

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reduction in the intake of salt, sugar, and (saturated) fat and an increase in the consumption of dietary fibre, so a class-gradient is observed in the use of items such as skimmed milk, vegetables, and brown bread. Fruit provides a particu-

larly clear example of foods currently highly recommended for the maintenance of good health. Its consumption is commonly observed to be greater in the higher income/professional groups in, for example, Denmark (Haraldsdottir et al. 1987), Northern Ireland (Barker et al. 1988), England and Wales (Blaxter 1990), and Finland (Prattala and Helminen 1990). Similarly, diets with higher amounts of animal fat are more likely to be recorded among lower socio-economic groups (Barker et al. 1988; Blaxter 1990) and among farmers, for example, in Finland (Prattala and Helminen 1990), Switzerland (Gex-Fabry et al. 1988), and France (Grignon and Grignon 1984). Such class variations are evident in other forms of food consumption. Middle-class infants are more likely to be breast-fed, as currently medically advised, than those born to working-class parents in industrialised societies (Martin 1978), a phenomenon also reported in developing countries, though class is often encoded in the use of terms such as industrialisation, poverty, or urbanisation (e.g. Dettwyler 1987; Manderson 1984; Thomas 1981; Underwood and Margetts 1987). Levenstein (1988) suggested that the upper and middle classes were responsible for a disproportionately great share of the nearly 20 per cent of the total expenditure on retail foods in the United States which goes on special ‘reduced’ or ‘diet’ foods. And in Britain (Fiddes 1991), the Netherlands, and probably most other industrialised countries, it is the middle classes that are more likely to be vegetarian. Cooking methods also show a class-gradient: frying rather than baking or grilling being more common among lower socio-economic groups. Small-scale studies reveal that class variations in consumption patterns are finely grained. Calnan (1990) reported that working-class households in Britain are more likely to have purchased tinned and frozen rather than fresh vegetables (as well as white bread, white flour, full-fat milk, and more sugar) than the middle class households. Ekstrom (1991), however, reported no class differences in vegetable consumption in Swedish families, but found a greater likelihood that the middle classes consume alcohol during meals.

Sex and Food Consumption Overall, women are reported to consume smaller total amounts of food than men. Differences in average stature and, in part, energy expenditure, cannot be discounted (Department of Health 1991), but they do not wholly accountable for the differentials in consumption patterns. Sex differences in the consumption of amount and type of food are widely found to be bolstered by accompanying beliefs, taboos, cultural prescriptions, and proscriptions in different eras and societies (De Garine and Koppert 1990; Delphy 1979; Odebiyi 1989; O’Laughlin 1974; Swantz 1975) though they may not always be followed in practice (Manderson 1981). For instance, Chapman (1990) reported a marked distinction between the food and drink typically consumed by men and women

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in Brittany fishing village. Pork pate, sausage, and fat, with white bread, are considered characteristically masculine, while women eat cake made of white flour and butter. Correspondingly, where women drink great quantities of coffee, men drink an awesome amount of red wine, taken as ‘virtually their entire daily fluid intake, after the morning bowl of coffee. Two litres a day is normal. Wine is not unknown’ (Chapman 1990: 32). Men regard wine as good for blood vessels and red wine as masculine blood. It is contrasted to milk, white and feeble, held to be a child’s or woman’s drink that is positively bad for the adult masculine digestion or health. Critical of discriminatory beliefs, Shapiro (1986) sees a historical continuity. Women, she claims, are still ‘haunted’ by what Miss Sedwick, a mid-19th-century New England moralist, described as the ‘monster appetite’. And she tartly recalls an observation of 1903 that ‘lunch was of no interest to anormal woman’ (Shapiro 1986). Though less likely to be overweight than men in, for example, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia, women were more likely than men to reduce their food intake as a means of achieving weight loss. Adolescent girls are found more likely than boys of the same age to endorse statements that most people need to lose weight (Hamblin 1980). It is well-known that eating disorders (especially those entailing self-starvation and self-administered purging) have increased among females to a far greater extent than among males over the past few decades (Farmer et al. 1986). Meat avoidance generally is reported to be more common nowadays among women than men, with half of all British women claiming to be ‘eating less meat’ (Fiddes 1991: 29). According to Bourdieu (1986) in France, also, these differences in consumption run much deeper than at how it first appears. In industrialised nations, sex differences in food consumption may have few gross implications for health in the population as a whole. Elsewhere, however, sex distinctions in consumption can have far graver and more immediately obvious consequences. In South Asia, for instance, Sen (1985) has commented on a sharp ‘bias’ against women in the distribution of food. The association with gender differences in mortality, morbidity, and malnutrition in that region is inescapable (Harriss 1990).

Age and Food Consumption Sociologically, age only surfaces as anything more than a conventionally collected datum (Finch 1987) when calendar years signify social and/or biological capacity, maturity, or infirmity in implied comparison with ‘normal’ adulthood. In this sense, infants and the elderly occupy similar social locations both to one another and to the sick and mentally retarded. Food consumption practices and beliefs provide one arena in which this cultural location can be made apparent. Compared with the burgeoning mass of research on the relation of food consumption and eating patterns to sex, which is partly the product of the upsurge of feminist sociology, sociological work on food among the elderly in

industrialised nations is relatively less developed. The sociology of ageing, however, is a distinctive and well-funded field in the United States. McIntosh and

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his associates have published a number of papers arising from a large-scale empirical survey in this area (McIntosh and Shifflett 1984; Shifflett and McIntosch 1986). The main thrust of these research centres hypothesised the tendency of old people, especially when living alone, recently widowed, or in different health, to neglect their diet and suffer consequential nutritional deterioration. McIntosh and his associates have explored how eating habits are affected by the social support, with involvement in social networks (including religious organisations), given to the elderly and by whether an elderly person has a long or short perspective of future time. Youth, however, is a rather different matter. Good nutrition in the early years of life is held to contribute to securing a healthy adulthood (Darke 1980; Pelto 1987). This biomedical assumption shades over and is consonant with predominant Western ideologies of childhood, which are continually characterised in terms ofthe future (James and Prout 1990). In food consumption as in anything else, it is widely assumed that ‘habits’, ‘behaviour’, and ‘preferences’ acquired in childhood shape those of adulthood, creating patterns that are resistant to change. Socio-medical surveillance of children and their caretakers inevitably includes concern with the manner in which they are fed, a concern so self-evidently worthy that moralising does not always need to be concealed. The history of infant feeding is replete with examples (De Mause 1974: 34). In turn, feeding babies and children is only too readily characterised as a problem that these become ‘medicalised’ (Fischler 1986a, 1986b). While the social policing of children is the subject of sociological (and historical) investigation, it is also, of course, the ideological source creating the rationale (as well, it may be supposed, as funding opportunities) for research (Fink 1985). Such work has as often been undertaken by nutritionists and public health experts as by social scientists (for recent examples worldwide, see Doan and Bisharat 1990; King and Ashworth 1987; Shack et al. 1990; Truswell and Darnton-Hill 1981; Tucker and Sanjur 1988). In Britain, infant feeding practices are the subject of public health-inspired monitoring (Martin 1978). Research on food consumption in the early years of life focusses prominently on influences

leading to artificial rather than breast-feeding and the introduction of mixed feeding. This work includes the study of the impact of commercial activity and advertising, especially in developing countries (Hung et al. 1985; Igun 1982); their relation to social networks, for instance, among different ethnic groups in Florida (Bryant 1982); the association with women’s status within the household in Jordan (Doan and Bisharat 1990); and the influence of maternal attitudes in Britain (Jones 1986). Implicitly, this rationale extends to assumptions that children’s eating habits are unexceptionable topics for investigations. The documentation of secular changes in lifestyle formed the mainspring for Prattala’s (1989) combined sociological and nutritional investigation of teenagers’ food consumption patterns in Finland. Adolescents are confronted with a duality: awareness ofthe ‘real’ food consumed by their parents and nutritional advice on low fat and low sugar consumption; they nonetheless find ‘junk’ food far more appealing. She shows that teenagers ‘manage’ this duality according to the social

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context: at home or with teachers, they eat ‘real’ foods, but in the company of their peers, they opt for ‘junk’ food. Popkin and Lim-Ybanez (1982) applied the economist’s cast of mind to assessing the impact of nutrition on investments in education; they too assume that child feeding is self-evidently important. Youth and Food Consumption Goyal and Singh (2007) in their research work entitled Consumer Perceptions about Ready-to-eat in India: An Exploratory Study have explored that the young Indian consumers have a passion for visiting ready-to-eat outlets for fun and change, but they feel that home-made food is better than convenient ready-to-eat food. Their findings have revealed that consumer acceptability for ready-to-eat food in the future would be decided only by the quality of food and customer service. Urban-Rural People and Food Consumption There is a marked difference in consumption between urban and rural consumers. Urban consumers represent 70 per cent of the vitamin and dietary supplement market, and rural consumers represent 30 per cent. Indian consumers are spending more on nutritional supplements to combat the effects of stress. Protein supplements and items relating to muscle building are popular due to the increasing fitness and body building activity among the urban elite. India consumes the largest quantity of tea in the world. Tea makes up 94 per cent of out-of-home, per capita, hot drink consumption and almost 70 per cent of in-home consumption. The sale ofcoffee, tea, and cocoa in India has increased by 14 per cent from 1995 to 2007. The availability of imported tea on retail shelves

has increased, and there has been a growth in sales of tea bag and flavoured teas (Euromonitor International 2008). Migrants and Food Consumption Pattern

There are people who are migrating to cities for job and education, and these people find ready-to-eat products easily available to them, and therefore, they consume them. Sometimes, they do not have time to go to restaurants or to other eating joints; thus, they eat ready-to-eat food products. Diversity may have traditionally given rise to a number of cuisines distinct to regions, but changing food habits and extensive migration of workers are spreading

local tastes

across

the country.

For instance,

a sweet

variant

of

Gujarati Gorkeri pickle from a leading national player gets its highest sales from West Bengal. Similarly, a Rajasthani sweet lime gets its highest sales from Delhi, followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra. Packaged foods Technology Company noticed that its branded wheat atta is growing faster in the south as compared to other geographical areas. Sanjana Desai, the head of food division business development at Desai Brothers (Mother’s Recipe), said, ‘We have been part of this transition and have witnessed consumption of a particular regional variant product being consumed more in other regions’. For example, Punjabi pickle variant - which was traditionally sold in Punjab and nearby states - has seen more growth and traction in states like Maharashtra and other places. In fact,

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Mother's Recipe’s Punjab pickle is one ofthe top selling variant in Maharashtra (21%), followed by Delhi (17%) and Karnataka (14%) (Times Business 2018, April 5). There is a rising trend of people becoming increasingly health conscious, which is reflected in dietary and general lifestyle changes as a result of concerns related to lifestyle diseases and adulteration. In the south, consumers are increasingly adopting wheat and wheat-based dishes. The incidence of ready-to-eat chapattis is also on the rise. According to a study done in Tamil Nadu’s household consuming atta, it was found that at least once a week, they use it for breakfast and now it has risen more than twofold in the year 2017. Chapattis and wheat dishes, which were earlier restricted to only dinner, are now becoming more accepted as a breakfast meal. This is also reflected in household panel data, which shows that brand Ashirvad atta is used by about 75 per cent of the households in the south (Times Business 2018, April 5). Even in the ready-to-cook segment, Desai said the company has seen south-special Kerala variants like Malabar chicken roast getting good traction in markets like New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and other parts of India as well. Similarly, Kerala fish curry is being sold in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and north-eastern states and has seen an increasing demand. Key factors in driving sales are consumers, who are well travelled, experimenting with other cuisines. In the contemporary time, migration has become the norm, and geography has become history. People migrate for jobs and education beyond the boundaries of state, language, and indeed food-lines. As this happens, there is still a craving for what one is used to. Food tastes and cravings have criss-crossed borders. The local markets will soon be unlocal. Another key aspect is the availability of products throughout the year. Earlier, pickle-making was limited in the season of those fruits and vegetables. People generally made one or two varieties of pickles, which they would consume for a limited period. With the advent of commercialisation, the effect of seasonality has decreased. All pickles and seasonal food products are easily available to consumers throughout the year. Double Earners in the Family and Food Consumption Most ofthe dual income (where both husband and wife are office goers) families want to spend less time on cooking because of less availability of time. During weekends, they want to spend time with their kids and outing, whereas in week days, the office duration is long, and these factors force them to go for buying such products.

Food Eating, Affluence, and Disorder Recently, the foci of food consumption research have turned to problems of eating and health connected with the conditions of living in modern industrialised and affluent societies. One very important question is that of fatness and its corollaries, the so-called welfare diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and some types ofcancer. The broad spectrum of‘eating disorders’ like obesity, bulimia, and anorexia nervosa are also examples. Although the latter are considered psychiatric problems, they most probably would not have occurred

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in societies without a stable and plentiful supply of food in which standards of health and beauty have become entangled. These social demands have caused many difficulties for those people, especially women, failing to meet them. Another important research theme, recently rediscovered, has to do with the social inequality in food and our health. This question belongs, in part, to the larger field of poverty studies which has a long-standing tradition. The studies of Seebohm Rowntree (1901) and Maud Pember Reeves (1913) on conditions of housing and diet among the British poor at the beginning of the 20th century are two examples. This type of research is more often undertaken in periods of declining welfare or economic depression, and other times of hazard for groups of the population with weak income positions. For instance, among some groups, hunger and malnutrition are still a problem, even in the United States of today (Fitchen 1988). The term ‘Orthorexic’ was first coined in 1996 by Dr Steven Bratman, the American author of Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa. For orthorexics, a fixation with what they eat becomes an all-consuming lifestyle, reporter Judith Woods quotes Dr Alex Yellowlees, medical Director of the Priory Hospital in Glasgow, as saying, ‘They are “good” and foods that are “bad” and their diet suffers, their personal relationships come under pressure and they end up socially isolated, because the simple act of eating has become so stressful’ (The Times of India 2008, March 3). Some of us are getting so hung up about health food that orthorexia may soon become a common enough term. A growing section ofsociety is displaying a fastidious preoccupation with the purity of their good, leading them towards their own eating disorder category: orthorexia nervosa. So, we come across people who will not touch any dairy or refuse to eat sugar and fat or will only have food that is entirely additive free. English fashion designer and actor Sadie Frost recently announced that she has a horror of eating what she called ‘dirty’ food. By dirty, she meant food that was not organic. While there are no statistics available about people suffering from the disorder, celebrities seem to be particularly prone to orthorexia. No wonder then that Victoria Beckham breakfasts on algae and seaweed shakes and snacks on edamame beans, and Gwyneth Paltrow adheres to a macrobiotic diet. Natalie Portman and Uma Thurman mostly eat raw food, and Reese Witherspoon consumes jars of organic baby food, which she carries around in her handbag. But common people too are increasingly joining the group ofhealth food freaks, mainly because we have been frightened en masse by the food industry marketers. People are bringing their own boxes of salad to work every day, or

rarely accepting dinner invitations because they get stressed about what might be served. This approach is catching on, even though it may ultimately do more harm than good. For instance, parents who mistakenly believe that all fat is bad will cause malnutrition in their children by removing it completely from their diet. And obsession like this can undoubtedly progress to orthorexia of the 21st century.

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Awareness

The Indian consumer market, which is primarily dominated by the young generation, is becoming increasingly sophisticated and brand-conscious. A typical

upper middle-class young consumer is beginning to look beyond the utility aspect of a product to seek intangibles like brand and lifestyle statements associated with the product. The modern consumer wants his/her purchases to reflect his/her lifestyle or at least the one he/she aspires for. As a result of this brand consciousness, the food and beverage segment is already witnessing a significant shift in demand from loose to branded products. Generally speaking, consumer awareness of fortified/functional products is low. A recent survey shows 80 per cent of Indians agree that health consciousness significantly influences their choice of food and drinks. Approximately 48 per cent of these respondents feel that functional food claims play a significant role in their purchasing decisions for food and beverage products (The World Bank 2006).

Food as a Hobby Mothers working full time outside home often feel meal preparation a burdensome task. Meal preparation as a duty is being replaced by meal preparation as a hobby. One may go when one has time and feels like it, together with friends, trying new flavours and recipes, etc. Those who can afford it may go to nice restaurants and travel to exotic destinations to taste exotic cuisine. Food as a hobby provides new and interesting experiences. People discuss entertaining food programmes and competitions that have become very frequent and popular on the television and other social media. Television and other websites provide a less expensive way to get new experiences of food. Varjonen (2002: 172) in his study of ‘Future Trends of Food Production and Consumption’ in Finland found that food as an expensive hobby involves only a very minor part of the Finland population at the moment but it is expected to gain ground.

Dietary Pattern: An Empirical Analysis Soon and Tee (2014) in their study Changing Trends in Dietary pattern and Implications to Food and Nutrition Security in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have proposed in their paper the need to review the changing eating patterns ofSouth East Asian countries. The traditional diets especially in urban cities have been modified and replaced by diets which are high in fats, salts, and animal products. This has resulted in reduced intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Other changes in food intake include increase of Western franchised fast foods as well as local ‘fast foods’. Such changes in dietary pattern may be viewed as negative changes in the nutrition security of communities. Food security emphasises the need for dietary quality, particularly micronutrient deficiencies associated with inadequate intake of essential vitamins and minerals. This has resulted in a complete transition in nutrition intake. Guyomard et al. (2012) in his paper ‘Eating Patterns and Food Systems: Critical Knowledge Requirements for Policy Design and Implementation’ highlights the extent to which eating patterns are important for building

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agricultural systems. The food transition process characterising the convergence of eating patterns consists of two main types. The first step is quantitative. The caloric intake increases with proportionally equal increases in all food products; the nutritional structure of the intake is stable. The second step, called ‘diet transition’, is qualitative. Once caloric saturation is achieved, diet structure

changes and consumption of cereals and vegetables decreases while that of sugar, fats, and animal products increases. The westernisation of food consumption patterns may not be characterised simply by the rise in calorie intake; the increase in sugar, fats, and animal products; and the simultaneous decline in cereals, potatoes, and pulses. This translates into a quick increase in the percentage of lipids in the diet - up to more than 40 per cent in many developed and emerging countries and households - and a sharp decrease in the percentage of complex carbohydrates, starch, and fibres. The percentage of proteins is more stable; however, this apparent stability masks a switch from plant to animal protein sources. This nutrition transition is associated with changes in lifestyle, such as growing urbanisation, increasing sedentary activities, and changing modes of transport, resulting in a switch from a high to low physical activity. The conjunction of inadequate situations in terms of nutrition, lifestyle, and physical activity has been demonstrated to be associated with increasing risks of overweight, obesity, and diet-related diseases (Shetty 2002).

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Food and Women

There are many terrains on which the relation between food and women can be discussed. There is of course an immediate practical, physical, or economic level. For example, food production, food provision, and food preparation are everywhere activities marked by sexual or, more properly, gender divisions of labour. They may be more or less rigid and more or less subject to social valuation and sanction. Men and women usually consume unequal amounts of food, and there is evidence that, in some places, they suffer and survive modern-day hunger and malnutrition differently. The present chapter highlights the role of women in food production, processing, provisioning, and security. We will also discuss the gendered relationship of food with culture.

Gendered Relationship with Food

Foods are constructed as masculine or feminine. Men and women have different relationships with food, with women reporting greater concern with food and weight. Women perform most of the household work which also includes planning, provisioning, cooking, and serving. Men and children are the beneficiaries of women’s work, and, even though men increasingly participate in it, they often do so to maintain, rather than disrupt, gender distinctions (Deutsch and Silber 2005; DeVault 1991). Claude Levi-Strauss (1983) demonstrated that social convention, rather than biology, determined what was suitable to members of a given society. He also examined how certain foods were designated as suitable either for men or for women, or should only be consumed on holidays or never by children. The global food system is not only stratified by class, it is racialised and gendered. These inequalities influence people’s access to land and productive resources because of contaminated food, air, and water; working conditions in

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food and farm jobs; and access to healthy food. These inequalities affect resiliency, the ability of communities and individuals to recover from disasters such

as floods and droughts due to climate change. The skewed distribution of resources and the inequitable exposure to the food system’s ‘externalities’ are rooted in the inseparable histories of imperialism, colonialism, and patriarchy (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 144). In India, under-five live births category 2017, there were 44 deaths per

1,000 girls as compared to 39 for boys in year 2017. The figure for baby girl indicates forty four extra deaths per 1,000 live births. It is a wakeup call for those nations who claim that they have reached gender equality. The gender equality also includes access to food, health services, fair incomes, and ownership. These are also reflective of women’s disproportionate exposure to violence and their exclusion from formal structures of political power. Agriculture might have been invented by women and animal husbandry by men and that has produced a surplus of storable food. Population boom within hunter-gatherer societies during the Neolithic period resulted in the conflict of ownership and control of the food surplus between men and women. Role of production and reproduction began to change as agricultural activities became prime community activities. Agriculture is time- and labour-intensive, whereas in the hunting stage, it was limited. Agricultural societies needed many labours to meet the demand of field work. Due to the steady and dedicated devotion of time by men in agriculture rather than hunting, women began to specialise in childcare and household activities. Men started controlling the livestock. Livestock included milk and meat. Slowly, patriarchy and private property emerged as a way for a means to control both the inter-generational and intra-generational distribution of agricultural surplus. Women’s subjugated status did not end their participation in the food system, but it did devalue their work both inside and outside their home. This is even visible today. Women produce much of the food, cook most of the meals, and feed and care for everyone; however, they hardly have access to land and the means ofproduction. Gender, Food, and Culture

In every culture, some foods are considered masculine and other feminine (Counihan and Kaplan 1998). Meat by and large is associated with masculinity. According to Sobal (2005: 137), research on food studies demonstrated conclusively that ‘Animal flesh is a consummate male food, and a man eating meat is an example of maleness’. In most cultures, hunting is traditionally assigned to men, and hunting and meat-eating symbolically represent men’s domination over nature and incorporation of the vanquished animal’s strength (Adams 1990). In

Western culture, salads, vegetables, and ‘light’ foods are linked to femininity, mirroring women’s concern with weight and body size (Adams 1990; Amiraian and Sobol 2009). Reflective of the association of masculinity with meat and femininity with vegetables, women are much more likely than men to be vegetarians (Maurer 2002).

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Gendered Foodways

Men and women

are often rewarded for sticking to gendered food ways and

looked down for deviating from them. In particular, one is judged as feminine or masculine by what and how much one eats. College students who were partici-

pants rated a video of a woman eating a small salad as significantly more appealing than a video of the same woman eating a sandwich (Basow’ and Kobrynowicz 1993). In another study, subjects rated women eating large meals as significantly less attractive than those consuming smaller ones. However, ratings of men were not affected by meal size, suggesting a sexual double standard. Subjects also rated persons consuming large meals as significantly less feminine and more masculine than those consuming smaller meals regardless of their gender (Bock and Kanarek 1995). The gender aspect is also related to internalisation of food rules. Counihan (1992: 58) in her study found that women worry more than men about calories, and calories override women’s concerns about vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and protein. She concluded that ‘The sexes are enjoined to eat differently-men to eat heartily and abundantly, women daintily and sparingly’. Further, there is also a link between attractiveness and eating. Women are more concerned about calories and more likely to be on diet than men. Women eat less when they are dining with men than when dining with other women. It has been marked in hetero-

sexual dating encounters (Counihan 1992; Young et al. 2009). Women tend to ‘favour easy-to-eat and neat foods as appropriate for a date, a difference researchers attribute to women wanting to avoid food spilling on and staining clothing or sticking to their teeth (Amiraian and Sobol 2009: 230). Men, on the other hand, do not adjust their eating behaviours when dining with women (Young et al. 2009), underscoring the stronger link between women’s food consumption and physical attractiveness. Nevertheless, some research indicates that men are more likely than women to restrict their food choices to those considered gender appropriate (Gal and Wilkie 2010). Gender non-conformity is more threatening for men because it represents the loss of a valued and powerful social status. Because femininity is not as highly valued as masculinity, women’s gender non-conformity is less disruptive of gendered power dynamics (Guptill, et al. 2017: 34). Gender shapes the choices of comfort foods; men tend to prefer hot meals, while women prefer snack foods (Wansink 2007; Wansink et al. 2003). Researchers explain that men more often eat meals prepared by others and associate these hot dishes with being cared for. Women, conversely, often do the work of preparing meals and find ready-to-eat foods a mark of indulgence. Anne Allison (1991: 195) has given the excellent example of a Japanese practice of preparing elaborate and appealing lunch box for their school-going children. In Japan, mothers are expected to prepare lunch with meticulous care, and students are expected to eat them quickly and in their entirety. This is a compulsory practice of Japanese culture which ‘situated the producer as a woman and mother, and the consumer, as a child of a mother and a student of school ... Both mother and child are being watched, judged, and constructed’.

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Power is at work in Japanese culture, maintaining women’s unequal burden in child-rearing and families’ subordination to state.

Women’s feeding work is often taken for granted and goes unnoticed, unless itis not done, despite the fact that it entails considerable mental planning, including monitoring family member’s taste and preferences, and requires physical labour in the form of shopping, cooking, and cleaning (Charles and Kerr 1988; DeVault 1991). It is expected that women have more flexible schedules and free time to complete feeding work, know more about nutrition, have more cooking skills, and want to avoid upsetting family members, especially husbands. Whilst, in general, the purchase of all food items is done by men only, the choice of food is influenced by personal likes and dislikes. Women are socialised to take care ofall family members’ preferences for food and drink. They are also aware of the nutritional needs of family members. Since she does not purchase food, she cannot adequately take care of the nutritional requirements of the family. One woman reported that: ‘Most of the food items like fruit and vegetables are purchased by my husband and he buys whatever he likes. He hardly cares for other family members’ needs and likes’ (Nagla 2007). There is a persistence of gendered foodways, and it also persists in the culture of dieting. Dieting is seen as a feminine concern. Role of Women and Food

Although both women and men have different and complementary roles in guaranteeing food security at household and community levels, women often play a greater role in ensuring nutrition, food safety, and quality and are generally responsible for processing and preparing food for their households and, thus, for the nutritional well-being of the household members. Food processing contributes to food security by assuring ongoing diversity of diet, minimising waste and losses, and improving marketability of foods, enabling women to participate in the trade of food products. Their marketing activities translate directly into improved family nutrition, as studies have shown that women tend to contribute a far greater percentage of their cash income to household food requirements than men do. Women in their reproductive years, especially during pregnancy and lactation, have specific nutrient requirements, which determine both their nutritional status and that of their children. Nagla (2007) in her study found that women are the victims of food discrimination, whereby priority is given to feeding the male members of the family first, compromising the nutritional and health status of the female family members. Women

and Economic Access to Food

Another important dimension of food security is economic access to available food. Studies have shown that improvements in household welfare depend not only on the level of household income, but also on who earns that income. These studies report that women relative to men tend to spend their income disproportionately on food for the family. Moreover, women’s incomes are more strongly associated with improvements in children’s health and

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nutrition status than men’s incomes. Why do men and women tend to spend income differently? Societal and cultural norms may assign women the role of ensuring that household members, especially children, receive an adequate share of available food. Also, since women’s income tends to come in smaller and more frequent amounts than men’s income, it may be more income spent ) on daily subsistence needs. Women

and Natural Resources

The preservation of biological diversity, including plant and animal genetic resources, is now widely recognised as critical to achieving food security. The rural poor, who have benefited the least from modern high-yielding plant varieties and cannot afford external inputs (such as fertilisers, pesticides, and high-quality seeds), grow the majority of their crop from seeds that they have selected and stored themselves. To protect themselves against crop failure, animal losses, and malnutrition, men and women subsistence farmers have developed different expertise and knowledge about the local environment, plant and animal species, and their products and uses. These gender-differentiated local knowledge systems play a decisive role in the conservation, management,

and improvement of genetic resources for

food and agriculture. In many areas, the majority of small holder farmers are women. They are largely responsible for the selection, improvement, and adaptation of plant varieties. In many regions, women are also responsible for the management of small livestock, including their reproduction, and they have often a more highly specialised knowledge of wild plants used for food, fodder, and medicine than men. Increased understanding and recognition of the complex decision-making processes related to the management of biodiversity is gradually leading breeders and researchers to realise that a community will adopt and select new and improved seeds for food crops if they have been tested and approved by both women and men farmers. Access to land or the lack of it concerns both rural women and men, as it is essential to improving agricultural productivity. Without secure land rights, farmers have little or no access to credit, rural organisations, and other agricultural inputs and services. In some

cases, customary practices and laws that limit women’s rights to land prevail over legislation that guarantees their right to land. Furthermore, insecure land tenure reduces people’s incentives to maintain soil quality because they have no permanent rights to the land. Also, in order to ensure effective adoption of improved technologies for natural resources management, the methodology and approach for development and transfer of such technologies must be participatory, as is done in the implementation of farmers’ field schools. Women as Preservers of Biodiversity

Women are often the preservers of traditional knowledge of indigenous plants and seeds. cure, they nutrition, herbs, and

As the have a health, spices

ones responsible for supplying their families with food and special knowledge of the value and diverse use of plants for and income. They grow traditional varieties of vegetables, in their kitchen gardens. Women also often experiment with

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the adoption of indigenous species. They are involved in the exchange ofsavings of seeds. This has important implications for the conservation of plant genetic resources. Indigenous women of Chile know the value of biodiversity and ancestral knowledge. The National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women of Chile, Anamuri,

has run a seed campaign

since 2002, with activities that

include seedbeds, seed exchanges, biodiversity fairs, and ecologically friendly farming groups, who grow their own vegetables (Alordo 2008). As providers of basic foods, fuel, and water for their families, women have an important stake in the preservation of the environment and combating environmental degradation. Women recognise the importance of forests as a source of food, fodder, medicine, and many other products. Women are mainly responsible for provision of water for household and are aware of water sources. A village in the hilly areas of Uttar Pradesh

depends managers

on

forests

for basic needs

of these natural resources

like water,

and Uttarakhand,

firewood,

and

India

fodder.

As

for their families and communities,

the

women have taken an active role in conserving them. Alarmed by the deforestation of the area which had led to floods and landslides, the women of Dasholi village began a non-violent protest in 1927, acting as human shields to prevent trees from being cut down. These women and their communities have succeeded in regenerating the forests, reducing the damage from floods and landslides, and making their own work and lives easier (ISDR 2008). Women and Production of Food

The gender dimension, among the main structural hierarchies, is one such aspect that is very important. In all aspects of food systems, whether as subsistent farmers, or as primary providers of food to family, or as knowledge bearers of health and wellness oftheir families and communities, women are the key figures for any discussion on sustainability. Rocheleau, Thomas-Slayter and Wangari et al. (2013) noted that gender is a key factor in the division of labour, rights, and responsibilities and thus is tightly bound up with the management of local ecological systems. Surprisingly, throughout the world, women have an important role in production and provisioning of food. In the theoretical discourse of public and private space of women, the role played by women is often ignored. She secures the nourishment for the family. Very often, the discriminating processes that continue the existing hierarchies and power structures and in turn inform the discourses and knowledge around sustainability are often overlooked in much of the research on sustainability. Eco-feminists like Mies and Shiva, in fact, critique the epistemic nature of modern science as being highly patriarchal, which does not account for women’s work because of the discourses around it. Shiva (2017: 385) argued that ‘women’s social work inside and outside is central to biodiversity conservation and knowledge is central to biodiversity conservation and utilisation, both because they work between “sectors” and perform multiple tasks ... Statisticians and researchers suffer from conceptual inability to define women’s work inside and outside the house- and farming is usually part of both’. A study conducted in two villages of Maharashtra where women’s contribution to food security is a

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great example regarding this. Women are found to contribute to all dimensions of food security. Working as wage labourers and on the family farm for 1 or 2 hours daily reflects women’s contribution towards a household’s entitlement

and ability to command food. The study further adds that women’s work participation in terms of number of hours spent per day on the family farm is almost equal to or more than their male counterparts (Choudhary and Parthasarathy 2007: 530). Vandana Shiva (2017: 18) argued that for thousands of years, women have produced their own food and guaranteed food security for their children and communities. Even today, 80 per cent of the work in local food production in Africa is done by women; in Asia, 50-60 per cent; and in Latin America, 30-40 per cent. Everywhere in the world, women are responsible for food security at the household level; however, in the patriarchal society, women’s work has been devalued. Billings and Singh (1970) in their survey on farm tasks found that all harvest operations like cutting, reaping, threshing, winnowing, and transportation involve women. However, with the introduction of new technology, many farm-related activities have been taken over by machines. Further, women generally work longer hours than men and that food processing and preparation tax women’s resources more than any other activity. In their productive work, women labour has several disadvantages. They have less access to modern technology than men, a factor that makes their labour less efficient. Furthermore, the classical economic definition of ‘work’ or ‘economic activity’ excludes much of what women do. Women in India take up wage labour in order to support their families. Where such labour is available, it means heavier taxation of women’s energy and labour and less time available for individual food processing and preparation at home. Income earned from wage labour often has to be spent on a limited range of food processed by expensive technology, often giving the diet a lower nutritional value. This development may actually contribute to increased malnutrition and deterioration in health. The division of labour between women and men in agricultural production varies considerably from region to region and community to community. However, it is usually men who are responsible for large-scale cash cropping, especially when it is highly mechanised, while women take care of households’ food production and small-scale cultivation of cash crops, requiring low levels of technology. Increased access to agricultural support systems, including credit, rural organisations, technology, education, extension, and marketing services, is

essential to improving the agricultural productivity of both women and men farmers. Given women’s crucial role in production, provision, and processing of food, any set of strategies for sustainable food security must address their limited access to productive resources. Despite the fact that rural women and men are both active agents in agricultural and rural development, women have generally been ignored in agricultural support systems to farmers. For example, the agricultural extension system has often failed to reach female farmers, not only because extension workers have addressed the (male) head of the household but also because

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women often fail to find the time to participate in extension activities and demonstrations due to their heavy total workload and/or inappropriate venue or timing ofextension service delivery. The sustainability of food is the most important part of food security. Women account for 70-80 per cent of household food production in sub-Saharan Africa, 5 per cent in Asia, and 45 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean. They achieve this despite unequal access to land, inputs such as improved seeds and fertiliser, and information. Given equal access to resources and human capital, women farmers can achieve yields equal to or even, as some studies show, slightly higher than those of men (Quisumbing et al. 1996). Laws governing women’s rights to land vary widely. Some religious laws forbid female ownership of land. Even when civil law gives women the right to inherit land, local customs may rule otherwise. In sub-Saharan Africa, where women have prime responsibility for food production, they are generally limited to user rights to land, and then also, only with the consent of a male relative. The weakness of women’s land rights results in an inability to use land as collateral to obtain access to credit. Social and cultural barriers, women’s lower educational levels, and their lack of familiarity with loan procedures may also limit their mobility and interaction with predominantly male credit officers or moneylenders. Women

as Food Processors

Women are universally responsible for food preparation for their families and engaged in various stages and steps of processing food. In many cultures and countries, women have the main responsibility for the provision of food - if not by producing it. This applies to urban and non-farming women as well as women farmers, and is not limited to the large percentage of female-headed households in the world. Various techniques and skills are widely used to preserve food across cultures, and many subsistence-based communities continue to use traditional methods of preservation. These preserved foods are inexpensive, safe, and nutritious and also add a huge diversity to the food repertoire of rural and marginal communities. These foods are crucial during times of famine and during lean periods. Ibnouf (2012: 241) found that there are many studies that reveal that traditional knowledge developed by women of processed and preserved foodstuffs has played an important role in coping with periods offood scarcity and famine. He further stated that the ‘locally available agricultural and animal raw materials as well as wild products were processed into food products at relatively low cost resulting in food with higher nutritive value compared to the raw materials, and had a better taste’. Most of these tasks are carried out by women folk, and it is the domain of knowledge that is passed down orally. Indigenous methods and solutions which are used by women to sustain household food supplies are culturally acceptable, economically practicable, and more appropriate for the local environment and conditions than modern techniques and solutions suggested by scientific experts.

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Women and Food Provision

|

Indigenous knowledge provides techniques for improved storage and reduced loss of food. Indigenous technological knowledge of agriculture is a valuable resource and an essential foundation for the development of agriculture. Indigenous knowledge since the evolution of mankind reflects needs in relation to available resources and the context of agriculture, animal husbandry, food storage, etc. Food storage loss occurs due to damage by insects, mites, rodents, birds, heat, moisture, etc. Post-harvest losses vary from region to region; however, it is estimated at 10 per cent annually, and fruit and vegetable loss at 30-40 per cent of produce (Verma and Goldey 2007). It is generally observed that women are the main custodians of home gardens; they are the one who manage it with the assistance of the men folk and children. Women too have vast knowledge on plant diversity, microorganisms, and other aspects of food systems. Women are aware of the various plant species because of their constant use in cooking, in healing, and in fuel and fodder (Shiva 2009: 20). They have developed the skills and knowledge to cultivate and maintain home gardens. Konyak women of Northern Nagaland, for example, could name 29 plant products from home gardens while men could name 12 such plants only (Godbole 1998: 11).

Food Shopping and Preparation

Food shopping and meal preparation can be regarded as linked activities as the preparation process includes the decision of what to buy. Some meals may also be planned while shopping in the retail market where the shopper selects all the food needed for a week in one visit to a store, which has increased because of the availability of refrigeration and constraint of time for shopping. Early research into female shopping and meal preparation behaviours tends to emphasise two types of behaviours, one based on ‘traditional’ values and one on ‘modern’ values (Ajzen and Fishbein 1980; Roberts and Wortzel 1979). Modern attitudes include a rejection ofthe notion that domestic activities are role specific. Men, as a result, have become increasingly involved in household tasks (Qualls 1982), including cooking, which now tend to be shared (Gershuny and Robinson 1988). Similar changes can be expected in the future in less-developed nations, where women’s role is still predominantly traditional in nature, as those societies and economies develop. Women and Food Security Women are not only involved in the production process of food, but they also

perform their role in food security. They manage food at public spaces and also at the domestic front. At the domestic level, they help in home kitchen gardens and processing and preserving of food, which in turn form the food system. The traditional ecological knowledge is a key to sustainability and food security. Knowledge systems is evolved out of the survival needs of the community by adapting interactively with resources around them, and the more marginal a community is, it is more likely that they would adopt mechanisms to conserve

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and maximise their use of resources. Reliance upon traditional knowledge and local resource as a way to survive is still common among marginal communities who may not be necessarily geographically isolated or belong to communities that have been traditionally associated with sustainable ecological management such as the tribal population. The poorest ofthe dalits, for instance, depend ona wide range of biodiverse plant and animal life for their survival. Deccan Development Society in its study of dalit communities in Medak district in Telangana found that ‘the dalit food system was found to have a wide variety ofdiversity of food species, many of which were unrecognized to date’. Women farmers display a wealth of traditional knowledge in their ability to recognise, row, and

prepare these foods, and to also use them as medicine. In partnership with National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad nutrient analysis laboratories, new

nutrient composition data for uncultivated greens and wild fruits have been determined and reported. Many excellent nutrient sources are mentioned in the dalit food system (Salomeyesudas and Satheesh 2009: 207). These communities are also known process and preserve their food. Women and Nutrition Security

Food security also depends on the achievement of nutrition in terms of adequacy of protein, energy, micronutrients, and minerals for all members of the family. Nutrition security depends not only on the sufficient food at the household level but also on factors such as health and childcare and access to clean water and sanitation. Ensuring the nutrition of the family, through the combination of food and other resources, is the exclusive domain of women. Nearly, all non-food inputs into nutrition require time investment, and in general, these investments are made by women. For example, a crucial input into good nutrition is the provision of ‘cure’, namely, the time and attention devoted to meeting the physical, mental, and social needs of growing children and other household members. Care affects nutrition security in two broad ways: first, through feeding practices, such as breastfeeding and the preparation of nutritious foods, and second, through health and hygiene practices, such as bathing of children and washing of hands before food preparation. These caring behaviours are time-consuming (Quisumbing et al. 1996).

Pregnancy and Food Pregnancy invited a whole host of Vedic instructions. Certain foods had to be especially eaten and other foods to be especially avoided, such as those which are too spicy or too cold. Several rituals had to be undergone, including an offering of Madhuparka from the husband in the fifth month. Following the birth of achild, the household was considered to be under ritual pollution for 12 days, and no outsiders were entertained. The new mother was given specialised herbal foods and rich preparations, including a variety of festive preparations on the sixth day. After the 12th day, a semblance of normally provided food was prepared. The mother was not ritually pure enough to enter the cooking area for another 5 months, but was permitted to undertake some peeling and cutting of

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fruits/vegetables for further cooking, elsewhere in the house. The child’s annaprasana was held on an auspicious day when he/she is about 6 months old. It was then given its first solid food in the way of paramanna of boiled rice, milk, sugar, and honey, a little which was put gently into his/her mouth after the ceremony (Banerjee 1979). Socially, pregnancy may be seen as ambiguous (cf. Homans 1982 and also Graham 1977) and potentially polluting. Contradictions appear for instances in those sub-cultures where pregnancy raises a woman’s status, but only temporarily, as the potential bearer of an heir or a son who will be financially responsible for the parents in old age (Morpeth 1979). Corresponding contradictions are found in perceptions ofeating and distribution of food in pregnancy. There has been an augmentation of some existing food restrictions and addition of some new prohibitions. This occurs at the same time that pregnant women are allowed to eat certain foods normally forbidden or regarded as extravagant or luxurious (Homans 1985: 73). The hot-cold food concept is elaborately developed by the case-Aryans and integrated with the theory of ill health through humoural imbalance. Even now, foods are chosen in India on the basis of these beliefs, especially in the northern part of the country where seasonal variations in climate are much more extreme and hot-cold food beliefs are more strongly entrenched (Acharya 1994: 80). During spring, heavy and cold foods are avoided and pungent foods are preferred (Sharma 1972). Cold and sweet foods are the choice for the summer months, while the monsoon season calls for hot foods in the conceptual sense. In winter, hot foods are the rule, such as dry fruits and their confections, coconut and coconut-based items, almond-based delicacies like badam milk and badam halwa, and sweets like /addus rich in fat (Anon 1985). Perceptions of what constitutes a hot food vary with availability, common usage, and region. Wheat is considered a hot food in south India, where traditionally it was not common, but only as a moderately hot food in the north, where it is the everyday staple (Storer 1977). In Haryana, the grain bajra is

regarded as a hot food. All pulses, except for masoor, had a common-food connotation in a survey made in western India (Storer 1977), but in Haryana, they are considered hot, in particular, the rajmah and green peas. Green leafy vegetables are mostly accepted as being cold. So are most fruits, with the exception of mango, jackfruit, and papaya, which are all hot fruits. Jaggery is a hot food, but sugarcane juice and honey are cold ones. In practice, ‘hot’ mangoes, which are summer fruits, must be accompanied by milk. Pregnant women avoid hot foods, particularly the papaya, but newborn infants in Bengal are given ‘hot’ honey and mustard oil to furnish strength and ward off colds. Buttermilk quenches the fires of diarrhoea, and hot foods like pepper, ginger, and turmeric counteract colds and cough. In a modern scientific experiment, lists of hot and cold foods were first drawn up based on extensive questioning of individuals in Hyderabad area (Ramanamurthy 1969). The ‘hot’ list included wheat, horsegram, drumstick, bittergourd, garlic, carrot, potato, radish, vegetable oil, jaggery, dates, and skimmed milk powder. The ‘cold’ list had dry maize, green gram, pumpkin, large

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onions, brinjal, green peas, green tomatoes, certain oils, sugar, bananas, and skimmed milk. Two diets identical in terms of nutrients, like calories, proteins,

fat, and vitamins, were fashioned using items from each list. These items were then fed for 10 days to four adult men, after which the subjects were examined. On the ‘hot’ food diet, a burning sensation while passing urine was noted; the urine itself showed a high acidity, indicating that the important acid-base balance of the body had altered. In normal good health, a basic reaction is essential, with at least a 4:1 ratio in favour of alkalinity. Though the intake of sulphur on both diets had been the same, its excretion on consuming the ‘hot’ diet was much higher. Again, though the protein content of both diets was the same, less nitrogen was retained in the body while consuming the ‘cold diet’. There seems to be more to the hot-cold theory than what meets the eye. Many dried fruits like figs, apricots, raisins, and dates are now known to be highly alkaline. Less so is tubers and green leafy vegetables, and still less so fruits like citrus, peaches, grapes, bananas, and watermelons. Acid formers include most seafoods, meat, fish, many whole grains, and most nuts (Shastri 1986). Certain foods had to be especially eaten and other foods to be especially avoided, such as those which are too spicy or too ‘cold’. There is a considerable distinction between hot and cold food in the anthropological literature in India. Foods are classified according to their heating or cooling effect on the body, a belief related to the humoural theory of disease expounded by Hippocrates and Galen. Incorporated into Ayurvedic and Arabic medicine, the idea was transmitted by the Arabs to Spain and by the Spaniards to the New World. As it travelled, it underwent such modifications that the form of the theory in Latin America is no longer the same as in Asia (Lindenbaum 1977). In Thailand, for instance, eggs are regarded as ‘cooling’ (Hanks 1963: 39), while in India, eggs, meat, ghee (clarified butter), and honey and some oils are considered as hot.

Lemon, cucumber, and curd are regarded as cold foods. Illnesses too are classified as hot and cold, the system providing a basis for determining dietary section and medicinal care. A person suffering from the effects of excessive heat (all forms of fever) should be covered with wet clothes and given cold foods to eat. Moreover, a weak person must limit consumption ofhot foods since they are difficult to digest; but, as health improves, more hot foods must be taken. Just after the delivery, the mother is given the water of Ajwain for cleanliness of the stomach and for easing out impure blood from the body. It is given for 2 days. Milk is given at least three times a day (500 grams each time). It helps in the formation of milk and also in restoring strength in bones. For several days after childbirth, women must eat no meat, eggs, or hot curries, which could cause indigestion; rather, they are expected to eat mainly roti (bread of wheat flour) and dal (pulse of moong [green gram] and green vegetables (preferably gourd, turai [family of gourd], methi [lentil leaves], and spinach). These are easily digested. Ghee (butter oil) is given in a large amount (10-15 kg) to be consumed in 40 days. The wheat flour is fried in ghee, gond is also fried, and all are mixed with sufficient amount of coconut, almond (crushed), and raisin along with sugar powder. This whole dish is known as Sandha (mixture of above things). It is given for regaining the health of the mother and also for good

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secretion of milk. It is regarded as the most powerful diet for the mother, which

is not only helpful in recovering her health but also good for milk secretion. Rice and potatoes are denied since they cause obesity and make stools firm. Pickles are not allowed for at least 40 days. Being sour in nature, the pickles are thought

to irritate wounds (e.g. circumcision and vaccination). Tamarind is believed to cause loss of sexual power. Moreover, a lot of spices are not preferred during this period. Cumin seeds are also given for the secretion of milk. Despite regional differences in India concerning the classification of certain foods as hot or cold, animal milk is generally considered to be hot and, in an undiluted form, is considered a danger to infants. In Haryana, the buffalo milk is given to the infant somewhat in diluted form as it is rich in lactose, and moreover, it is widely available. But in Bangladesh, buffalo’s, cow’s, and goat's milk are ranked in a descending order of heat. In Andhra Pradesh, cow’s milk is preferred to buffalo’s milk (Anand and Rao 1962: 180). In West Bengal, cow’s milk is considered less digestible than goat’s milk, a belief Jelliffe attributes to ‘sympathetic magic’ since the green watery cow’s stool more closely resembles that of the diarrheic child than does the solid stool of the goat (Jelliffe 1967). Women and Non-vegetarianism

Charaka considered meat a nourishing food and is prescribed for the weak, for convalescents, for those subject to very hard physical work, and for men addicted to the deliberating pleasures of wine and women (Acharya 1994). Overall, 42.8 per cent Indian women and 48.9 per cent men consumed fish, chicken, or meat weekly according to the National Family Health Survey, 2015-16. A portion of the gender gap may be related to the fact that men eat outside of the household a lot more than women do and with greater moral impunity than women. This allows men to enjoy great ‘flexibility’ from norms in a patriarchal context. It may also be because the burden of maintaining a ‘tradition’ of vegetarianism falls disproportionately on women. Female Mortality and Child Nutrition Haryana is a society with a strong preference for males; the social importance of women depends on their producing a predominantly male child. Since daughters ultimately leave home to reside with their husbands, it is clearly in the mother’s interest to produce male children. Thus, mothers favour sons, and

the bond between mother and son in literature and in life is close and affectionate. More attention is given to the ailments of male children, and the male child receives preferential nutrition. Along with his father, he eats first; and, if

there is a choice, luxury foods or scarce foods are given to him rather than to his female siblings. The result is more mortality for females. An epidemiological survey in Bangladesh (Sommer and Loewenstein 1975) confirms that the higher mortality among female children is related to their poorer nutrition. Some, 8,292 children between the ages of 1 and 9 years were screened to estimate their nutritional status. The screening technique involved use of a QUAC stick, which calculates mid-arm circumference for height on a simple measuring stick, a way of estimating protein and calorie malnutrition. The survey demonstrated

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that there was a higher incidence of moderate-to-severe malnutrition in female children than in male children. Furthermore, a follow-up study 18 months later showed a higher mortality as well in female children, and the mortality rate of the malnourished group was more than twice the general group of children. In an Indian study, Goplan and Naidu (1972) also noted a decline in the sex ratio of children aged 1-12 years between 1901 and 1971 due to the higher mortality of girls between 1 and 5 years. The most important cause of this toddler mortality was said to be malnutrition, underlining again the connections between ideology, differential nutrition, and survival.

Women and Agricultural Development Policy and Planning Agricultural and rural development policy and planning often do not reflect and address the different roles and needs of rural women and men adequately. The lack of gender-specific information of the role people play in achieving food security and agricultural development has led to the fact that the ‘human factor’ has often been overlooked by agricultural development planners. Development of policymaking processes are now undergoing a transformation to promote a greater participation of stakeholders in planning and decision-making at all levels, expanding the role of the private sector and increasing decentralisation in decision-making. Women’s empowerment and enhanced participation in policymaking and decision-making in all spheres of society (economic, political, social, and cultural) at community, national, and international levels are essential requirements for the elaboration of gender-responsive and participatory agricultural and rural development policies.

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Wansink, B. et al. (2003), ‘Exploring Comfort Food Preferences across Age and Gender’, Physiology and Behaviour, 79: 739-47. Young, M.E. et al. (2009), ‘Food for Thought: What You Eat Depends on Your Sex and Eating Companions’, Appetite, 53: 28-71.

6 Feeding the Family in India An Approach to Household Food Consumption

There is a complex relationship between households and the food chain, consisting of several crucial linkages (Niehof 1998). Farming households relate to the food chain in a more comprehensive manner because they are involved both at the beginning and at the end ofthe food chain, in food production and in food consumption. The role of non-farming households in food provision starts at acquiring food, by purchasing, exchanging, or receiving food. However, non-farming households are not just consumers of food. All households are - to a greater or lesser extent - involved in activities that determine the quantity and quality of food that individual household members in the end get on their plate, such as food processing, storage, preparation, and distribution of food among household members. Goody (1982: 37) distinguished four phases in the transformation of food, namely, production, distribution, preparation, and consumption and links these phases to the processes of growing, allocating or storing, cooking, and eating. As the loci for these processes, he mentions farm, granary or market, kitchen, and table. In this paper, we focus on the transformation of food once it has left the farm and comes into the household up until it is consumed. We see the household as the locus for this subchain of processes, thereby subsuming kitchen and table under household. By choosing the household as a locus, we treat it as the level of analysis. We see households as ‘one of the basic units of human social organisation. Though variable in form, depending upon cultural norms, environmental conditions, and particular circumstances, households represent to a large extent the arena of everyday life for a vast majority of the world’s people’ (Clay and Schwartzweller 1991: 1, our italics). Rudie (1995: 248) described this ‘arena of everyday life’ as

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a ‘coresidential

unit, usually family based

in some

way, which

takes care of

resource management and primary needs of its members’. The last part of this description is especially important for different purposes because food needs are primary needs, and providing for them requires the use and management of resources. Focussing on the micro level of the household does not mean that we see households as closed and static systems. Household boundaries are permeable, and household composition changes through time. Household members are part of social networks beyond their own household, and the household as an institution interfaces with other institutions. Households can be seen as mediating agencies between an individual and the society. Within households, social norms and cultural values are given concrete forms. Households adapt to changing external circumstances, but through their internal dynamics, they also generate change (Pennartz and Niehof 1999). The purpose of this chapter is to look at how social and cultural variables affect the processes of household food provision and consumption. We hope to bring out more clearly the importance of the context and to enhance insights into the factors that determine family food consumption. The context provided here is that of the Haryana state in India, where data were collected from 75 rural and 75 urban households in 2002. The study of food and eating is a field where sociologists and anthropologists of various theoretical inclinations have shed their light upon. Food and eating have been accorded functional significance, as contributing to social cohesion. Structural anthropology has viewed the cuisine of a society as a language in which societal structures are encoded, and Pierre Bourdieu’s work has paved the way for relating food to lifestyles. Claude Lévi-Strauss’s dictum that some foods are good to think and his culinary triangle have been very influential for a long time and have been most eloquently disputed by Marvin Harris. The social and cultural significance of various types of meals has been the subject of a now famous analysis by Mary Douglas (For a discussion on these theoretical developments, see Mennell et al. 1993: 1-19). We may add that food and eating are also gendered, meaning that men and women relate differently to food and eating because of their different roles in society, notably with regard to their reproductive roles. Furthermore, in any society, femininity and masculinity are given different culture-specific aspects that reflect in gender-specific food preferences, food prescriptions, food taboos, or diets. In this paper, we are theoretically eclectic, drawing on various theoretical insights regarding both the social and cultural significances of food and eating and the relationship between them. The cultural and social significance of food and eating in India is multifaceted and rich in meaning. As Achaya (1994: 63) remarked, ‘Concepts of pollution are intimately woven into cooking and eating practices’. ‘Commensality’ has always followed the social order of caste hierarchy in which ‘all lower castes could receive food from a Brahmin, but higher castes would on no account receive cooked food from lower ones’ (Achaya 1994: 63). Achaya (1994: 64) also pointed to the required purity of the area of the domestic hearth and remarked that ‘the objective of cooking is not simply to produce materials suitable for eating, but to conjoin the cultural properties of the food with those

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of the eater’. In our opinion, the latter also applies to gender. In Indian cultural classifications

of food, the hot-and-cold

distinction applies throughout, as in

many other Asian cultures. Hot and cold properties of foods do not relate to temperature, also not necessarily to spiciness or taste. They affect the humoural balance in the body, thereby enhancing health or, alternatively, causing ill health. Their effect is mediated by other factors, such as the prevailing season and particular bodily conditions (like pregnancy). The research among 75 rural and 75 urban households that yielded the data for this paper was carried out in the state of Haryana in India. The emergence of the question of feeding is an issue of international importance and is a significant recent event. The advancement in our knowledge of nutrition and of the consequence of dietetic deficiency upon the health of the community has added a new sphere to the problem of social injustice, which tolerates a disparity in the standard ofliving among the different communities of society. On the other hand, it has become increasingly clear that the problem of nutrition in food is not isolated and that scientific research alone cannot provide an adequate solution. Thus, there are two sides to the problem: the scientific side, which enquires what the laws and standards of rational diet are, and the broader sociological investigation, which enquires about acquiring, preparing, and serving processes related to food and the cultural beliefs associated with them. Kapil (2003) commented that the nutrition policy has been in place since 1993, but hardly 10 per cent of its recommendations are being followed. Lifestyle diseases are rapidly emerging, but there is no programme or policy to tackle them. It is just the heart centres that are coming up all over, but there is no programme to educate people about food and dietary habits. Structure of Haryana Society The present state of Haryana was created on 1 November 1966 out ofthe territories of the post-independence composite state of Punjab under the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966. Chandigarh is the capital of Haryana. Haryana has the 15th largest population among the states of India. It has an area of 44,212 km. Currently, Haryana is divided into 19 districts. It is among India’s economically more developed states, although it continues to be predominantly agricultural. Haryana’s economy has been rapidly transforming into an industrial economy. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the net state domestic product declined from 54 per cent in 1980-81 to 42 per cent in 1996-97. The manufacturing sector’s contribution was 14 per cent in 1980-81 and 20 per cent in 1996-97 to the state domestic product, indicating a substantial increase in this sector. The share of other sectors increased from 32 per cent in 1980-81 to 38 per cent in 1996-97 (EPW Research Foundation 2002). At the time of the 1991 Census, the agricultural sector provided livelihood to 58 per cent of the working population in the state as cultivators and agricultural labourers (Office of the Registrar General and Census Commission 2001). According to the Relative Infrastructure Development Index, Haryana ranks fourth among the 17 major states of India (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy 1997).

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According to the 2001 Census, the proportion of the total population designated as Scheduled Castes is 20 per cent, which is slightly higher than that in the country as a whole (17%). As per the scheduled lists, there are no Scheduled Tribes in the state. Haryana is one of the educationally forward states in India. According to the 2001 Census, the literacy rate is 79 per cent for males and 56 per cent for females. In fact, the gap between male and female literacy rates was almost the same in 2001 (23%) as it was in 1971 (22%) (Census of India 2001). Though Haryana is economically prosperous and rural people have access to health facilities, still about 70 per cent of the deliveries are conducted at home by untrained workers (Das Gupta 1996; Jejeebhoy 1997). The infant mortality rate in Haryana declined marginally from 72 per 1,000 live births in 1971 to 67 per 1,000 live births in 2000. The anti-female bias is so strong that female infant mortality rate is 81 per 1,000, while male infant mortality is 61 per 1,000 (a gap of 21 points)

(SRS 2000). The issue that motivated the research was the discrepancy between the fact that Haryana’s per capita income is the highest and fastest growing in the country (UNDP 1997) and the high percentages of women and children with anaemia (47.0 and 83.9, respectively) and of undernourished children (34.6) (NFHS 1999). This led to the question of what social and cultural practices contribute to making the Haryana society so anaemic and undernourished. To find answers to this question, an exploratory study was carried out among 150 households in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts in Haryana state in India. The present exploratory study is focussed on a small number of households from Dhandhlan village which is a multi-caste village in Jhajjar district in Haryana. These households were sampled by lottery method comprising 75 people, keeping their multi-caste and class backgrounds in view. Equal numbers of households were taken from an urban area in Rohtak city. A detailed interview schedule was developed and piloted. Ideally, we would have liked to carry out interviews with both partners, although the limitations of resources allowed us to focus the interview only on the person in the household who took the major responsibility for food purchase and preparation and serving of meals. In many cases, food purchase is done by men; therefore, we also included

men in some cases. Social Structure and Dietary Pattern

The consumption of a wide variety of nutritious food is important for health. Adequate amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals are required for a well-balanced diet. Table 1 shows that urban high-income group in India is ahead in consumption of all foodstuffs, except cereals and millets. On the other hand, rural poor in India are consuming more of cereals and millets as their purchasing capacity is lower; therefore, they can afford to have more milk, fresh vegetables, and other foodstuff. Fats and oils, which are regarded as not good for

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health, are consumed by urban people in high proportion compared with the rural poor in India. Table 1 Comparative Average Consumption of Foodstuffs (g/c/day) Foodstuff

Urban High-Income Groups

Rural Poor

316

504

Pulses

57

36

Green leafy vegetables

21

8

Other vegetables

113

51

Roots and tubers

82

48

424

100

Fats and oils

46

12

Sugar and jaggery

34

23

Cereals and millets

Milk

Source: National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (1975-79), National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council Medical Research, 1984.

The staple food of most north Indian villagers consists of wheat, bajra (pearl millet), maize, and millet, cooked and eaten with pulses, vegetables, lassi (buttermilk), or milk. Variety in diet, however, is limited to whatever is available in the habitat according to seasonal changes. Moreover, variety is sought more in those foods that are consumed in large quantities and frequently, and less in those foods that are consumed in lesser quantities and infrequently. People in Rohtak district consume lots of dairy products like milk, curd, lassi, and cheese. Ninety-five per cent of the people consume milk or curd at least once a week. Often, poor people take /assi free of charge from people who own buffaloes. Lassi and milk are the most important items of their diet. Although Haryana is more of a vegetarian society, the consumption of eggs, chicken, and meat has been increasing among the youth in rural areas. A total of40 per cent of men eat chicken, meat, fish, and eggs outside their homes. Women generally do not prefer to eat chicken, meat, or fish, and 83 per cent of women have never eaten them. Census reports reveal that about 25-30 per cent of the Indian population as a whole is totally vegetarian. The proportions of vegetarians according to states are shown in Table 2 below. States with a high proportion of vegetarians are Gujarat, 69 per cent; Rajasthan, 60 per cent; Punjab, 54 per cent; Haryana, 54 per cent; and Uttar Pradesh, 50 per cent. At the medium level, states of Madhya Pradesh, 45 per cent; Karnataka, 34 per cent; Maharashtra, 30 per cent; and Bihar, 24 per cent can be seen. Low-vegetarian states are Tamil Nadu, 21 per cent; Andhra Pradesh, 16 per cent; Assam, 15 per cent; and Kerala, Orissa, and West Bengal, 6 per cent each.

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Table 2 The Proportion of Vegetarians (1975-79, India) Level of Vegetarianism High level

Medium level

Low level

State ’

Proportion of Vegetarians (%)

Gujarat

69

Rajasthan

60

Punjab

54

Haryana

54

Uttar Pradesh

50

Madhya Pradesh

45

Karnataka

34

Maharashtra

30

Bihar

24

Tamil Nadu

21

Andhra Pradesh

16

Assam

15

Kerala

6

Orissa

6

West Bengal

6

Source: Achaya (1994).

Coastal states tend to have a low proportion of vegetarians because fish is available as a comparatively inexpensive food source (Achaya 1994). More and more younger boys who go to parties have started eating non-vegetarian food. Girls stay at home and, therefore, do not get the opportunity to eat them and do not develop a taste for them. The Charaka (Book on Ayurveda) considers meat a nourishing food and prescribes its use for the weak, for convalescents, for those subject to very hard physical work and for men addicted to the debilitating pleasures of wine and women (Achaya 1994). The people in the villages who own buffaloes can afford to consume milk, ghee (butter oil), and butter. Ghee is an essential ingredient in many foods like churma (fried wheat flour in butter oil, mixed with sugar powder and dry fruits), gond ke laddoo (a kind of sweet meat given to females in which gum arabic is mixed), and halwa (paste-like cuisine prepared by frying wheat flour in butter oil by adding hot water and sugar). Food cooked during festivals contains less variety. Generally, special food is cooked without deep frying. Dishes of milk like kheer (prepared from milk, rice, and sugar), gajar ka halwa (crushed carrot boiled in milk with added sugar), and khoya laddu (milk is boiled until it becomes solid, and then sugar is added to it) are common sweet dishes. Overall,

the people are very fond of milk and milk products. Gur (jaggery) and sugar also constitute a part of their dietary pattern. Consumption of milk is adequate among people in Haryana because of its easy availability. Dried fruits are only given to women during the lactation period. However, people who can afford to buy them use nuts and other dried fruits mixed with other food.

Everyone

consumes

vegetables,

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pulses, or beans at least once

a week.

Women are somewhat less likely to consume green leafy vegetables on a daily basis (77%) than other vegetables (90%). From various interviews and comments, we could identify three dominant reasons for not consuming enough green vegetables. Cleaning green leafy vegetables and separating edible from other non-edible leaves is a time-consuming process. At least three varieties of green leaves need to be cooked several times before they are tasty to eat. Sometimes, green leafy vegetables are only tasty if cooked with other vegetables. The washing ofgreen leafy vegetables also requires large amounts of water and needs to be carried out many times to remove sand particles particularly in the sandy area of Rohtak. All these factors deter women from cooking

green vegetables; this makes the women and children more anaemic. Some seasonal variations in the diet are also observed. With the onset of winter, green leafy vegetables become abundantly available [lentil, methi (green fenugreek leaves), sarson (green mustard leaves), etc.]. During wintertime, several leafy vegetables are cooked together, and sag (all green leafy vegetables are boiled, and then garlic, onion, and ginger are fried and added to the boiled leaves) is prepared. It is often eaten with makki ki roti (home-made bread made out of cornflour). Many poor villagers cannot afford to buy fruits from the market. Fruit that is often plentiful in season is eaten everyday by only 15 per cent, and only 55 per cent of the people can afford to eat fruit at least once a week. Poor people generally consume locally available products like sugarcane, ber (jujube or prune), singhara (water chestnut), guava, and cucumbers. They eat fruits like apples, oranges, papaya, and cheeku (sapota) only when they are available in abundance in the season and are cheap. The cost factor is important in buying any fruit. When somebody is hospitalised or ill, they are also given fruits. Food patterns depend not just on which products are purchased but also on how the product is converted into a meal and who eats it.

Acquiring Food for the Family Who purchases food items for cooking? The answer to this question is ‘men’, the head ofthe household. In all, 80 per cent of men in rural areas and 60 per cent of men in urban areas purchase the food. Generally, women do not buy or purchase things in patriarchal families. Finances are exclusively controlled by menfolk. Only a few women, that is, 20 per cent women, in urban areas who are economically independent either share the activity or do it independently. Furthermore, we asked what was the most important consideration when purchasing food. The result of this analysis shows marked differences between men’s and women’s preferences in purchasing food items. The 20 per cent of male respondents from urban areas reported that they do not compromise on quality. One of the respondents confirmed that: I do not compromise on quality while purchasing the vegetables and fruit, but my wife always barters with vendors before she goes for the cheaper one.

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The status of women in Haryana is quite low. Chowdhry (1993) in her study found that there is extensive participation of females in family labour in Haryana that cuts across caste and class lines. In dairy keeping, women perform intensive labour and supervisory work, and men’s work is marginal. Men have the authority in the crucial sphere of marketing and collection of income as well as in the sale and purchase oflivestock. It is a fact that women spend more time today in doing both agricultural and domestic work especially with the introduction of the green and white revolutions. Their economic participation is undisputed, and yet, what seems to be crucial is not the work done by women but its evaluation, which shows no signs of change. The participation of women in agricultural labour is considered by males as being essential for women’s health. By equating health with work, the male reasoning has made the work ethos more rigorous. This logic is also used to deny any advantage that technology might provide to women in the household to lighten their workload. A woman is generally regarded as inferior to man not only in terms of social status but also in terms of wage differentials. There are sharp differences in wage rates for male and female agricultural labourers in Haryana in the so-called female-specific and dominated tasks as well as in an average day’s labour earnings. Whilst in general, the purchase of all food items is done by men only, the choice of food is influenced by personal likes and dislikes. Women are conditioned to take care of all family members’ preferences for food and drink. They are also aware of the nutritional needs of the family members. Because the women do not purchase food, they cannot adequately take care of the nutritional requirements of the family. One woman reported that: Most ofthe food items like fruits and vegetables are purchased by my husband and he buys whatever he likes. He hardly cares for other family members’ needs and likes.

Preparing Food for the Family The method of preparation and cooking are important factors in determining the level of nutrition of a particular group of people. It depends, to a considerable extent, on the absorbability of the essential food constituents to the diet (Gangulee 1938). Hand-pounded bajra and stoneground flours are of greater nutritional value than milled flour, rice, and bajra. Everyday, at mealtimes, that is, twice a day - at about midday and after sunset - the housewife makes fresh roti (home-made bread) from cereals. Three decades ago, the village women used to grind cereals themselves in the household grindstones, but nowadays, grains are sent to the flour mill. Roti (home-made bread) is prepared by mixing flour of wheat, bajra, and maize. From the spring harvest until the end of the rainy season, barley, gram, and wheat flour are mixed in equal proportion, and missi roti (home-made bread made by mixing three flours together) is prepared. The fuel used for the cooking process in the villages is usually cow dung cakes or small twigs, but in the urban areas, people usually use liquid petroleum gas. Rice is not a staple diet in the

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urban and rural areas of Haryana. The water of cooked rice is usually not discarded. It is very difficult to discard water from a pressure cooker. The flour of coarse cereals used in roti (home-made bread) is of the milled flour variety instead of stoneground flour from parched grains. These are the important cultural factors affecting the health and nutrition of the people. The yield of fat and minerals per 100 calories in wheat is much higher than in other cereals, and it has been found that the proteins of wheat are more successful supplements than those of pulses or legumes. The introduction of milled flour instead of stoneground flour is significant because it decreases the vitamin B1 content of the flour. However, the use of parched grains has been found to be beneficial. For example, it has been found that parching increases the biological value ofcertain cereals, particularly of gram, field pea, millets, and parboiled rice (Achaya and Patwardhan 1942). Moreover, the use of jaggery with parched grains or otherwise helps in correcting certain dietary deficiencies because it contains inorganic substances in the plant juices in the fresh state, and it certainly contains more nutrition (Gangulee 1938). The dish of cooked legumes served with roti (home-made bread) is known as dal (liquid curry prepared from any pulses). The most common and frequently eaten dal is that of moong (green gram) and urad (black gram or Vigna mungo). There are some vegetables which should be peeled before cooking, while others are not so. Turai (Luffa acutangula), loki (gourd), and petha (pumpkin or Lagenanria vulgaris) are examples of the former, and bhindi (okra) and potatoes are examples of the latter. The actual process of cooking starts by frying a little zeera (cumin seeds), pieces of onion and garlic in a pan. When this is well browned, the chopped vegetable is added to it with a little water. The pan is then covered with a lid. While it is cooked, spices are added, varying from salt, pepper, and coriander in poor homes to additionally cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom in rich families. It is true that milk is recognised as an important item of diet in Haryana, and owing to its adaptability in combination with various food items, milk has a place of honour in Indian diet as pointed out by Gangulee (1938). Contamination of milk is becoming common, and it is becoming difficult for people living in the urban areas to get pure milk. Right from the milking process down to the vessel from which milk is sold or given to other family members, it is open to serious contamination. Because microorganisms of different types may find a suitable medium for growth in a warm climate, the only way to render milk safe for human consumption is to boil it immediately after the milking process and before consumption. Advancement in technology has a tremendous impact on food world. This impact is felt across the whole range of production, distribution, preparation, and consumption. The restructuring oflife embedded in the more general social

process of industrialisation has had far-reaching consequences for meals and meal patterns. Urbanisation, geographical separation of home and work place, and double-income parents led people to change their eating habits: bread, packed food, ready meals, etc. The time needed for food preparation at home has been drastically reduced with the availability of avariety of pre-fabricated foods

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in the market. Choices in eating out are also multifarious: snack corners, fast food restaurants, tiffin (cooked and packed food) supply, and takeaways of every kind from roti (home-made bread), vegetable curry, rice, dal (liquid curry prepared from any pulse) to pizzas and dosas (south Indian dish). There is a mushrooming growth of suppliers of food dishes and complete meals in the , cities of India. Furthermore, when we asked our informants about their opinion regarding cooking, one of them told us: Since | and my husband are both working and have long working hours, we have irregular meals. I generally cook noodles, egg and toast bread. | only find time to cook fresh vegetables on a holiday.

In Rohtak city, small kitchens, specialising in home delivery, are mushrooming in most residential areas. In some areas, home-cooked food is available through the tiffin (cooked and then packed food) service. One of the suppliers of meals has reported that: Most of our customers are now ordering from home. The booming business has prompted me to diversify my business and to employ many delivery boys.

In urban areas, the fast food market is developing rapidly. The children push their parents to go out for meals and at the same time, parents do not have time to cook. Popular fast food chains have also joined the league of takeaway. The manager of a restaurant said: We get about 80 orders nearly 60 are regular families where we offer popular among children,

for home delivery every-day. Out of these 80 callers, customers. We have specially designed menus for a variety of foods. While our pizzas and burgers are the adults seem to prefer thalis.

Most readymade meals contain saturated fats that are not only calorie loaded but also difficult to digest. The calories in a non-vegetarian burger with a slice of cheese are the same as a balanced meal that would include roti (home-made bread), lentils, vegetables, and rice. New preparation methods and new processed food loses many vitamins, minerals, etc. and thus affects the food nutritional value.

Serving Food to the Family In India, the habit of washing hands before and after meals is common among different communities, including Hindus and Muslims, although hands are washed simply with water. Apart from this similarity, Hindus and Muslims differ markedly with regard to their eating habits. Among the Hindu caste, no two persons eat together out of common utensils, while this is prevalent among Muslims. According to Muslims, togetherness promotes affection and cordial relations among individuals. That is why, Muslims do not mind eating a thing already eaten partly by another family member, while such a practice is not prevalent among Hindus, except that a married Hindu woman usually eats her meal in the same utensil in which her husband has just eaten his meal, without

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washing the utensil. The habit of eating from common utensils is unhygienic, as this may transfer infection from a sick to a healthy individual. Norms and practices of eating food are followed by the practice of serving food. Serving food among the family members in the family is another norm that is important in understanding the health of an individual. The distribution of health and social care within the household generally favours males over females. This is apparent both in direct assessments of food intake relative to requirement and in indirect indicators such as male/female differentials in malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality (Agarwal 1998: 86-7). Haryana as a whole is one of the more developed states of India, whereas socially and demographically, that is, in terms of gender ratio, gender differentials in child mortality, female literacy rates, etc., the state is among the lowest categories in India (Rajeshwari 1996: 489). Even where women make a significant contribution to household earnings, this does not ensure women a greater or even equal access to crucial needs such as food or healthcare. In our study, 64 per cent of rural respondents compared with 38.6 per cent of urban respondents state that even nowadays, there is still a difference in the distribution of food items between males and females in the family (Table 3). In the overall sample, nearly 50 per cent of the respondents who do not serve the same food to all family members in the family gave various reasons for doing so. Table 3 Serving of Food Among the Family Members by the Respondents Norms of Serving Food

Rural

Urban

Total

They do not serve the same food to all members in the family.

48(64.0)

29 (38.6)

77 (51.3)

They serve the same food to all the members in the family.

27 (36.0)

46(61.3)

73 (48.7)

75 (100.0)

75(100.0)

150 (100.0)

Total Figures in the bracket represent percentage.

The most important reason for this kind of behaviour is that the males need more energy compared to females because they work hard (26.0% or 17.3%) and they are the chief earners in the family (19.0% or 12.7%). Besides, the work for rural males is tedious as they have to work under the sun in the field (11.0% or 14.7%). Another reason for providing more food to males is that male children will continue to stay at home, thereby supporting the parents in old age (7.0% or 4.7%). The common belief that girls are discriminated against in getting food is not substantiated by our data. As we can see from Table 4, hardly any of the 77 respondents have mentioned this reason. It is to be noted that 73 (48.7%) of the respondents do not discriminate between male and female in serving the same food. However, over half of our respondents do discriminate. Given better relative economic conditions in Haryana state, even this amount ofdiscrimination was not expected. Illiteracy of females may also be the probable reason for this.

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Table 4 Reasons for Not Serving Similar Food Among the Males and Females in the Family Reasons for Not Serving Similar Food

—

Rural

Urban

13 (17.3)

13 (17.3)

26 (17.3)

|

13 (17.3)

6 (8.0)

19 (12.7)

Boys are given more food as they remain in the same family even after marriage

7 (9.3)

6 (8.0)

13 (8.7)

11 (14.7)

-

11 (7.3)

Sons are helpful in old age

3 (4.0)

4 (5.3)

7 (4.7)

If girls are given more healthy food, they will grow fast and marry early

1 (1.3)

-

1 (0.7)

Not applicable

27 (36.0)

46 (61.3)

73 (48.7)

Total

75 (100)

75 (100.0)

150 (100.0)

Males are given more food in the family as their work is

Total

hard/males need more energy

Males are chief earners in the family

Males do hard work in the fields

Figures in the bracket represent percentage.

After discussing the manner, preparation, consumption, serving, and distribution of food, we turn to discuss dining together with family members and the influence of evil spirits and the evil eye on the food. These are important beliefs in rural areas, and as such, they require attention. Dining Together with Family Members

The biggest travesty of the present generation is that families do not dine together. Dining together not only fosters good manners but good skills as well. There is an awareness of the other that comes from sitting together. One of the respondents reported that: Sitting together and having a family meal, curbs our natural savagery and animal greed. It cultivates the feeling of sharing and consideration for others. Indeed, dining together is one of the subtlest lines separating civility from barbarity.

A majority of the respondents, that is, 90 per cent from both rural and urban areas, agreed that it is not important whether you sit at a big dining table or squat on the kitchen floor. Even the food you eat hardly matters. What really counts is the grace with which food is served and accepted. It is through the practice of the family sitting together at meals and observing the attendant conventions that youngsters learn the art of human giving and receiving. The ideal family meal calls for undistracted dining, not sitting in front of the television. Informants agree that families who watch television during dinner time tend to develop poor eating habits, putting kids at risk from obesity or malnutrition. Once parents manage to separate and structure eating times, incorporating healthy food becomes much simpler. One respondent remarked: ‘Eating dinner together at home, can curb teen drinking’. As more teenagers are consuming alcohol at progressively younger ages, the relevance of family meal further

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increases. People, particularly teenagers, nibble snacks at odd hours or eat when convenient. This erodes the imperative of a regular, fixed-time, sit-down meal. Teenagers munching junk food, slouched in front of television, or snacking at odd hours cooped up in their rooms are not merely nutritionally deprived, but are furthermore deprived of the best element of family life - the family meal. Effects of Evil Spirits and the Evil Eye on Food A widely accepted belief connected with health and disease is the effect of the evil eye. Some individuals, including certain animals, are believed to be in possession of a certain amount of supernatural power. Children are considered to be the most susceptible to the effect of evil spirits and the evil eye. But it is not confined to them. It is believed that if children are very beautiful, the evil eye is supposed to have a mysterious evil effect on their health. They identify the evil impact when the child suffers from diarrhoea or dysentery, develops fever, cries loudly and continuously, and becomes weak within a short time. In the village, the common observances are that when children are under the influence of the evil eye, they are not taken to a physician because the physician does not know how to cure such evil spirit. On the contrary, the physician ridicules the patient and their relatives when they talk about it. Accordingly, jhar phook (blowing and whiffing) is the therapy suggested for such evil spirits. As many as 52 per cent of the respondents do not believe that the evil eye and spirits are to blame for the contamination of food. It is relatively higher in the urban area (60%) compared with the rural area (44%) (Table 5). One can see that even in a relatively developed society such as that of Haryana, beliefs in evil eyes and evil spirits affecting food persist even today. Table 5

Belief in Evil Spirits and the Evil Eye in Contamination of Food Nativity

Belief in Evil Spirits and the Evil Eye Never

With Some Conditions

Always

Total

Rural Urban

33 (44.0) 46 (60.0)

15 (20.0) 16 (21.3)

27 (36.0) 14 (18,7)

75 (100.0) 25 (100.0)

Total

28 (52.0)

31 (20.7)

41 (27.3)

150 (100.0)

Figures in the bracket represent percentage.

After identifying the belief that evil spirits are the cause ofcertain ailments, certain practices about the belief in evil spirits and the evil eye in relation to food are also observed. These practices are the product of the experience of generations without change. It is interesting to note that even among the urban respondents, there remains a belief that the evil eye and evil spirits contaminate food, which further results in certain types of illnesses. On further analysing the respondents’ belief in spirits and evil eye in contamination of food in relation to their educational status, as many as 39

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(73.58%) out of 53 illiterate respondents believe in the evil eye and spirits in some circumstances, whereas among the educated people, 31 (77.5%) out of 40 respondents who are graduates or postgraduates or who had professional degrees were of the opinion that there are no spirits or evil eye that contaminate food; only eight (20%) of these people believed that in certain conditions, they contaminate food. Thus, it seems that there is an impact of education on belief in spirits and the evil eye. Respondents’ beliefs in evil spirits and the evil eye in contamination are viewed in relation to different caste backgrounds. In all, majority of the ‘jats’* (intermediate caste), that is, 65 (72.22%) and 13 (56.52%) of other castes never believed in evil spirits and the evil eye in the contamination of food. All the backward caste and scheduled caste members either believed in contamination of food by evil spirits or evil eyes in some conditions or always. Thus, it appears that lower caste people favour these beliefs. It is also surprising to note that all the Brahmin (upper caste) respondents believe in contamination offood by evil spirits and evil eyes in some circumstances. This may be due to their inherent belief in their cultural moorings or to the same socialisation pattern for these traditions. Privacy and Food

On further probing, 72 (48%) of the respondents who had beliefs in evil spirits and the evil eye gave multiple answers for the practices of serving food among their members so as to avoid the effect of evil spirits. These multiple answers are classified on the basis of their similar meaning into various categories and are presented in Table 6 below. Table 6 Forms of Special Practices in Serving the Food Reported by the Respondents Forms of Practices Related to Food

Rural

Urban

Total

Food is served inside the house

10 (23.8)

12 (40.0)

22 (30.50)

If somebody comes in the house from outside, then the food is hidden

12 (28.4)

3 (10.0)

15 (20.80)

After drinking milk, it is necessary to wash the mouth with water

7 (16.6)

6 (20.0)

13 (18.10)

Delicious food is served inside the house

6 (14.2)

6 (20.0)

12 (16.68)

Food served is not counted

7 (19.6)

3 (10.0)

10 (13.88)

42 (100.0)

30 (100.0)

72 (100.0)

Total Figures in the bracket represent percentage.

The most frequent practice observed was to serve food to family members inside the house where nobody from outside could watch them so that the evil eye might not contaminate the quality of food (22.0% or 30.50%). For some respondents, this beliefisconfined to delicious foods only. For instance, 16.8 per cent of the total respondents have such a view. Similarly, a tendency to hide food when somebody visits the house is also found. This practice is more prevalent

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among rural (12.0% or 28.4%) than urban (3.0% or 10.0%) respondents. It is believed by 13 (18.10%) respondents that milk should not be left in the mouth as it attracts evil spirits. It was also found that one should not count edible items.

This practice is more prevalent among rural (7.0% or 16.6%) compared with urban (30.0% or 10.0%) respondents (Table 6). Conclusion

Over the decades, Haryana has become an economically developed state in India. Haryana’s economy has been rapidly transforming into an industrial economy. At the household level, consumption of food, particularly green leafy vegetables, is often excluded from the routine diet. This is because oftheir taste, time consumption during cleaning, washing, chopping, and cooking. This prevents women from cooking and consuming the green leafy vegetables, which in turn make them and their children more anaemic. Despite the extensive participation of women in family labour, they are not given the opportunity to buy the food from the market. How to spend the money is in the hand of the man as the patriarchal system persists. The method of preparation and cooking are important factors in determining the level of nutrition of a particular society. With the advancement in food technology, people are losing access to food items in their original form, and thus, the foods are losing their nutritional value. Norms of eating food and practices are also another chain in food consumption. Although women generally make a significant contribution to household earning, this does not ensure that they have a greater or even equal access to the crucial requirement for healthy and sufficient food. People are becoming occupied with their work and thus neglect eating together. Despite these developments, people are not ready to leave their irrational beliefs in evil eyes and spirits causing food contamination. Thus, development has not necessarily resulted in healthier eating habits among the people of Haryana state. Very few women in urban areas who are also economically independent are able to make their choices for purchasing the food. Food served with grace enhances its value. Food eaten while watching television results in obesity and malnutrition. Although Haryana is a developed society, it still has an impact on belief in evil spirits and evil eyes in contamination of food. Education plays an important role in belief in evil spirits and evil eyes. The lower the level of education, the higher is the beliefin evil spirits and evil eyes. It is also concluded that observance of special practices in terms of serving or hiding the food is dominant among the rural respondents.

Note

1. Caste is an ascribed hierarchical division ofsociety. Indian society is hierarchically stratified into four main caste groups, namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. Brahmins are at the top of the hierarchy, and Shudras are at the bottom. ‘Jats’ are included in the intermediate caste. ‘Jats’ are basically a peasant community and are the numerically dominant caste group in Haryana.

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References

Achaya, B.N. and S. Patwardhan (1942), ‘The Effects of Parching on the Biological Value of Proteins of Some Cereals’, Indian Journal of Medical Research, 30: 73-80.

Achaya, K.T. (1994), Indian Food: A Historical Companion, New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras: Oxford University Press. | Agarwal, B. (1998), ‘Neither Sustenance for Satihiiablliey: Agricultural Strategies, Ecological Degradation and Indian Women in Poverty,’ in B. Agarwal (ed.), Structures of Patriarchy: State, Community and Household in Modernising Asia, Vol. 2, New Delhi: Kali for Women, pp. 83-120. Census of India (2001), Census of India, Provisional Population Tables, Series-7, Haryana, New Delhi: Census Commissioner of India.

Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (1997), Agriculture, Mumbai: CMIE. Chowdhry, P. (1993), ‘High Participation, Low Evaluation: Women and Work in Rural Haryana’, Economic and Political Weekly, 52: 135-48. Clay, C.D. and H.K. Schwartzweller (1991), ‘Introduction: Researching Household Strategies’, Research in Rural Sociology and Development, 5: 1-11. Das Gupta, M. (1996), ‘Life Courses Perspective on Women’s Autonomy and Health Outcomes’, Health Transition Review, 6: 213-31. EPW Research Foundation (2002), National Accounts Statistics of India, 1950-51 to 1996-97, Mumbai: EPW Foundation. Gangulee, N. (1938), Health and Nutrition in India, London: Faber and Faber Ltd. Goody, J. (1982), Cooking, Cuisine and Class: A Study in Comparative Sociology, Cambridge, London, New York: Cambridge University Press.

Jejeebhoy, S.J. (1997), ‘Addressing Women’s Reproductive Health: Needs Priorities for the Family Welfare Programme’, Economic and Political Weekly, 32: 475-84. Kapil, U. (2003), ‘India Need to Follow Nutrition Policy’, Health Care Management, 13-19.

Mennell, S. et al. (1993), The Sociology of Food: Eating Diet and Culture, London: Sage Publications.

NFHS (1999), National Family Health Survey. Population Research Centre, Mumbai. Niehof, A. (1998), ‘Households and the Food Chain: How do They Relate?’, in Sustainable Livelihood for Rural Households: Contributions from Rootcrop Agriculture, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines: UPWARD, pp. 37-49. Office of the Registrar General and Census Commission (2001), Census of India 2001, Series-I, India, Paper-1 of 2001, Provisional Population Totals, New Delhi: Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Pennartz, P. and A. Niehof (1999), The Domestic Domain: Chances, Choices and Strategies of Family Households, Aldershot, Brookfield, WI, Singapore, Sydney: Ashgate. Rajeshwari (1996), ‘Gender Bias in Utilization of Health Care Facilities in Rural Haryana’, Economic and Political Weekly, XXXI: 489-94. Rudie, I. (1995), ‘The Significance of Eating: Cooperation, Support and Reputation in Kelantan Malay Households’, in W.]. Karim (ed.), ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ in Developing Southeast Asia, Oxford, Washington, DC: Berg Publishers, pp. 227-47. SRS (2000), Sample Registration Survey, New Delhi: Government of India. UNDP (1997), Human Development Report, New York: Oxford University Press.

Food, Food Habits, and Culture

People connect to their cultural or ethnic group through similar food patterns. Immigrants often use food as a means of retaining their cultural identity. People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods. The ingredients, methods of preparation, preservation techniques, and types of food eaten at different meals vary among cultures. The areas in which families live and where their ancestors originated influence food likes and dislikes. These food preferences result in patterns of food choices within a cultural or regional group. We will be discussing food and beliefs across cultures in terms of rituals, ceremonies, and taboos.

Defining Food Culture Food culture refers to the practices, attitudes, and beliefs as well as the networks and institutions surrounding the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Cultural significance of food and eating focusses on social values, meanings, and beliefs rather than on dietary requirements and nutritional values. Eating habits are not solely a matter of the satisfaction of physiological and psychological needs, nor merely a result of individual preference. Food has also to be seen as a cultural affair; people eat in a socially organised fashion. There are definite ideas about good and bad table manners, concepts about right and wrong ways to present dishes, and clear understandings about food appropriate for different occasions. The preparation and consumption of food provide, moreover, a material means for expressing the more abstract significance of social systems and

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cultural values. It may be argued that what people are prepared to take inside their bodies reflects their social identities and their membership of social groups. To view eating habits as a matter of culture is to understand that they

are a product of codes of conduct and the structure ofsocial relationships of the society in which the occur. What meal people eat and how they eat it, indeed,

would be useful in understanding the system in terms of social and cultural organisation with which they are associated. It is this kind of approach which lies at the heart of a structural analysis of food and drink outlined by Mary Douglas (1972) and Edmund Leach (1970) in Britain and has, perhaps, been given special impetus by the work of French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss (1963). He has proposed that the place of eating and drinking in myths and rituals provides the medium whereby people may express their conviction that they are civilised and human, rather than savage and animal. His work continues

to indicate more intricate variations on this theme, revealed in ever nicer distinctions of culinary techniques in relation to more detailed discrimination of social circumstances. Simmel views meal as a primordial social institution and yet the locus of cultivated refinement. Simmel recommends unpretentious table decoration, family portraits on the wall, symmetrical garnishes, and sociable dinner conversations before a somewhat metaphysical rounding-off. Shared meal unfolds the cultural from the natural (Quoted in Symons 1994: 333). What is considered edible or even a delicacy in some parts of the world might be considered inedible in other parts. Although food is often selected with some attention to physical need, the values or beliefs a society attaches to potential food items defines what families within a cultural group will eat. For example, both plant and animal sources may contribute to meeting nutritional requirements for protein; soybeans, beef, horsemeat, and dog meat are all adequate protein sources. Yet, due to the symbolism attached to these proteins sources, they are not equally available in all societies. Moreover, even when the foods perceived to be undesirable are available, they are not likely to be eaten by people who have strong emotional reactions against the potential food item. Food Beliefs and Practices in Ethnic Groups

Some food beliefs and practices are due to religious beliefs. Around the world, Muslims fast during Ramadan, believed to be the month during which the Quran, the Islamic holy book, was given from God to Prophet Muhammad. During this month, Muslims fast during daylight hours, eating and dining before dawn and after sunset. Orthodox Jews and some conservative Jews follow dietary laws,

popularly referred to as a Kosher diet, discussed in the Jewish scripture. The dietary laws, which describe the use and preparation of animal foods, are followed for the purpose of spiritual health. Many followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism are vegetarians in part because of a doctrine of non-injury or non-violence. Abstinence from eating meat in these traditions stems from the desire to avoid harming other living creatures. Despite religious food prescriptions, dietary practices vary widely even among those who practice the same faith. Such variations may be due to branches or

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denominations of a religious group, national variations, regional variations, and individuals’ or families’ own degree of orthodoxy or religious adherence. Food Culture and Etiquettes Food is associated with hospitality and expression of friendship. Therefore, sensitivity to food rules and customs is important in building and strengthening cross-cultural relationships. Culture also plays a role in food-related etiquette. People in Western societies may refer to food-related etiquette as table manners, a phrase that illustrates the cultural expectations of eating food or meals at a table. Some people eat with forks and spoons; many people use fingers or chopsticks. However, utensil choice is much more complicated than choosing chopsticks, fingers, or flatware. Among some groups who primarily eat food with their fingers, diners use only their right hands to eat. Some people use only three fingers of the right hand. Among other groups, use of both hands is acceptable. In some countries, licking the fingers is polite; in others, licking the fingers is considered impolite (and done only when a person thinks no one else is watching). The rules regarding polite eating may increase in formal settings. At some formal dinners, a person might be expected to choose the ‘right’ fork from among two or three choices to match the food being eaten at a certain point in the meal. The amount people eat and leave uneaten also varies from group to group. Some people from Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries might have a little bit of food on their plates in order to indicate that their hunger has been satisfied (Kittler 2001). Cooks from other locations might be offended if food is left on the plate, indicating that the guest may have disliked the food. Similarly, a clean plate might signify either satisfaction with the meal or desire for more food. The role of conversation during mealtime varies from place to place. Many families believe that mealtime is a good time to converse and to ‘catch up’ on the lives of family and friends. Among other families, conversation during a meal is acceptable, but the topics of conversation are limited. In India, among some groups, conversation during mealtime is totally prohibited. In some Southeast Asian countries, it is considered polite to limit conversation during a meal (Kittler 2001). Food, Rituals, Ceremonies, and Taboos

Food rituals are helpful in creating solidarity among the people and group. Food was never to be eaten standing up, lying down, moving about, or from the lap. One had to eat sit on the ground, alone, facing east or north, and in total silence. Morsels of the meal were to be cast into the fire as oblation, and prayers offered to various deities and one’s ancestors. Portions of foods were reserved for Brahmins, serpents, dogs, and insects and laid outside for crows, who were believed to be messengers to the world of the spirits. The householder was expected to see to the feeding of his/her guests and of any pregnant women, infants, and aged persons in his/her household before he/she himself/herself sat down to eat.

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Death is a traumatic event. The family stops all eating and drinking till the cremation is over. During the subsequent mourning period, the auspicious bagharha or frying of spices cannot be performed in the house, and the family is fed food sent by relatives. Use of auspicious foods like milk and its products, Urad dal, Chana Dal and its flour (besan), and turmeric (highly auspicious) is all abandoned. Frequently, the old hearth is demolished and a new one is put up after the mourning period elapse. Earthen pot for keeping water is also replaced after mourning days elapse. Numerous ceremonies are followed during the rest of the year. At the annual Shraddha ceremony, only certain foods like sweets and fried foods are permitted and offered to a Brahmin. Food taboos are unwritten social rules that exist in one form or another in every society on earth. It is a fact that perhaps nowhere in the world people, a group, a community, or a caste group makes use of the full potential of edible items in its surroundings. All individuals and social groups and communities have their own cultural practices. Certain foods are denied or discouraged for pregnant women, women during menstrual period, and widows and at the times of certain rituals. Taboos are in fact characterised as a practice which is approved or considered legitimate by a society. The taboos relating to food which are very strictly followed are known as permanent food taboos. Anthropologists believe that the foods which are considered as inedible due to permanent taboos are due to the different societal structures which do not permit their consumption (Lizot and Ross 1979). The restrictions imposed on people or groups direct them to abstain from certain food, and they are embedded into the cultural and religious threads. Thus, food taboos are a set of rules and regulations which allows us to eat or avoid certain kinds of eatables or drinking items (Mintz and Du Bois 2002). Food taboos are deliberate avoidance of a food item for reasons other than simple dislike from food preferences. In non-human mammals, dominant individuals may force weaker ones to accept less sought-after food items, and a possible liking for these originally reluctantly accepted food items may in turn develop (Koehler and Leonhaeuser 2008). Some aspects of this scenario may also apply to human societies because food taboos can be imposed on individuals by outsiders or by members of the kinship groups to manifest themselves through instruction and example during upbringing (Meyer-Rochow 1979). Although mere avoidance of potential food (for whatever reason) does not in itself signify a food taboo, it is easy to see how regular avoidance can turn into a tradition and eventually end up as a food taboo (Harris 1985). But what is it that leads to regular avoidance? Social anthropological research on eating and food taboos (Harris and Ross 1987) has frequently invoked utilitarian and medico religious motives (Simoons 1994) or seen the dichotomy between positive and negative rites as a basis for food taboos (Buruiana 2003). A functionalist’s explanation of food taboos as mechanisms for conserving resources as well as a person's health has been less popular (Whitaker 2005), although there is good evidence in support of both (Colding and Folke 1997).

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Harper (1961) explained that the food items tabooed to any individual are,

without

exception,

relatively unimportant

precise

prohibited

food

varied

from

in quantitative

individual

terms.

to individual.

Also, the

The

culture

fostered individualism by putting emphasis on economic and _ social independence, but provided few cultural symbols whereby any one individual's social identity could be differentiated from that of another. Harper explained food taboos in terms of individualism and social and economic independence. Among the Paiute Indians living in western United States, not eating a certain berry, root, or insect supplied an individual with a symbol by which he was differentiated from other individuals. They do not taboo a food for the whole social group, forming a pattern which is more appropriate to a socially cohesive group ofpeople desiring a symbol by which to express their group solidarity and to give them a ‘unique’ group identity, distinguishing them from other similar groups. Further, Harper noted that the higher the caste rank (India context), the more numerous and stringent are the food taboos. Food prohibitions are the most all-encompassing in those castes which have the greatest ability to command foods considered desirable by all castes. There are numerous vegetables which are proscribed to Brahmins or are considered undesirable foods. Mushrooms, which grow wild in the fields and forests, may not be eaten. Also, any vegetables which in colours resemble meat should not be eaten. These include beetroots, pumpkins, carrots, tomatoes, and radishes. In addition to these, strong foods, such as onions and garlic, are considered inappropriate to Brahminical status. Finally, potatoes are frequently rejected as being Englishman’s food. The fact that the wealthier castes do not eat certain foods increases their availability to lower castes. This is particularly true for foods that can be obtained by foraging, such as mushrooms and freshwater crabs. Lower castes catch fish from the steams and reservoirs, during some seasons, in fairly large quantities. There are certain food taboos which restrict certain food only for a certain period of time and for specific reasons. This includes pregnancy time, birth time, lactation time, death time, and periods ofillness or sickness. Food and Fasting The notion of fasting, including its form, functions, and relevance, is also an important aspect of Indian culture. It is often mentioned in studies dealing with the region or culture of India (Census of India 1961; Dubois 1906; Stevenson 1971), but the form and nature of fasting, the why and when, and the impact it produces on the dietary habits of the population have not been explained. In the Western world, due to Judeo-Christian influences, fasting means not eating fora specified period. But fasting can have a different meaning in other religions and cultures. In India, fasting is an extremely complex matter, varying according to religion, caste, family, age, sex, and degree of orthodoxy. There are gradations in fasting, both in terms ofits frequency and its severity. A person who fasts more frequently may fast less severely than the one who fasts only occasionally. A more religious person is likely to fast more often and more severely than the one who is not so religious (Katona-Apte 1976: 317).

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The frequency of fasting is determined by the degree of religious attitude

and by personal choice. Some fasts, such as Amvasya (new moon day) and Ekadashi (the 11th day of both the new and the full moon) are common to most Hindus. Then there are weekly fasts - fasting 1 day of the week - to show goodwill towards a favourite God or Goddess, to appease a God or Goddess, or to either avoid or bring about a specific event. Most Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism are assigned a specific day of the week (as well as a specific day of the year). Hindus fast to receive rewards, such as male offspring, or to ward off evil. Ordinary food may be consumed on the 12th day in the afternoon, but not before, or bear the pain of forfeiting for a hundred generations all the blessings which should flow from these ceremonies. As an example, text regarding Ekadashi by Abbe Dubois (1906: 706) is given below: There are numerous fast days during the Hindu calendar year. For example: The days of the new and full moon are the fast days, as also the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth days of each lunar month ... on the tenth and twelfth day one meal may be taken, n the eleventh day ... The feast called Shivratri ... no one must eat or drink ... for the hole twenty-four hours ... On the ninth day of the lunar month Cheitra ... Brahmins may take only one meal in the day, and without rice; they may eat peas, cakes, bananas, and coconuts ... On the eighth day of the month of Shrvana they are forbidden to take any food at all ... They must also fast on the anniversaries of the ten Avtars ... on the days called manuvadi, yugadi, sanranti; on the days of eclipses; at the equinoxes, solstices, and the conjunction of planets, and on the other unlucky days; on the anniversary of the death of father or mother; on Sundays and several other days during the year. (Dubois 1906: 270-71)

The foods allowed during fasting vary from nothing to all-but-one item in the diet. At one extreme is the person who fasts by not eating non-vegetarian foods on fast days; then there are those who eat everything except the staple prepared in the accustomed form and eat the staple prepared in other forms. Some eat one regular meal and substitute prepared in other forms. Some eat one regular meal and substitute other foods for the second meal; such substitute foods could be anything from another form of the staple to sago (Manihot esculenta), fruits, milk, and nuts. Others may eat nothing but the one meal for fast days. For example, ... they return home and keep fast, ... eat no cooked grain or rice, they are allowed mangoes and unlimited sweets made ofmilk ... (Stevenson 1971: 51)

Thus, because a person is fasting, it rarely means that he/she is going without food. The foods allowed are tasty and diverse; after all, much fasting is done on the eves of holidays which are joyous occasions. Purity is also an

important consideration; what is eaten therefore their roles in social interactions.

affects their personal

Purity is also an important consideration

symbolises cleansing of the body:

purity and

while fasting. After all, a fast

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For men and women at all levels, what is eaten affects their personal purity and therefore their roles in social interaction. With whom and from whom they

food has social consequences... (Mandelbaum 1970: 200) Purity in Hinduism is a continuum from extremely pure to extremely defiling. Thus, those foods that are closer to being pure are more permissible than those which are at the lower end. For example, rice if boiled in water is

unacceptable for fasting, but if it is boiled in milk - a product of cow - it is acceptable. Foods fried in clarified butter are near the pure end of the scale. Thus, sweets are eaten for fasting, as traditionally they are prepared with ghee. On the fast days, Hindus are more careful and will not eat food which may be part of their diet on other days. Even if one meal is consumed and the other substituted, the most common practice, ‘polluting’ foods are avoided for the whole fast day. The consumption of yeast bread, for instance, is rapidly spreading in India because of its low cost and convenience (no need for preparation). But it is considered a pollutant by those who associate it with Christian missionaries. In some areas, this is also true of chicken and eggs. Many who consume non-vegetarian foods daily will avoid doing so on fast days. Ready-made foods brought from shops are less pure than homemade ones. But ghee-fried foods from outside are purer than boiled foods prepared at home. Legumes if first soaked in water and then ground are acceptable, but if ground first and then mixed with water, they are unacceptable. Vegetables and legumes are avoided by some, but not by all. Again, some others will avoid certain vegetables such as onions and garlic because these are considered to be aphrodisiacs. New world vegetables are taboo because they are not mentioned in the Vedas (sacred texts of Hinduism). Fruits which can be peeled, milk, nuts, spices, tea, and coffee are acceptable. It should be pointed out that some ofthese restrictions are observed regularly by the very orthodox; others will resort to them only as they are necessary for observing religious practices as exemplified by fasting (Kartona-Apte 1976: 321).

Food and Purity-Pollution

Concept of pollution is intimately woven into cooking and eating practices. It would be unthinkable for a cook or housewife to taste any dish during the course of its preparation. Water must never be sipped from a tumbler but poured into the mouth from above, as one’s own Saliva is polluting. Water used for rinsing the mouth must be cast out, never swallowed (Guha 1985: 141). Tyler (1973: 78) explained pollution and its relation to food: food itself is subject to classification on the basis of relative purity, depending on who handles it in preparation, how it is prepared, and how and by whom it is served. Some foods have special purity, either inherently (milk) or by the process of preparation (fried foods). Further, fried food can be consumed more or less depending on the kind of oil used, clarified butter (ghee) being the best. Fried food, known as pakka food, is less vulnerable to pollution than food cooked or baked (kaccha food). Similarly, raw (or unprepared) food still in a husk or shell is less susceptible to pollution than food that has been husked or shelled. A Brahman, for example, can accept an unpeeled banana or unhusked coconut

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from

an untouchable

but cannot

accept the exposed

flesh of these

fruits.

Similarly, food served in clay utensils is more prone to pollution than food served in brass utensils. In general, the more food departs from its raw or unprepared state, the more important becomes the question of its matter of preparation, serving, and consumption. Leftover food is defiled unless it has been consumed by a deity or holy man. Alcohol and meat are inherently polluting and no manner ofpreparation can remove their impurity. Food and Pregnancy

Pregnancy invited a whole host of Vedic instructions. Certain foods had to be especially eaten and other foods to be especially avoided, such as those which are too spicy or too cold. Several rituals had to be undertaken, including an offering of Madhuparka from the husband in the fifth month. Following the birth ofa child, the household was considered to be under ritual pollution for 12 days, and no outsiders were entertained. The new mother was given specialised herbal foods and rich preparations, including, on the sixth day, a variety of festive preparations. After the 12th day, a semblance is normally provided. The mother was considered ritually not pure enough to enter the cooking area for another 5 months but was permitted to undertake some peeling and cutting of fruits/vegetables for further cooking elsewhere in the house. The child's annaprasana was held on an auspicious day when he/she was about 6 months old. It was then given its first solid food in the way of paramanna of boiled rice, milk, sugar, and honey, a little which was put gently into its mouth after the ceremony (Banerjee 1979). Shah and Dwivedi (2013) found that tribal women in Srikakulam district are restricted to consume papaya, sesame, coconut water, and fermented rice as they had the conception that these foods would cause abortion. Park (2011) and Puri and Kapoor (2006) discussed that pregnant women that belong to the area of Khodu of Surendranagar are forced to abstain from nutrients as a part of their traditional food habit. Pregnant women are asked to avoid papaya, groundnut, and citrus foodstuffs as they can cause abortion and disruption in placenta. Patil et al. (2011) also explained similar reasons for food taboos among pregnant women. Cultural beliefs influenced food taboos. SEWA (1994) found in their study of Gujarat that some members of the community assume that food shares the same space as the foetus in the mothers’ abdomen, thus limiting the space for the foetus to grow and eventually causing it to waste away. Thus, there is no need of eating extra food by pregnant women. The other view observes that eating a lot of food makes the foetus grow fat, thus causing problems for the mother during delivery. Thus, in both the scenarios, eating too much food is prohibited during pregnancy. Food is restricted during pregnancy as it can cause cough to the mother and would lead to abortion (Sahoo and Panda 2005).

Food Habits: Change and Continuity

Food items themselves have meaning attached to them. In many Western countries, a box of chocolates and in India, for any auspicious occasion, a box of sweets would be viewed as an appropriate gift. Nations or countries or regions

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are frequently associated with certain foods. For example, many people associate Italy with pizza and pasta. Yet, Italians eat other foods, and the types of

pasta dishes vary throughout Italy. In India, Punjab is associated with chole-bhature, and south India is associated with idli-sambhar. Methods of preparation and types of food also vary by regions. Regional food habits do exist, but they also change over time. As people immigrate, food practices and preferences are imported and exported. Families move to other locations, bringing their food preferences with them. They may use their old recipes with new ingredients or experiment with new recipes,

incorporating ingredients to match their own tastes. In addition, food itself is imported from other countries. People and food are mobile. Attempts to characterise a country or people by what they eat often are inaccurate or tend to lump people into stereotypical groups. Have you ever wondered what the food you eat everyday can tell you about where you come from? Have you ever wondered why people from different parts of the world eat different types of food? Do you ever ask yourself why certain foods or culinary traditions are so important to your culture? There is more of aconnection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our cultures. It becomes a part of who each of us are. Many of us associate food from our children with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our family often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress. When someone get sick, they might not be able to eat rice because they are too weak to eat. Then, their mother will cook soup, daliya, khichadi, etc. and will bring it to their bed for feeding them. Thus, next time, the smell and taste of the soup, daliya, khichadi, etc. familiarises them with the previous mentioned occasion, and whenever one gets tired or stressed, the same soup, khichadi, daliya, etc. is remembered. Food is an important part of culture. Traditional cuisine is passed down from one generation to the next. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go, and cooking traditional food preserves their culture when they move to new places. Continuing to make food from their culture for family meals is a symbol of pride for their ethnicity and a means of coping with homesickness. Many open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. For example, some ingredients needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, and so, the taste and flavour can be different from the taste and flavour of the dishes that they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, when immigrants sell food in another country and state, they do not sell it to people from the same countries as them but to people from different countries and states. Therefore, they have to alter the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers with distinct tastes and flavour preferences. Alterations to original dishes can create flavours that still retain the cultural significance ofthe dish.

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Each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a portal to culture, and it should be treated as such. There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On a larger scale, food is an important part of culture. Traditional cuisine is passed down from one generation to the next. It also operates as an expression ofcultural identity.

References

Banerjee, B.N. (1979), Hindu Culture, Custom and Ceremony, Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan. Buruiana, C. (2003), ‘Taboos and Social Order: The Socio-Anthropological Deciphering of Interdictions’, Revista Romana de Sociologie, 14: 529-33.

Census of India (1961), Fairs and Festivals in Maharashtra, Vol. 10, Part VII B, Delhi: Manager of Publications.

Colding, J. and C. Folke

(1997), ‘The Relations

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Protection, and Taboos’, Conservation Ecology, 1(1): 6.

Douglas, M. (1972), ‘Deciphering a Meal’, Daedalus, 101(1): 61-81. Du Bois, A.J.A. (1906), Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Guha, D.S. (1985), Food in Vedic Tradition, New Quarterly.

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Harper, E.B. (1961), ‘Cultural Factors in Food Consumption: An Example from India’, Economic Botany, 15(4): 289-95. Harris, M. (1985), Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture, New York: Simon and Schuster. Harris, M. and E.B. Ross (1987), Food and Evolution: Toward a Theory of Human Food Habits, Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Katona-Apte, J. (1976), ‘Dietary Aspects of Acculturation: Meals, Feasts, and Fasts in a Minority Community in South Asia’, in M.L. Arnott (ed.), Gastronomy: The Anthropology of Food and Food Habits, The Hague: Mouton Publishers, pp. 315-32.

Kittler, F. (2001), Eine Kulturgeschichte der Kulturwissenschaft, Munchen: Fink.

Koehler, J. and I.U Leonhaeuser (2008), ‘Changes in Food Preferences during Aging’, Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 52 (Suppl. 1): 15-19. Leach, E. (1970), Claude Levi-Strauss, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Levi-Strauss, Claude (1963), ‘Structural Analysis in Linguistics and in Anthropology’, An Introductory Anthology: 110-128.

Lizot, J. and E.B. Ross (1979), ‘On Food and Taboos and Amazon Current Anthropology, 20: 150-55.

Cultural Ecology’,

Mandelbaum, D.G. (1970), Society in India, Berkeley: University of California Press.

Meyer-Rochow, V.B. (1979), ‘The Diverse Uses of Insects in Traditional Arbeistelle fur Ethnomedizin, 3/4: 387-400.

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Mintz, S.W and C.M. Du Bois (2002), ‘The Anthropology of Food and Eating’, Annual Review of Anthropology, 31: 99-119.

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Patil, R. et al. (2011), ‘Taboos and Misconception about Food During Pregnancy among Rural Population of Pondicherry’, Calicut Medical Journal, 8(2): 4.

Puri, S. and S. Kapoor (2006), ‘Taboos and Myths Associated with Women’s

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among Rural and Urban Adolescent Girls in Punjab’, //CM, 31(4): 168-70.

Sahoo, S. and B. Panda (2005), ‘A Study of Nutritional Status of Pregnant of Some Villages in Balasore District, Orissa’, Journal ofHuman Ecology, 20(3): 227-32. Self Employed Women’s Association (1994), Gujarat Midwives Cooperative, Gujarat, Anmedabad.

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Shah, B.D. and L.K. Dwivedi (2013), ‘New Born Care Practices: A Case Study of Tribal Women Gujarat’, Health, 5: 29-40. Simoons, F.]. (1994), Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidance from Prehistory to the Present, Madison: University of Wisconsin University Press.

Stevenson, M. (1971), The Rites of Twice-Born, New Delhi: Oriental Boos Reprint Corporation.

Symons, M. (1994), ‘Simmel’s Gastronomic Sociology: An Overlooked Essay’, Food and Foodways, 5(4): 333-51. Tyler, S.A. (1973), India: An Anthropological Perspective, Pacific Palisades, CA: Good Year. Whitaker, A. (2005), ‘Environmental Anthropology: Taboos and the Food Chain’, Current Anthropology, 46: 499-500.

S Food, Health, and Nutrition The Interface

The word food brings to our mind countless images. Food is associated with worship and divinity, with celebration and mourning, with family gatherings, and with community feasting. It is closely interwoven with every feature of our existence. This is not surprising because food plays a crucial role in our lives. It sustains us, it nourishes us. It is the life-giver. In this chapter, we will discuss the relationship between food, nutrition, and health. The term food refers to anything which nourishes the body. It includes solids, semi-solids, and liquids which can be consumed and which help to sustain the body and keep it healthy. Food is one of the most important factors which affect the health and well-being of human beings. The main function of food in a society is to ensure survival of mankind. Social scientists such as Malinowski (1944) and Richards (1939) pointed out that the human body’s need for food has done much to shape society through all activities concerned with food production and distribution. However, people do not think of their food in terms of energy and nutrients only. Leach (1970) suggested that animals just eat food, but for man, society decreed what was food and what was not and what kind of food should be eaten and on what occasion. Food and health are intimately bound up in local culture. The range and diversity of strategies open

to an individual for acquiring food is a measure not only of the economic and social complexity of the society but also of the extent of integration of that person in society. Food is cultural also. In the following pages, we will discuss the classification of food and food in relation to health and nutrition. Nutrition and Health

Popkin (1999) in his paper ‘Urbanization, Lifestyle Changes and Nutrition Transition’ highlighted that the forces that have created major shifts in fertility

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and mortality patterns have also been linked with equally important shifts in diet, physical activity, and body composition. The concept of nutrition transition relates to the sense that the underlying shifts in economic, demographic, and

related forces that affect fertility, mortality, and disease patterns also affect the structure of diet, physical activity, and body composition trends. The concept of nutrition transition focusses on large shifts in the structure of diet. The same underlying socio-economic and demographic changes associated with these dietary changes are also linked with shifts in physical activity, average stature, and body consumption patterns. Western diet is dominated by refined foods and high fat which results in obesity. The conditions that are leading to the rapid change in diet, activity, and obesity are linked with many chronic diseases. Popkin (2006) in his paper ‘Global Nutrition Dynamics: The World Shifting Rapidly Toward a Diet Linked with Non-Communicable Diseases’ addressed a range of socio-economic and demographic shifts that have resulted in rapid changes in the diets and physical activity levels of most regions in the world. Most of the changes have involved reduction in fibre and whole grain intakes, increases in refined carbohydrate intakes (particularly in sweeteners), and increase in intake of animal and partially hydrogenated fats. The shifts in activity patterns appear to have been equally rapid. There has also been a shift towards a more diverse and pleasurable diet. The activity patterns also represent a shift away from onerous, difficult, and labour-intensive activities. Thus, although these shifts in diet and physical activities are desirable in many ways, they are associated with many onerous nutritional and health effects. It is these paradoxes and complexities that make it difficult to arrest the negative aspects of the nutrition transition. Since the development of the wheel and fire, humankind has attempted to reduce the effort involved with activities both at home and away from home. Our effort to increase the tastefulness of the diet has been equally important. Fat and sugar are two of the most pleasurable elements of the diet in terms of taste preferences. Gandhi has spoken and written about nutrition in the context of health with reference to famine and food shortage, as well as in normal times. The populace is implored to realise the benefits of a wholesome diet to be reminded that they need not look up to the government for all they need. Congress workers are exhorted to spread awareness of simple measures that the people can adopt to improve diet, such as the use of pounded rather than polished rice. Gandhi did seem to believe that the primary responsibility of good nutrition was in the hands of people themselves, whatever the state may do to succour or deprive them. Famine and food shortages were common occurrences during the British Raj. Then, as now, the role of nutrition in public health was considered only in

passing by the government. Administrative exigency still continues to divide the work of‘Food and Civil Supplies’ and ‘Public Health’, despite the growing realisation that inter-sectoral cooperation is essential if any meaningful intervention in public health is to be made. Gandhi's position on famine and food shortage can be easily summarised. It was obvious to him then, as it is to us in hindsight, that famine was (and is) a

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creation of the government.’ The other important insight that he brought to the issue was that food shortages could be ameliorated if local produce was mobilised to supplement the diet.? Spelling out the role of government in creating famine, Gandhi has inculpated two aspects of agricultural production

and distribution that are unfortunately still in practice. The first was the insistence on growing wheat and rice for the entire populace,’ instead of a healthy mix of cereals like jowar and bajra. The second was the procurement procedure,

wherein all produce is first transported to a central location and then painstakingly sent back to where it came from after appropriating the amount required for urban consumption. Gandhi not only appreciated but repeatedly stressed the obvious that nutrition is a prerequisite to health. References far too numerous to list here illustrate his concern for the diets of common villagers. This concern was firmly grounded on the perception of economic capacities. He once extolled a diet chart prepared by Dr H.V. Tilak for the Bombay Baby and Health Week Association and then proceeded to undo his praise by regretfully noting that it was not implementable in villages.* There are also numerous references to the need for better nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, but these are mostly derived from folk wisdom. The role of nutrition during a condition of disease was spelt out in several instances. It has been explained in his autobiography under the section ‘Experiments in Dietetics’. The important thing, however, remains that Gandhi was ready to utter an opinion, however ingenuous it may have been, as soon as it was formed (at least as far as his experiments with healthcare were concerned). In this propensity at least, he was rather akin to present-day scientists and authors, who rush to publish and propagate the results of every small experiment they undertake in their laboratory. Equally importantly, Gandhi’s willingness to revise opinions, in the light of new data, marks him out as a fellow scientist with the required degree of open-mindedness. At least one such instance of revised opinion is worth describing here. The context is malaria. In January 1935, Gandhi declared that ‘quinine does seem to subdue malaria, but will not root it out’. He then suggested that malaria patients ‘must eschew starch, too much protein and live mainly on milk during convalescence’. On 22 July 1935, he wrote to Manilal and Sushila Gandhi, advising them to put malaria patients at the Segaon Ashram under partial or complete fasting.® He went on to describe with magisterial profundity a diet composed of this, that, and the other, which is, by any standards, frugal and hardly likely to benefit a patient whose red blood cells are being destroyed by the malaria parasite. I could not trace what happened to those poor souls who were deprived of nourishment when their reserves were already low (Shankar 2000), but two years later, Gandhi himself blithely

expounded to a journalist from The Hindu, the importance of a good diet during an attack of malaria.’ He acknowledged admiration for quinine, but averred that ‘administration of quinine is no avail unless food is given to the people’. This instance is valuable in defence of Gandhi as a proponent of ‘modern science and technology’. He comes across as ‘scientific minded’ in a far better sense as

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who attaches more than due importance to the current scientific

opinion. The criticism that he harboured ‘hostile indifference to modern science and technology’ is difficult to reconcile with the foregoing analysis. Food and Malnutrition

There are 42 different kinds of malnutrition. There are at least 40 or so distinct chemical elements, types of molecules, and groups and compounds, all of which must be present in the diet of humans in order to avoid loss of functional capacity. Out of this large number of possible causes of deficiency diseases, four

have been recognised for a very long time: iodine, iron, and vitamins C and A. Iron, iodine, and vitamin A are now sometimes collectively referred to as the ‘super-nutrients’. Eating habits have changed in countries such as Spain - anew combination of meal has been created - yet, such changes are slow and costly: ‘old habits die hard’. Parental education is, in many instances, the key to changing habits. Parents’ concern to ensure good nutrition and a balanced diet for their children may not significantly change the eating habits of the parents, but it changes the eating habits of the nation. Food and Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency prevails in epidemic proportions all over the Indian subcontinent, with a prevalence of 70 to 100 per cent in the general population. In India, widely consumed food items such as dairy products are rarely fortified with vitamin D. Indian socio-religious and cultural practices do not facilitate adequate sun exposure, thereby negating potential benefits of plentiful sunshine. Consequently, subclinical vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in both urban and rural settings and across all socio-economic and geographic strata. Cultural and social taboos often dictate lifestyle patterns, such as clothing - which may limit sun exposure - and vegetarianism - which certainly limits vitamin D-rich dietary options. Indian diet is low in calcium content; it also has a lower protein content and therefore low endogenous acid production, which may reduce urinary calcium loss. Therefore, the amount of dietary calcium required to maintain calcium balance may be lower than for those in Occident. A direct relation between high sodium intake and low bone mass has been reported. Intake of caffeine from tea and coffee is very high in India, but the proportion of milk is very low in these drinks; thus, calcium intake through these beverages is low. Vitamin D is stable during cooking upto 2°C. However, thermal stability of vitamin D is an inverse function of both temperature and time. In India, milk is boiled for several minutes before consumption. Before the same lot of milk is consumed in entirety, it is subjected to two to three rounds of

boiling. Therefore, these beverages may not contribute significantly to neither calcium nor vitamin D intake among people. High intolerance in India is a major deterrent pertaining to milk consumption, further lowering the intake of calcium and vitamin D among individuals (Ritu and Gupta 2014). Dietary habits in India have changed significantly. Many people remove a substantial proportion ofbran from whole wheat flour used for kneading to improve texture and fluffiness of chapattis. Consumption of white flour (maida) is also

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increasing. Most people prefer processed, split, and polished pulses to whole seeds due to the ease of shorter time required for cooking and the consequent lowered expense of cooking fuel. Consumption ofinstant noodles and burgers is also on a rise across all socio-economic strata. In the scenario of inadequate calcium intake, vitamin D insufficiency, and high phytate content in diet, environmental pollutants such as fluoride add insult to injury. Toxins like fluoride affect bone metabolism severely in conjunction with inadequate calcium intake, especially in children (Harinarayan et al. 2006: 907-14; Khandare et al. 2005: 412-8).

Supplement Food Intake and Their Regulation

In the 1970s and 1980s, considerable advances have been made in our understanding of the factors which control energy intake in man when offered a varied, palatable diet. When we eat, the food is absorbed from the gut, and there are many potential signals which might cause satiety. It has been suggested that the important messengers might be the products of digestion of food (such as glucose) entering the bloodstream, or nerve signals arising from the gut as food is absorbed, or hormones released from the gut wall in response to the presence of food in the gut lumen. The problem with all these suggestions is that they do not explain how the last mouthful of a meal is determined: the signals listed above require that the food should already be in the intestine, if not actually absorbed, before the signals can be generated, but while this is happening, there is time for many more mouthfuls to be ingested before the meal is terminated. Appetizing a meal should provide variety and contrasts in taste, colour, and texture. It is a common experience that, having partaken of a banquet which provided much more nourishment than we need, we may believe ourselves to be incapable of eating any more. However, if a particularly attractive item is produced - perhaps the first strawberries of the season - we find our ability to eat is miraculously restored. These findings show that novelty and variety in food makes it more difficult to regulate intake by physiological mechanisms. If we were fed chow of constant composition, we would no doubt regulate our food intake accurately according to our requirements. We would do this because at each meal, we would acquire experience about the quantity of food which fulfils our needs, and having ingested that amount, we would feel satiated by the conditioning effect demonstrated by Booth et al. (1982). If each meal is novel, we have no experience of the amount required for satiety to occur. If our cuisine is varied as well as novel, the task of regulation is made still more difficult because satiety is ‘sensory specific’ - we may be satiated to sausages but not to bananas. The application of this theory to diet in affluent countries is obvious: food technologists are constantly inventing new flavours and textures which may not exist in nay natural food, with the laudable intention to stimulate both our appetites and their sales. It is not surprising that the physiological mechanisms which evolved to regulate the intake of the monotonous diet of our ancestors is no match for such sophistication.

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Food and Nutritional Stress

An important distinction is to be made between under-nutrition and malnutrition, The stress of under-nutrition is simply that of starvation: having insufficient energy in the diet to meet the requirements of the body for

maintaining its physical and chemical functions and to supply the energy needed for movement, doing physical work, and, in young individuals, for growing. Malnutrition, strictly speaking, is the result of eating the wrong kinds of food, that is, an unbalanced mixture of the chemical constituents of food, resulting in relative deficiencies or surpluses of some of these. It is obvious that either of these types of stress can be of variable intensity and duration. A third form of stress is infectious disease, which is influenced by an additional cause. Diet and disease interact in such a complex and mutually reinforcing way that it is frequently difficult - often impossible —- to distinguish either one as the primary cause of stress. An infection can result in loss of appetite and hence initiate under-nutrition; it can also result in the depletion of body stores of specific nutrients and hence cause malnutrition. Dietary deficiencies, on the other hand, can reduce the effectiveness of response of the body’s immune system, and increase the possibility and severity of infections. In these ways, either diet or disease can initiate stress, and both interact in a mutually reinforcing way. Since poverty generally results in people frequently having to cope with coinciding food and disease problems, it is impossible to comprehend the nature and magnitude of the impact of global hunger. Methods

The evidence in this paper are from interviews with households in Dhandhlan village, a small multi-caste village in the Jhajjar District, Haryana, and in Rohtak city, which is also in Haryana. In each of these locations, 75 households were selected at random but with quota controls for caste in the village and social class in the city. The fieldwork gathered information about the households’ perception of food and also about their beliefs concerning food, health, disease, and nutrition. The views related to nutrition policy, particularly of the Haryana state, have also been gathered and analysed. The interviews were held with the family/household member who was mainly responsible for purchasing and preparing food for the group (usually the senior woman). Some questions in the interviews were ‘closed’ (with fixed categories for answers), whereas some were open-ended. In the latter cases, wherever possible, the answers were coded following completion ofall the fieldwork into categories derived from an initial scrutiny of the answers. The interviews were tape-recorded, and _ therefore, the output from the research is a combination of quantified and qualitative evidence. Classification of Food

In contemporary societies, food companies are not reducing salts, sugars, and preservatives in their food products; they are ‘fortifying’ them to contain the nutrients lost in a standard processed food diet. Fortification is as old as iodised

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salt and baby formula. In the 1990s, as the diets of the poor were being decimated by the spread of export agriculture, government food supplement programmes in developing countries added micronutrients to staple products such as flour, oil, sugar, and margarine. Today, the task of fortifying food has fallen to food industry giants like Nestle, Unilever, PepsiCo, and Kellogg, who use the market to channel nutrients to the undernourished. But fortified foods often fail to reach the poorest of poor, who live on the margins of the market economy. Due to their low purchasing power and underdeveloped distribution channels, processed fortified food items have limited reach and impact on subsistence farmers and rural people who consume locally produced food. Nevertheless, there is tremendous support for fortification in capitalist food systems (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 193). Nutritionism is a reductionist form of science that avoids addressing the causes of malnutrition and simplifies the exaggerated role of nutrients in dietary health (Scrinis 2013). When hidden hunger is reduced to a problem of micronutrient deficiencies, addressing hunger serves a political and economic function. First, it gives power and profit to whichever corporation provides the micronutrients. Second, it masks the ways the global food system has destroyed traditional sources of nutrients and impoverished people’s diets (Holt-Gimenez 2017). The proponents of fortification claim that human beings cannot obtain their necessary nutrients by eating a healthy diet made up of diverse, whole, and fresh foods but need personally targeted nutrients to be administered by food industry. The relationship between perceptions of health and maintenance ofhealth through diet is not simple. The idea of food as a ‘fuel’ to keep people energetic and active and get them through the day may be important, explaining the emphasis on quantity and regularity. However, the idea of a balanced diet may be more closely linked to theories about control of illness, such as maintaining immunity from disease, or it may be linked with a type of biological explanation which sees a balanced diet as a means of keeping the body functioning in a healthy manner. A series of more specific questions are then asked about food and health, beginning with: 1. 2.

Good and bad foods or diets. Healthy and unhealthy foods or diets.

All of the respondents are asked about their ideas of good and bad food (diets). The responses are described in Table 1 and analysed by social class. Both groups agreed that good diets should be based on ‘fresh’ goods, particularly milk and vegetables. For example, one middle-class respondent stated: I would say all fresh food is good and processed or ready-made food is not good. I do not believe in purchasing the things which are brought from cold storage. | would rather go personally to the dairy and see that he/she does not mix anything in milk. Now-a-days people are making synthetic milk which is very harmful. Fresh things are more nutritious, because they have not been preserved.

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Another respondent from village commented: Fresh vegetables which are purchased from their village are better because the vegetables from the mandi in the city are not fresh. Moreover, you do not know what type of chemicals and preservatives they use for preserving the vegetables and fruits. Preservatives and chemicals are harmful for the body.

Table 1 Perceptions of Good and Bad Food by Social Class (Rank Order of Frequency) Rich Class

Middle Class

Lower Class

Good

Bad

Good

Bad

Good

Fresh produce

Sweets

Milk

Fatty Food

Milk

(e.g. Fruits/

Bad Fresh Vegetables

Vegetables) Milk

Fried Food

Fresh Food (e.g. Fruits/ Vegetables)

Tea/Coffee

Fatty Food

Sweets

Frozen Milk

Fried Food

Sweets

Tea/Coffee

Fresh Vegetables

Frozen Milk Tea/Coffee

Initially, the digestive system as an entity per se and the purely mechanical aspects of its functioning are spelt out. Human body is a large system, and it has many sub-systems like the digestive system and nervous system. The digestive system receives inputs from outside by food, ecology, and environment. The operation or the functioning of the body depends on many other factors like the constitution of the body and availability of inputs from outside. However, input from outside are also determined by economic, geographic, and seasonal conditions. These are highly variable and dynamic conditions experienced, comprehended, and handled by the group ofpeople living under them. These are conditions relating to the quality of food. What foods are good? What foods are nutritious? What foods are harmful to health? And so on evoke responses like: Everything is edible, Rana Sanga great warrior ate grass and he was quite strong enough.

Another rural respondent remarked that: When people have nothing to eat they eat insects like, lizards and cockroaches.

The argument that all food is good apparently implies that there is nothing inherently wrong about a food. Each food possesses certain properties, and it becomes good or bad when these properties agree or disagree with the body constitution of the person consuming it, which further depends upon adaptability. Since what is agreeable to one may not be for another, each person has to decide what is good for her/him.

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It is considered better to eat as many kinds of food as possible to acquire the ‘goodness’ of all of them. Thereby, the body gets used to various properties, good and bad alike, such that any further dose of those properties may not cause harm. Thus, the harmful elements can also give strength to the body by conditioning it against further doses of the same. In this way, the variety principle paves the way for the control of diseases carried by food. This is particularly true for foods which are a part of the daily diet because it is necessary to familiarise the body to foods that will constitute the bulk of daily consumption. It is said that people who eat a variety of foods are healthier than those who are very choosy. The respondent replied: We drink water from wells and hand pumps. Whenever we go outside we can drink any type of water. The people who drink only sterilised water have problems and can immediately fall ill.

The villagers do not seem to view the body in terms of anatomy and physiology. They talk about processes and entities in terms of body constitution. A balance of the three components, namely, heating food, cooling food, and air-producing food, is required to keep the balance ofthe body. The heating and cooling effects are effects produced in the body and have nothing to do with temperature or spiciness of food. An imbalance is considered to lead to a disease. If, for example, there is too much heat in the body produced from heating foods, cooling foods need to be consumed to restore balance and vice versa. Opler (1963) has made an interesting comparison between the idea of balance in the tridosha theory and the ideas of harmony and order in the caste and jajmani systems. Matthews (1979) provided references of anthropological studies ofvillages in India that give details of health beliefs. Beliefin hot and cold foods and diseases caused by them is widespread, although the classification of a particular food varies. For example, tomato and pumpkin have been regarded as hot (Beck 1969) and brinjal and green gram as cold (Ramanamurthy 1969). Food and Work Done

Food is the source ofhealth. Food alone is not responsible for good health. It has to be seen in relation to work done by the body, nutritional input, and how the cultural practices distinguish the food in relation to women. Apparently, the amount of work done has nothing to do with the quantity of food taken. After all, the quantity of food that a person can eat is said to be related to the capacity of his/her stomach. But, there is a subtle twist here: the capacity of the stomach is itself said to be determined by the amount of work done, instead of postulating a direct and simple relationship between work and food, thereby reducing it to the level of the individual, it is conceived at a much

higher level of generality. The capacity of the stomach, according to the villagers, does not seem to refer to the capacity of an individual stomach. It is subject to the proportion of work in one’s lifestyle as a whole. Thus, a group of people leading a similar lifestyle and doing the work of similar intensity are likely to have stomachs with similar capacities to hold food. This idea is almost reduced to an equation by our informants:

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Less or more work seems to activate the digestive system accordingly, and the

food eaten is balanced with the amount of work done.

If this is so, why should work? For an answer, we are catalytic role of physical work. is said, cannot be compensated One of the village respondents

such great importance be attached to physical taken back to the initial statements about the The absence of physical work in one’s lifestyle, it by any improvements in nutrition, hygiene, etc. remarked that:

The more you work the healthier you are. Even if you eat the best and most nutritious food, but do not work enough, the food eaten will itself become a source ofdisease.

Thus, with a lifestyle including more work, more food is always considered preferable. Food which seems an innocuous entity from outside becomes the source of health and disease when it gets into the body and interacts with it. However, the relation between food and body is said to be incomplete without incorporating the functions of the body (that is work). Food consumed has to be in proportion to the work done, and this is regarded as an important physiological

requirement of any body system. Physical work pensable catalytic role in assimilating food and body. Any excesses in the food consumed are said through sweat, thus avoiding the possibility tendencies resulting from food intake. One of the

is said to perform the indisexpulsion of wastes from the to be expelled from the system of vitiation of constitutional respondents remarked that:

The more you sweat, the better, the body will eject the unwanted fluids. To bring these fluids out, some amount of hard work is essential for anybody.

Thus, physical work is another neutralising mechanism in the complex relationship between food and the body (the others being the variety of food), which is considered to reinforce continually the capacity to work by processing the food in an appropriate manner. Food, Nutrition, and Health

Upstream in the food regime, scientists are breeding genetically engineered crops to address the hidden hunger that affects 2 billion people worldwide. Hidden hunger is not limited to poor countries in the Global South. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies occur in the high-density, low-nutrient diets of the people in the Global North as well, where obesity can often mask nutrient deficiency. The ravages of hidden hunger can affect all aspects of social and economic life. According to Global Hunger Index: Effects of hidden hunger include child and maternal deaths, physical disabilities, weakened immune systems, and compromised intellects. Where hidden hunger has taken root, it not only prevents people from surviving and thriving as productive members ofsociety, it also holds countries back:in a cycle of poor nutrition, poor health, lost productivity, persistent poverty, and reduced economic growth. This demonstrates why not only the right to food, but also access to the right type of food at the right time, is important for both individual well-being and countries as a whole. (von Grember et al. 2014)

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Good diet is one of the simplest means of caring for people affected by the epidemic and may even help delay the progression ofthe deadly virus. However, food is not a magic bullet, it will not prevent diseases. But it can help them lead longer, more comfortable, and more productive lives. One of the respondents reported:

By bolstering the immune system and boosting energy levels, balanced nutrition can help the body fight back against the ravages ofthe disease. This is critical as most of our people are poor where health care, resources and drugs are scarce. For them balanced diet is a positive way of responding to the illness.

Another respondent from urban area said that: Nutrition counseling and support is an essential component of care of the people who are suffering from certain diseases and it is particularly important in resource-constrained settings where malnutrition and food insecurity are endemic.

Another respondent opined: We should use inexpensive and locally available remedies for the symptoms linked to the disease. Women’s Food and Nutrition

It is commonly said in our society that a woman prepares the food, but she is the last one to eat. This key sentence encompasses both the physical and social reason for her poor health and lack of access to healthcare. The quantity and quality of food women eat affects them throughout their lives. They not only eat last and, therefore, the least but are the ones who consume stale food, which is not offered to male members of the family. A study on energy expenditure and calorie intake shows that women expend 53 per cent of human energy on survival tasks, while men 31 per cent and children 16 per cent. A corresponding look at calorie intake shows that women consume 100 calories less than what is expended, while men consume 800 calories surplus. The deficit of 100 calories each day does not seem very serious while we link it up with other factors such as worm infections which can steal as much as a quarter intake is usually at ‘maintenance’ level and does not make any allowances for the additional 500-600 calories required during pregnancy and lactation (Batliwala 1982). When we asked the informants about the type of specific foods in terms of quality and quantity given to pregnant women, it was found that in majority of the cases, there is no specific food given to the pregnant women. In fact, nutrition during pregnancy is often deficient in many communities due to misconception and social taboos which deprive women of basic vitamins, calcium, protein, iron, and calories. A pregnant woman consumes from 1,400 to 1,600 calories a day, while the Indian Council for Medical Research recommends an intake of 2,500 calories a day. Most women in India suffer from ‘nutritional anaemia’, which is the major cause of low resistance and, among young women, rapid ageing. Around 60 to 80 per cent of

pregnant women suffer from anaemia, and it is quite common to find many of them suffering from night blindness during and immediately after pregnancy.

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Malnutrition, combined with excessive work, hampers the weight of both the mother and the foetus. Food intake immediately after child birth is, in fact, dependent on the sex of the baby and a number of customs or beliefs. For example, if the child born is male, the mother gets better food and more attention. In certain communities, women are not allowed to eat anything for 3-4 days after child birth. The newborn also is not given the milky yellow secretion of the mother’s milk which, in fact, provides much needed resistance, and babies are, therefore, more susceptible to infection and death in the post-natal age. In documenting nutritional neglect, a study conducted by the Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, pointed out that female child and particularly the second female children in poor families are so discriminated against that there is a high female mortality rate. In another study in West Bengal, during the floods in 1978, the incidence of malnutrition among female children was observed to be substantially greater than among their male counterparts. However, prosperity does not seem to contribute more to the lives of baby girls either. In two villages in West Bengal where land reforms had brought in a higher standard

of living, the undernourishment

index of girls remained

identical,

whereas in one of them, there was a significant improvement in the nutritional status of boys (Sen and Sengupta 1983). A common expression among women is ‘sleeping with our men is sometimes like one more chore we have to do’. Most men do not give any choice to women in either initiating or refusing sexual relations. Awomen’s control over their fertility is equally limited. The excessive emphasis on being a mother and that too of ason, combined with the high rate of infant mortality, forces women to undergo repeated pregnancies. Repeated pregnancies affect the weight and resistance level of women. It was found that mothers who had given birth to more than three children weighed significantly less than those who had fewer pregnancies. The poor, stunted growth of women is due to many generations of neglect; inadequate antenatal and obstetric care, repeated abortions, and back-breaking work have definite connections with the extremely high mortality rates. Women’s primary role in society is of mothers and to take care of the health of their families. When we asked our informants about their knowledge of nutrition and health needs in general, the majority of them, that is, 80 per cent, were ignorant about it. The informants are not aware of the six-point programme aimed at growth monitoring, oral rehydration, breast feeding, immunisation, family planning, and food supplements, which is basically targeted for the education of mothers. It is because women in Haryana have traditionally less power. They are often uneducated and marry young often to men they hardly know, becoming dependent on their spouses and in-laws. Family rules are strict. They are not allowed to sit or participate in discussions when their father-in-laws are present and they must obey their mother-in-laws. They have no money of their own; their dowry becomes the property oftheir husbands. The cycle oflife in the villages goes on. The women work in fields, contributing to family income, and have little thought of their personal well-being. Women do not have the time for their education or to ponder on matters such as hygiene, maternal and infant mortality, and pre- and post-natal care.

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Childhood Food and Nutrition

There is considerable animal experimental evidence to support the hypothesis that under-nutrition or food restriction post-natally can influence the later development of obesity. There are several studies which demonstrate that food-restricted rats following access to ad libitum food intake deposit increased body fat. Ozelci, Romsos and Leveille (1978) showed that the increased weight gain and body fat accumulation were only seen when energy-deficient rats were poorly fed. For instance, Ashworth (1969) reported that growth rates were 15 times faster during recovery in malnourished children as compared to that of normal children ofsimilar age and five times as fast as those of normal children with similar height and weight. She also reported an increase in body fat percentage once the expected height and weight were reached. Fjeld, Schoeller and Brown (1989) showed a rise in fat deposition when they expressed fat gained as a proportion of the total weight gained during catch-up growth in malnourished children. Obesity, both in children and adults, is likely to become a serious health problem in India. Changes in dietary intake, food consumption patterns, and physical activity levels have also contributed to the problem of obesity. Economic development and urbanisation are altering dietary habits and lifestyle patterns, which will promote positive energy balance when food adequacy is achieved among population groups. In addition, there is increasing evidence that malnutrition will increase the risk of development of obesity. Stunting in children is likely to alter the relationship of the appropriateness of weight-for-height in individuals with short stature and thus exaggerate the apparent prevalence of obesity in a population.

Notes

1. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (CW), 83, pp. 97-104, 286-87, 404 (March through May 1946). Also Harijan, 31 March 1946, 19 May 1946.

2. CW, 90, pp. 525-26, 530 (29 January 1948); CW, 86, p. 387 (24 January 1947). Also Harijan, 9 February 1947. 3. CW, 85, pp. 280, 350 (8 September 1946, 21 September 1946). Also The Hindustan Times, 9 September 1946, Harijan, 29 September 1946.

. CW, 61, p. 379 and Harijan, 31 August 1935. . CW, 60, p. 119 (28 January 1935). . CW, 61, p. 276 (22 July 1935). oO ND . CW, 65,

p. 35 (28 March 1937).

References

Ashworth, A. (1969), ‘Growth Rates in Children Recovering from Protein-Calorie Malnutrition’, British Journal of Nutrition, 23: 835-945.

P at A

Food, Health, and Nutrition

Batliwala, S. (1982), ‘Rural Energy Scarcity and Nutrition: and Political Weekly, 27: 329-33.

| 147

A New Perspective’, Economic

Beck, B.E.F. (1969), ‘Colour and Heat in South Indian Ritual’, Man, 4: 553.

Booth, D.A. (1982), ‘Starch Content of Ordinary Foods Associatively Conditions Human Appetite and Satiation, Indexed by Intake and Eating Pleasantness of Starch Paired

Flavours’, Appetite, 3.2: 163-184. Fjeld, C.R. et al. (1989), ‘Body Composition of Children Recovering from Severe Protein-Energy Malnutrition at Two Rates of Catch-up Growth’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 50: 1266-75. Harinarayan, C. et al. (2006), ‘Fluorotoxic Metabolic Bone Disease: An Osteo-Renal Syndrome Caused by Excess Fluoride Ingestion in the Tropics’, Bone, 39: 907-14. Holt-Gimenez, E. (2017), A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism: Understanding the Political Economy of What We Eat, New Delhi: Dev Publishers & Distributors. Khandare, A.L. et al. (2005), ‘Severe Bone Deformities in Young Children from Vitamin D Deficiency and Fluorosis in Bihar-India’, Calcified Tissue International, 76: 412-8. Leach, E. (1970), Claude Levi-Strauss, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Malinowski, B. (1944), A Scientific Theory of Culture and Other Essays, London and New York: Routledge. Matthews, C.M.E. (1979), Health and Culture: In a South Indian Village, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Opler, M.E. (1963), ‘The Cultural Definition of Illness in Village India’, Human Organization, 22: 32.

Ozelci, A. et al. (1978), ‘Influence of Initial Food Restriction on Subsequent Body-Weight Gain and Body Fat Accumulation in Rats’, Journal of Nutrition, 108: 1725-32. Popkin, B.M. (1999), ‘Urbanization, Lifestyle Changes and the Nutrition Transition’, World Development, 27(11), 1905-1916. Popkin, B.M. (2006), ‘Global Nutrition Dynamics: The World is Shifting Rapidly Toward a Diet Linked with Non-Communicable Diseases’, Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 84: 289-98. — (2009), ‘Prospective Study on Nutrition in China’, Nutrition Review, 67(1): 56-61.

Ramanamurthy, P.S.V. (1969), ‘Physiological Effects of Hot and Cold Foods in Human Subjects’, Journal of Nutrition and Diet, 6: 187. Richards, A. (1939), Land, Labour, and Diet in Northern Rhodesia, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ritu, G. and A. Gupta (2014), ‘Vitamin D Deficiency in India: Prevalence, Causalities and Interventions’, Nutrients, 6(2): 729-75. Scrinis, G. (2013), Nutritionism: The Science and Politics of Dietary Advice, New York: Columbia University Press. Sen, A. and S. Sengupta (1983), ‘Malnutrition of Rural Children and Sex bias’, Economic and Political Weekly, 18(19-21): 855-64. Shankar, A.H. (2000), ‘Nutritional Modulation of Malaria Journal of Infectious Diseases, 182 (Suppl. 1): (S37-53).

Morbidity and Mortality’, ,

Von Grember, K. et al. (2014), Global Hunger Index: The Challenges of Hidden Hunger, Washington, DC: International Food Policy Institute, p. 3.

9 Food, Health, and Disease An Empirical Analysis

Food is essential for health. The challenge to eat food is multifarious. Food is related to health and growth of the body. Improper food can be harmful and result in bad health or disease. Therefore, bad food should be avoided. We should also be prudent regarding the amount of food we consume. These aspects are very much related to the people living across the globe and in turn related to growers, producers, and distributors. Overconsumption of unhealthy and under-nutritious food has become a reality of the contemporary society. The consequence is a pervasive state of lifestyle diseases. The lifestyle diseases are the result of lack of physical work and unhealthy eating pattern. The relationship of food with health and disease will be discussed in the following pages.

Food for Healthier Living One group of foods for healthier living may be described as ‘low in’ or ‘light foods’. These phrases are used here to denote versions of standard foods that have alow content of what may be believed to be an undesirable or even harmful component such as calories, fats, sugar, and salt. They are widely available in many product categories and are one of the biggest growth areas for new products. The area of greatest growth in many countries in the early 1980s has been that of low fat/low saturates. Now widely available are low-fat versions of milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter, and margarine, together with meat products, salad dressings, frozen meals, frozen desserts, and bakery goods. Reducing the fat content of a food will affect factors such as appearance, texture, flavour, mouth feel, and nutritional value (through the loss of fat-soluble vitamins) and may also affect handling and processing characteristics, storage stability, and utility at home. It is easy to produce acceptable low-fat versions of some products, with or without the restoration of the characteristics of the

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full-fat product, for example, skimmed and semi-skimmed milk or low-fat milk

drinks with added skimmed milk powder and vitamins (to restore mouth feel and nutritive value). Other products have required much research and development in order to produce acceptable low-fat versions, for example, low-fat spreads,

where

emulsifiers,

stabilisers,

and

thickeners

are

almost

always

necessary and where processing conditions need careful control in order to produce products resembling butter or margarine. The development of fat substitutes will enable the making of low-fat foods with better organoleptic characteristics. To some extent, stabilisers and thickeners are already being used as partial fat substitutes. It is well-known that protein is an essential part of the diet. The breakdown products from protein usually take the form of small protein chains of low molecular weights, which facilitate rapid absorption. Indeed, this is one of the reasons for the established use of peptides in feeding products. Researchers in Japan have developed a milk protein derivative by treating casein with proteolytic enzymes to produce casein phosphopeptides, which are claimed to increase the absorption of calcium, iron, and other minerals and to prevent calcium loss from bones. This compound is already being used in baby milk products in Japan. Of course, many of these so-called functional foods have long been recognised as nutritionally significant; it is important to remember that similar developments have been under way in Western Europe and the United States for a number of years under the banner heading of ‘healthy foods’. The underlying difference is that, while functional/healthy claims in Western Europe and the United States have centred on the inclusion of a few comparatively simple ingredients, for example, oat bran and Bifidus bacteria, the Japanese are claiming perceived medical benefits for a wider, more complex range of materials. However, it is important to realise that, until a legislation is passed, no products can be designated as functional foods or claim specific medical benefits. In Japan, the government is working together with medical experts to allow specific health claims to be made (PA Consulting Group 1990). The United States is lagging behind Japan but is well ahead of Europe in drafting legislation in this area. Whilst proposing a legislation which will prohibit unsubstantiated claims, the US Food and Drugs Administration recognises the principle of linking health claims with specific ingredients and endorses the fundamental premise of functional foods. In sharp contrast, the European Commission seems to be rigidly opposed to any health claims on foods, even though governments are increasingly recognising the connection between diet and health. Obviously, it is important that claims can and must be substantiated, but it is naive to believe in fanciful ideas that have little or no foundation. The absence of information about the nature of a product inhibits consumers’ opportunities for informed choice. If food companies are prevented from communicating the positive health benefits of their products to the buying

public, then this will stifle innovation, some products may never be brought to market, and the industry’s funding of essential research and development projects will, in all likelihood, decline dramatically.

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Food Satiety and Fat Storage Sensory-specific satiety is not a design error on the part of God. It must ‘have urged our ancestors to eat a variety of foods and not just to eat the large animal

which they had recently killed or the stem of bananas which had recently become ripe. In this way, the quality of diet is improved because the more the

variety of foods there is in a diet, the less likely it is that there will be an overall deficiency of specific nutrients such as vitamins or essential amino acids. It is, therefore, a great advantage to the poor peasant whose food supply is limited, monotonous, and intermittent and for whom the main nutritional danger is under-nutrition. The evolutionary success of mammalian species is due partly to their ability to regulate their internal body temperature and thus operate in low ambient temperature, which would immobilise poikilothermic animals, and partly to the ability to suckle their young and provide optimum nutrition at a very vulnerable stage of the life cycle. The regulation of body temperature in a cold environment and the production of breast milk are both forms of a layer subcutaneous fat, which enables them to perform these essential functions even in conditions in which the food supply is temporarily inadequate. It follows that they must also have the ability to replenish these stores at times when the food supply is more than enough to satisfy current requirements. Methods

The evidence in this paper is from interviews with households in Dhandhlan village, a small multi-caste village in Jhajjar district in Haryana state, and in Rohtak city, which is also in Haryana. In each of these locations, 75 households were selected at random but with quota controls for caste in the village and social class in the city. The fieldwork gathered information about the households’ perception of food and also about their beliefs concerning food, health, disease, and pesticides. The interviews were held with the family/household member who was mainly responsible for purchasing and preparing food for the group (usually the senior woman). Some questions in the interviews were ‘closed’ (with fixed categories for answers). Other questions were open-ended. In the latter cases, wherever possible, the answers were coded following completion of all the fieldwork into categories derived from an initial scrutiny of the answers. The interviews were tape-recorded, and therefore, the output from the research is a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Beliefs and Practices about Food and Health

Here, our discussion on food and health is distinguished from the nutritional trends by its concentration not on the professional concerns of nutritional sciences but rather on the sociological study of non-professional lay people's apprehensions of food and health. A large body of the work that is available examines versions of ahumoural theory, which integrates food and drink with a concern for health, both in lay thought and practice and in non-allopathic medical systems of knowledge (e.g. Anderson 1980; Bhopal 1986; Cosminsky

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1977; Currier 1966; Ferro-Luzzi 1980; Gould-Martin 1978; Logan and Morril 1979; Manderson 1981; Messer 1981; Sukkary-Stolba 1987). Remote, temporally and culturally, from modern Western (medical and scientific) thought, the classic form has four qualities, heat, cold, wetness, and dryness. Correspond-

ingly, illness represents an imbalance. Any phenomenon or state of being is classifiable in these terms: air, disease, people, infancy, pregnancy, old age, as well as, of course, food and drink. Though commonly regarded as Hippocratic, the origin of this system of thought is obscure (Anderson 1984). Versions are widespread today in South and South East Asia, China, Africa, and in rural/peasant societies of Latin America. Examples include the study of food as a

component in mother’s management of acute diarrhoea in India (Kumar et al. 1981). They are found to be especially relevant for postpartum diets, though the ‘rules’ may be broken, in a Malay village (Laderman 1984) and in the special care required during pregnancy and infancy among both Hong Kong residents in London (Tan and Wheeler 1983) and Punjabi women in central England (Homans 1983). And they occur as culturally meaningful ‘resistance’ to westernised public health advice in Peru (Wellin 1955) as well as Sri Lanka (Nichter 1985) and in conflict with nutrition education programmes among Indo-Chinese women in Los Angeles (Fishman et al. 1988). Examination of popular thought about food and health is also to be found in the somewhat separate body of sociological literature on the social movements developed to ‘alternative’ or ‘counter-cultural’ world views and corresponding styles of life. Even though they appear in a different social and cultural guise from the humoural theory, ‘alternative’ belief systems evidently also enshrine integrative popular theories of food and health. Among these studies are Atkinson’s (1978) imaginative Levi-Straussian analysis of the attribution of healthful properties to a concoction of honey and cider vinegar in rural Vermont and, in the same vein, his interpretation of the social value accorded to (commercially produced) ‘health foods’ in Britain (Atkinson 1980). Other studies in this area include Roth’s (1976) comparative study of the natural health movement in the eastern United States by Kandel and Pelto (1980) and in the Netherlands by Van Otterloo (1990: 184-209), and examinations of modern vegetarianisms both by Twigg (1979) and by Amato and Partridge (1989). Typically, such studies reveal belief systems and preferred modes of living which seek to ‘recover’ a purity held to be under threat by the artificiality of over-civilised modern urban life, belief systems in which the virtue of the natural is reaffirmed. All this is expressed in a number of ways: an association between health and the consumption of minimally processed foodstuffs; the avoidances of selected, or all, animal products; a repugnance for modern stock rearing techniques; a suspicion of ‘artificial’ food additives and of the modern use of agricultural fertilisers and pesticides; and a generalised ecological, ‘green’ sensitivity.

‘Alternative’ styles of thought shade into aspects of more widespread public appreciations of food’s relation to health. The British food scares in the late 1980s - eggs were widely reported to be contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis, certain cheese with Listeria, and cattle herds with bovine spongiform encephalopathy - widened public distrust of modern food production

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techniques. Detailed sociological investigation of popular belief systems in the face of the British ‘scares’ is lacking, though Sellerberg (1991a, 1991b) suggested that distrust of food is apparent across Europe. Instead, attention has tended to focus on the role of the mass media in heightening public anxiety (Beardsworth 1990; Gofton 1990). The scope of further sociological study of beliefs that may link food and health is considerable. An ethno-nutritional stance could valuably investigate the manner in which modern dietary advice is incorporated, modified, or ignored in belief systems of different segments of industrialised populations. Such an approach could also illuminate the extent to which popular theories about food and health inform the beliefs of doctors, nurses, and perhaps even dieticians. Finally, beliefs and practices affecting the safety of food itself are remarkably under-researched, even in developing countries where the health-related problems are grave, extensive, and well-known. As Foster and Kaferstein succinctly observed: ‘the study of conditions and customs that encourage unsafe food ... present no special research problems’ (Foster and Kaferstein 1985: 1274). Health Consciousness and Selection of Food Products

There is a rapid increase in heart and diabetic patients in India because of the change in lifestyle pattern and food habits of people. Health-conscious consumers are mostly well-educated and have access to different information available on the internet, in magazines, on television shows, and through word of mouth. Often housewives become the major influential factor in deciding the food products for the family (Nagla 2007). Food-Related Predicaments

From time immemorial, health-related beliefs about food(s) a person should/ should not eat under certain circumstances, that is, pregnancy, lactation, or illness of one kind or another, have been followed. Some are followed for short periods, for example, a few days, and have no noticeable effect on the nutritional status. Others are followed for long periods, with little effect on nutritional status. Some others are central and controlling factors in food consumption, often having severe nutritional outcomes. But now, many people with scientific and rational thought processes have generally rejected food-related ideology as ‘old-wives’ tales. It turns out that traditional beliefs have been replaced with a new set, which may be equally invalid, being based on a variety of misinterpreted facts and half-truths. Today’s reality is that nearly every family in the studied area has one member on a therapeutic diet for treatment of some medical condition. Furthermore, when we asked the people about their knowledge of what foods to eat/not eat for ulcers, heart diseases, diabetes, acidity, etc., we found that general knowledge is faulty and that there are many misconceptions and gaps. Beliefs follow a continuum from popular to those based on scientific fact. In the present enquiry, 30 (40%) rural respondents mentioned that they are ignorant of basic facts about knowledge of food to eat or not to eat during certain

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diseases, and therefore, they follow the practices of family and friends. At the same time, the maximum number of urban respondents, that is, 28 (37.33%), know about food to be eaten or not to be eaten during certain diseases, but they are inconsistent, resulting into following ofscientific criteria, popular belief, and

some combinations thereof. Only 8 (10.66%) from rural and 7 (9.33%) from urban areas knew the basic facts of food and also follow the basic facts and at the same time follow them in a reasonable way. But 4 (5.33%) people from the urban area mentioned that they know the basic fact of food and they also overcompensate them. Very surprisingly, 22 (29.33%) people from the rural area mentioned that they know the basic facts but the facts are out-of-date and so they select food inappropriately (see Table 1). Thus, there is a need to educate people regarding food and its nutritive values. Table 1 People’s Knowledge Regarding Foods to be Eaten and Not Eaten During Certain Diseases Common Belief

Rural

Urban

Total

30 (40.0)

18 (24.0)

48 (32.0)

17 (22.66)

8 (10.66)

25 (16.66)

People who know but are inconsistent. They may follow scientific or popular beliefs or some combination thereof

22 (29.33)

28 (37.33)

48 (32.0)

People who know basic facts and follow them in a reasonable way

8 (10.66)

7 (9.33)

25 (16.66)

~

4 (5.33)

4 (2.66)

75 (100.0)

75 (100.0)

150 (100.0)

People who are ignorant of basic facts, who follow practices of family and friends People who know basic facts but consider them

out-of-date and so select food inappropriately

People who know basic facts but overcompensate

Total

Figures in the bracket represent the percentage.

Food and Its Scientific Base

The contemporary health-related ideology has a scientific base, even though cultural transmission has garbled parts of it. The public media tries to throw its messages through various mass media. But change in food habits comes slowly, if at all, and it is certainly not universal. This is because people select, magnify, and transmit what they want to hear and what they think their listener wants to hear, and not everybody gets the intended message. Most people are fairly rational and will do what is needed if they get the message. But usually, they will agree and do nothing since they do not identify with it that much, that is, they do not get the message. When fear takes over, people become irrational and do whatever they wish, for example, follow quacks or fad diets. So, people eat rightly/wrongly for health. | ‘Being good’ all the time is not easy, and most people do not have that much self-discipline in relation to eating. The human factor is counter-productive and undercuts any effort to change people from eating what they like eating to eating what they should be eating. Contemporary beliefs regarding eating and health are diffuse. A few of these are:

154

1.

2. ‘z 4.

5.

| Food, Health, and Disease

Freedom from incapacitating illness, but not necessarily good health, is highly valued. This is achieved by means of surgery/drugs. Diet is not that important, and so, it can be ignored or at least does not have to be adhered to rigorously. Mega doses ofvitamin C will cure common cold. Vitamin E will prevent heart attacks. Alcohol and spices are ‘bad’ for ulcers; the diet is strict and must be followed for a year. Eat right (however that is defined) and you will feel good; you will get ‘psyched up’ and be euphoric. Reject incongruous foods; body signals will tell you when you are not eating correctly.

The concept to remain healthy is not new. But most individuals do not seem to worry about their health until they lose it. So, they are irresponsible and are not conscientious in implementing preventive measures. It is difficult to live with many constraints, and so, health-compromising rather than healthenhancing ways are followed. As a result, the incidence, prevalence, and severity of major illnesses are greater than natural. And the costs are probably greater than the society can afford. An emerging concept is that preventive medicine appears to require a delicate balance of responsibility between collective and individual efforts. For example, the most effective measures in preventive medicine have been the public health management of the quality of water, air, food, and sewage; drug regulation; and mandatory immunisation programmes. The individual must manage a number of aspects, among them are nutrient intake, weight control,

malnutrition, and exercise. These areas of individual responsibility are the current focus of activity. Table2 Individuals’ Responsibility for Making Themselves Healthy Responses

Yes No Total

Nutritional Intake

Weight Control Exercise/Physical Exercise

Malnutrition

Rural

Urban

Rural

Urban

Rural

Urban

58 (77.33) 17(22.66) 75 (100.0)

60(80.0) 15(20.0) 75(100.0)

63(84.0) 12(16.0) 75(100.0)

54(72.0) 21(28.0) 75(100.0)

40(53.33) 35(46.66) 75(100.0)

55 (73.33) 20(26.66) 75 (100.0)

When we asked our informants about an individual’s responsibility for making himself/herself healthy, the responses varied from nutritional food to malnutrition and physical exercise and weight control exercises. As many as 58 (73.33%) rural respondents and 60 (80%) urban respondents gave importance to nutritional diet. In all, 35 (46.66%) respondents from rural areas did not mention malnutrition as an individual’s responsibility for making oneself healthy. A good number of urban people, that is, 63 (84.0%) respondents, mentioned that it is an individual’s responsibility to control one’s weight, whereas 12 (16.0%) urban respondents mentioned that it is difficult to control

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weight and do physical exercises individually. Thus, urban and rural people still accord individual's responsibility for physical exercise and control of weight (see Table 2). Bad health is a consequence of the interaction between environmental conditions, specific agents, and a wide variety of aspects of the host. A known agent may or may not produce disease depending on the conditions of the environment and the host. Genetic factors, nutrition, immune mechanism, social roles, stress, personality, climatic and atmospheric conditions, and the like are all made part of a single concept. Tuberculosis is a disease resulting from an attack of tubercle bacillus on the host; that is, the bacillus serves as a necessary but not a sufficient cause for the disease called tuberculosis. It appears that social and psychological conditions may play some part in affecting a person’s residence. While it is obvious that crowd conditions and lack of cleanliness lead to the transmission of disease, and it is equally obvious that poverty may effect nutrition and the probability of receiving treatment when afflicted, it is not as well recognised that the attitudes of men affect their abilities to withstand physical attack. Although we may not understand the cause of a particular disease, changing conditions associated with the disease help to control it indirectly. Matthews (1979) provided the classification of diseases, their symptoms, causes, prevention, and treatment. The cause for various diseases are visits of the Goddess Mariamma, dirty surroundings, eating of certain things, infection, hereditary, and so on. This can be prevented through improvement of knowledge in the service area. Matthews also observed that immunisation is a method of preventing typhoid, measles, whooping cough, and tetanus. It is found that allopathic treatment is not taken for diseases which are believed to have supernatural causes or for which there is no clear allopathic logic equivalent to the traditional concept ofdisease. It also shows that most of the diseases which have common causes of the death in small children are treated mainly by non-allopathic methods. We also tried to find out from the respondents what they feel about the causes of bad health. We turn to this below. Food and Bad Health

It is not only the availability of processed food - especially ultra-processed food, which is so unhealthy - that has increased so much in the past 50 years; this period has also seen the progressive dominance of livestock raised and crops grown according to a factory model that puts the health of consumers, the environment, and animals at risk. Producing more in less time turned out to mean that one needed to resort to genetics, hormones, and new feeding options in order to grow animals bigger and faster. Chickens are now twice as big as they were in 1975 (Roberts 2009: 9). ) Another major change has taken place in the area of what is grown: genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - also referred to as gene-altered food,

genetically engineered food, or bioengineering - have become dominant in main

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crops such as cotton. In contrast to traditional methods of crop improvement, namely through the selection of seeds from crops with desirable characteristics or through the cross-pollination of selected plants, GMOs do not work with complete organisms and do not typically combine traits from related types of plants. Instead, isolated genes are identified and genes from one gene organism are inserted into. another organism. The organisms do not need to be related. You can take a cold-water fish, extract a gene from it, and insert that gene into a strawberry seed; it will end up with a frost-resistant strawberry (Ratcliff 2017: 153). With traditional methods or traditional breeding, the integrity of the organism places limits on what can be done. GMOs are different. As one critic said: ‘No amount of coaxing could get a flounder to mate with a strawberry to produce berries with “anti-freeze” genes’ (Holdrege and Talbott 2001: 2). On the one hand, India must improve its agricultural productivity to feed its rapidly growing population. The country should embrace GM efforts to develop higher-yield crops that are resistant to pests or grow well in drought or harsh environments, such as salt soil, says biochemist Govindarajan Padmanaban, former director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. On the other hand, India has more than 100 million farmers who are concerned that if GM crops become prevalent, their livelihoods and nation’s food supply will increasingly rely on inexpensive, rapidly changing, and proprietary seed technologies owned by large corporations, says Glenn Stone, an environmental anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis Missouri. These tensions erupted in 210, when farmers and anti-GM groups organised huge public protests that led to the brinjal ban. An indefinite moratorium was observed on the cultivation ofa transgenic version of aubergine, or brinjal, that is insect-resistant. The crop carries a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and was developed by Mahyco Monsanto Biotech, a joint venture between the Jalna-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company and the US seed giant Monsanto, based in St Louis county, Missouri (Jayaraman 2010). French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini of the Committee for Independent Research Information on genetic engineering branded Bt brinjal ‘potentially unsafe for human consumption’. Eating brinjal reduces appetite in goats, increased prothrombin time (the time it takes blood to clot) in goats and rabbits, and caused the plants to produce a protein inducing resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin. Some scientists and civil society organisations have pointed out that Genetic Engineering Approval Committee’s process has violated the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to which India is a signatory, particularly the provisions pertaining to public consultations prior to the release of GM foods crops and also the broad principles governing risk assessment. It is pertinent to also recall Article 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992), which echoes the precautionary principle when it states ‘where there are threats of irreversible damage, the lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason

for postponing cost-effective measures

to prevent environ-

mental degradation’. Further, Section 45 of Codex Alimentarius ‘Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Representative-DNA Plants’ says:

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The location of trial sites should be representative of range of environmental conditions under which the plant varieties would be expected to be grown. The number of trials should be sufficient to allow accurate assessment of compositional characteristics over this range. Similarly trials should be conducted over a sufficient number ofgenerations to allow adequate exposure to the variety of conditions met in nature. To minimise environmental effects, and to reduce any effect from naturally-occurring genotypic variation within a crop variety, each trial site should be replicated. An adequate number ofplants should be sampled and the methods ofanalysis should be sufficiently sensitive and specific to detect variations in key components.

David Schubert ofthe Salk Institute of Biological Studies, United States says that Bt brinjal should definitely not be introduced in India since it poses serious environmental and health risks, will increase social and political dependence on private companies, and will entail higher costs at all levels of the food chain. Doctors for Food and Safety, a network of around 100 doctors across the country, have sent a representation on the health hazards related to GM foods in general and Bt brinjal in particular. They have drawn attention to the recommendations made by American Academy of Environmental Medicine that GM foods have not been properly tested for human consumption and that there are substantial risks associated with the use of GM foods. According to practitioners of Indian Systems of Medicine, brinjal is used as a medicinal ingredient, both in raw and cooked form, for treatment of respiratory diseases and that the entire plant is used in such preparations. There is a fear that Bt brinjal will destroy these medicinal properties due to the loss of synergy, differences in alkaloids, and changes in other active principles (The Genetic Engineering Approvals Committee 2009). Table 3 Perception of the Causes for Bad Health Reasons

Rural

Urban

Total

Mean

Rank

Mean

Rank

Mean

Rank

Adulteration in food items

1.50

I

1.41

|

2.91

|

Stress and strains in modern life

1.42

I

1.40

I]

2.82

I]

Newinsecticide/pesticidesand fertilisers

1.38

III

1.28

III

2.66

Il

Weak constitution of the body

1.36

IV

1.21

V

Fhe

IV

Poor dwelling conditions

1.03

VI

1.27

IV

1.30

Vil

a

V

1.06

VII

1.16

VIII

Industrial pollution

0.82

VII

1.20

Vi

2.02

V

New food products

0.81

Vill

0.84

VIII

1.65

Vi

New drugs

Figures in the table represent mean score.

What are the main causes of bad health in the sample area of study? It is apparent from Table 3 that respondents considered adulteration in food as the single most important factor that affects health. Eating the wrong kind of food is

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the most common cause of disease (Matthews 1979). In their study, Djurfeldt and Lindberg (1975) stressed the lack of food as also the important cause of disease, while common sense gives equal weight to the reverse, namely too

much food. In fact, scarcity of food also causes mental illness as Djurfeldt and Lindberg (1975) viewed: Having nothing to eat may also produce mental illness. If aman keeps thinking that he is unable to support his children and family, he may get mentally ill.

The second important factor that was rated includes stresses and strains in modern life as the cause for the emergence of poor health. Modern life has weakened the social relations due to increasing economic interests of the people which create mental problems in the minds of the people. Nowadays, no one listens to others’ problems. If anyone listens to the problem, he/she exaggerates it rather than solving it. People believed that the quality of food has gone down due to new insecticides and too much fertilisers in vegetables and cereals. This was rated as the third important cause of poor health. Fourth, weak constitution does not have the power of resistance and hence is susceptible to any outside effects. Therefore, if aperson is very weak and thin, he is likely to become a victim of bad health compared with a strong and sturdy person. Sometimes, hard work and under-nutrition and malnutrition form the weak constitution of the body. To strengthen our point, we give the example of an observation made by Djurfeldt and Lindberg (1975) as: ‘there were great health risks both in the paddy fields (hook worm) and in the salt factory (accidents), and the resistance of the workers is low due to under-nutrition’. The fifth factor for the cause of bad health is attributed by the respondents to dwelling conditions, that is, dirty surroundings or lack of hygienic conditions, for example, prevalence of cholera, malaria, and scabies. Therefore, bad sanitation and hygiene is perceived as an important cause ofillness. Thus, lack of cleanliness leads to illness. Getting soaked by rain is also a frequent theme. It may cause cold, cough, and fever. Moreover, it is also believed that if purgatives are not consumed regularly, then dirt accumulates in the ‘stomach’ and causes diseases (the stomach, intestines, and other internal organs are not distinguished). New drugs are rated as the sixth important cause for the emergence of diseases. A variety of drugs with different brands, labels, and names confuse the masses. These drugs are prescribed by the doctors to the patients on the basis of their publicity, availability, and accessibility rather than their characteristics of curability. Many a times, these new drugs are the causes for the emergence of new diseases when they have side effects or reactions to the body of a patient. Quite a few respondents mention the importance of environmental sanitation. For example, flies spread diseases. They are nasty, dirty, and foul things. Industrial pollution was rated as the seventh important cause for the emergence of diseases. However, the urban people were greater victims of the industrial pollution as compared to the rural population. Environmental factor is more emphasised by urban people than rural.

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New food products are also seen as health risks. A variety of new food products seem attractive through advertisement, which show their low prices, easy accessibility with different gift schemes, and high quantity. Therefore, the

quality of new food products is not good, which is harmful to health of the people. This last point is recognised by common sense (see Table 3). Food and Diseases

Kennedy, Nantel and Shetty (2004) in their paper on ‘Globalization of Food Systems in Developing Countries: A Synthesis of Country Case Studies’ found that the forces of globalisation affect economic development and lifestyles in developing countries in a variety of ways. From a health and nutrition point of view, the most obvious changes are those resulting in sedentary lifestyles and adoption of dietary patterns that can lead to high rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases. The phenomenon ofglobalisation is having a major impact on food systems around the world. Food systems are changing, resulting in greater availability and diversity of food, although access to this food is by no means universal. Many of these changes are closely associated with urbanisation, increasing incomes, market liberalisation, and foreign direct investment. Competition for a market share of food purchases tends to intensify with entry into the system of powerful players such as large multinational fast food and supermarket chains. The changing food systems brought about by the forces of globalisation and characterised by increasing urbanisation have led to new challenges and opportunities. Many countries in the developing world are faced with the continuing burden of under-nutrition and food insecurity. At the same time, changes in diet and physical activity patterns are increasing the incidence of diet-related non-communicable disease, principally obesity, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. In addition, for most countries, regardless of the stage of transition, micronutrient deficiencies are of concern. Lifestyle, Food Intake, and Diseases ‘Diabetes is a global pandemic where insulin occupies the largest share, registering over 30 per cent growth. This segment will only increase in terms of size and opportunity, considering lifestyle is causing juvenile diabetes and people are prone to diabetes at younger ages’, says Kiran M. Shaw. Studies have estimated that in a little over a decade from now, chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, cancer, and AIDS would account for over 65 per cent of deaths in India compared to 53 per cent in 2005. Also, nearly 11 per cent of the Indian urban population above the age of 15 has diabetes. Similarly, stress both at work and at home is going to take a further toll with the number of people suffering from hypertension estimated to rise to 213.5 million in 2025, compared to 118.2 million in 2000, representing an 80 per cent rise (The Times of India 2008). The root cause of obesity is not just excess of consumption; a deeper analysis of causation may be several. It could be the eating of wrong type offood, which is harmful to human health. The important issue is that food is related toa variety of health issues, and obesity is one of them. Some of the problems with

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food are well documented, but others are lesser understood or potential hazards created by fast-changing methods of production, seductive products, and effective advertising. The very logic of capitalist economy and ofglobalisation is to maximise the profit and to liberate economy across the globe. Their concern is not for public health. Consequently, with the greed for the maximisation of profits, the quality, variety, and nutritional value of food have diminished and, to

an extent, unhealthy food practices have grown. Food: Chemicals, Pesticides, and Disease

When we asked about food and disease, the informants from villages informed in a helpless manner. They reported that there are many things which are responsible for loss of health and nutrition, which result in disease and illness. Nowadays, most of the food items are available throughout the year. Vegetables and fruits are available whenever you want. One of the respondents remarked that: When the un-seasonal vegetables and fruits comes in the market, we cannot resist and bring them and eat. But in some way or other way they are going to harm our health. Another informant remarked that:

The un-seasonal vegetables and fruits which comes in the market are either preserved through certain chemicals. If they are imported, from certain distance places, they are placed in boxes containing certain chemicals so that the things may not perish.

Nowadays apple, cauliflower, peas, and ladyfinger are available throughout the year. They are grown by creating artificial ecological conditions and by adding certain fertilisers. Thus, generally, people are aware of these problems, but the market forces and tempts them to buy and eat despite knowing the consequences. The fertilisers and chemicals are so powerful that they immediately raise the yield in terms ofsize as well as quantity. One informant reported: The injections are available in the market for animals as well as for plants. If they are injected, immediately they give the surprising results. The vegetable, Gourd in overnight becomes gully enlarged. It means the potency of these injections and chemicals are so strong that indirectly they also affect our digestive system when we consume them. Another informant shared that:

I brought grapes from the market. I washed them and ate. Immediately after that, I had itching on my lips and mouth. I consulted to doctor. He asked me the things, which I ate before itching problem. The doctor concluded that it was some chemicals effect which has adversely affected and caused itching and boils.

Thus, the effects of the chemicals injected into vegetables, milk, fruits, and pulses have become a means of comprehending and they ultimately affect the

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human body. These chemicals, fertilisers, and pesticides become the source of new ailments. They cause certain illnesses that were not there earlier. Officially, nearly 90 per cent ofthe pesticides never hit the pests but end up contaminating the air, soil, and water, eventually entering the food chain as a slow poison (The Times of India 2003). Food and Obesity Obesity is defined as a condition in which excess body fat is accumulated, leading to adverse effects on health as a result of associated comorbidities such as coronary heart disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), certain cancers, gall bladder disease, and osteoarthritis. Body mass index (BMI: weight in kilograms/height in metres’) provides the most useful population level measure of obesity. Within populations, a BMI greater than 30 is associated with elevated blood pressure and an increased risk of NIDDM and certain heart diseases. Hence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee Report (1995) accepted a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 as the normal range and classified overweight in three grades from a BMI above 25. WHO in its report of 1998 modified this classification by categorising a BMI between 25 and 29.9 as pro-obese, with three further grades of obesity with BMIs over 30, 35, and 40, respectively. Most of the states have experienced a sharp rise in the number of obese people. Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar, Puducherry, and Sikkim have more than 30 per cent of their population falling under the ‘obese’ category. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4, urban population is more prone to obesity as compared to its rural counterpart. In Andhra Pradesh, 44.4 per cent of the urban men suffer from obesity, while the percentage in rural parts is 28 per cent. Similarly, 45.6 per cent of women in urban Andhra are obese

against 27.6 per cent women in rural Andhra. It is because in the urban population, refined wheat and rice have virtually displaced coarse grains and millets as the staple cereal, resulting in a substantial reduction in fibre content in the diet and possibly also the content of micronutrients such as vitamin B complex, zinc, and chromium. As the population ascends the socio-economic scale, cereal intake declines and the intake of sugar and fats generally increases. Convenience and fast foods find increasing acceptance, especially in the context of globalisation. Rural population is mainly engaged in agricultural occupations involving manual labour and a fair level of physical activity. The causes of obesity are genetic factor, physical activity, endocrine factor, trauma, and also importantly eating habits. Within eating habit, some people consume food faster, without enough time to chew and, therefore, tend to consume more food. Obese people respond to external cues to eat rather than internal hunger signals. They eat when it is mealtime or when they are surrounded by tasty food instead of when they are hungry. People tend to overeat when they are depressed or in order to avoid wastage of food. The effects of urbanisation and globalisation on dietary patterns and nutritional status in developing countries are complex. These forces are associated with potentially beneficial dietary shifts such as increases in energy sufficiency

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and greater consumption of fruit but also appear to promote potentially obesogenic shifts such as increased intake of edible oils, animal foods, and caloric sweeteners. While there have been substantial reductions in under-nutrition in this period of rapid development and social change, being overweight has become an increasing problem. Among adult women, overweight individuals now exceed those who are underweight in almost all developing countries, particularly in the most urbanised ones. Food availability and intake data suggest that adverse shifts in dietary composition are taking place at a much higher speed than potentially beneficial changes. There have been relatively little changes in the levels of fruit and vegetable intake but very large increase in the intake of edible oils, animal-source foods, and added sugar and caloric sweeteners over short periods (Mendez and Popkin 2004). Many studies have shown that the consumption of energy-dense (high-fat and added sugar) foods tends to promote excessive energy intake. These adverse dietary shifts have undoubtedly contributed to the rise in overweight and obese individuals throughout the developing world (Rolls 2000). There is no direct evidence that says that the food industry shapes the dietary habits of the people; however, there is an increasing amount of information and awareness about the harmful effects of corporatised food. There is a general awareness and realisation that bad health and obesity are clearly linked to food habits. ‘No sugar, no preservatives, no transfats, natural wheat is the lexicon of current nutritional concern’ (Belasco 2014: 2). One can easily add to this rowing lexicon terms such as free range, probiotic, vegan, gluten free, cold pressed, artisan, juicing, raw food, Himalayan salt, low sodium, and macrobiotic. Poor-quality diet is a greater threat to public health across the world than malaria, tuberculosis, or measles as diet-related factors account for six of the top nine contributors to the global burden ofdisease. Though the world is producing more food than it needs, an estimated 3 billion people have inadequate diets. Globally, in 2016, one in five deaths was associated with poor diet, including increasing non-communicable diseases associated with the rise of obesity, also linked to poor-quality diets (The Times of India 2018). This was stated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in a report it co-authored with the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. ‘Every year, approximately 1.3 billion metric tons of food produced for human consumption - one-third of the total never reaches the consumer's plate or bowl.’ The Report titled ‘Preventing Nutrient Loss and Waste across the Food System: Policy Action for high Quality Diets’ stated that ‘eating more of the nutrient rich food already being produced would result in savings to land, water and energy consumption tied to food production, and resources used in industrial food fortification’. The most important causes of death among adults in affluent countries, such as the United Kingdom, are cardiovascular diseases (coronary thrombosis, high blood pressure, stroke, and congestive heart failure) and cancer, which account for 21 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, of the years oflife lost up to age 65 years (Rio Declaration 1991). Important causes of disability are respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases and NIDDM. These diseases are all

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essentially degenerative diseases: they occur as organs and tissues wear out or cease to obey the normal rules ofcell replication. They are also diseases in which the aetiology is linked with diet. This paper is basically concerned with the paradox that, in affluent countries such as the United Kingdom, where the choice

of food for the majority of the population is not constrained by availability or economic factors, so many important diseases are largely attributable to diet. Part of the explanation is that in the Third World countries, under-nutrition and infectious diseases account for many deaths in young people, whereas these causes of mortality are almost eliminated in affluent countries. However, even when our mortality rates are standardised for age, the common causes of death are degenerative and malignant diseases; the diseases of diet in affluent countries are also typically the diseases of old age. The main problem ofaffluent societies is: Food supply is not questioned in the processed food Unlimited supply of food Unlimited variety Absence of physical exercise for energy output PWN

Food is the source of health and disease, as people distinguish between good and bad food. It gives an idea about health and disease in relation to the food they consume. It implies that the causes of diseases, namely heredity, climate, environment, habits, etc., are only of secondary importance. The intake of food is the cause for everything. Disease does not come from within body constitution or heredity; it comes from what we eat (Sujatha 2002). Of the various factors that could be associated with health, such as living conditions, hygiene, environment, and the like, food alone goes directly into the body system itself. The others do have an effect, but their effect is restricted in comparison with food, which though originating ‘outside’ gets right into the body metabolism and is later assimilated into it. In other words, it is food which establishes a link between what is external to the body system and what is internal to it. Food gets transformed from being an external input to an internal feature of the body. Below we will discuss the physical health predicaments, traditional beliefs, contemporary beliefs, and the role of chemicals and pesticides in relation to disease.

Overeating and Obesity The ample and varied food supply in affluent countries tends to promote a greater food intake than would have been the case on a limited monotonous diet. However, it is not easy to define overeating in a meal-eating mammal such as man. Energy intake is intermittent during the day, but energy expenditure is continuous. An individual who maintains weight over a long period is constantly oscillating between periods of excess energy intake (immediately after a meal) and excess energy output (immediately before the next meal). Within

reasonable limits, it is desirable that there should be energy stored as fat for the reasons given above and as a reserve in times of famine. At any moment, the energy economy ofthe body is controlled in such a way that energy demands are

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met and dietary energy intake is apportioned to immediate use, or to storage, or (in children) to growth. A central role in the management of fuel use in the body is played by the hormone insulin. The relationship of obesity to disease, and particularly heart disease, is quite complex. The multiple regression analysis of Keys et al. (1984) found that age, cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol concentration were the risk factors for heart diseases. The increasing risk with age and cigarette smoking is not in doubt. However, high blood pressure and serum cholesterol (particularly the increased low-density fraction and decreased protective high-density fraction) are highly correlated with obesity (Folsom et al. 1985). If obesity increases the risk of heart disease mainly by increasing

blood pressure and altering the unfavourable distribution of cholesterol fractions, then an analysis which has taken the latter two factors into account will see little effect remaining for obesity per se. In fact, obesity does contribute to heart disease directly, even when allowance is made for age, blood pressure, smoking, cholesterol, and ventricular hypertrophy, but it takes many years for this independent effect to become detectable (Hubert 1984). Lack of adequate nutrition acts in combination with other aspects of poor environment, in particular with infectious diseases, to produce a range of different kinds of health problems. Food as Medicine

Traditional health-related aspects of food ideology have their roots in our traditional system of medicine but have undergone continuous change over time. The traditional belief structure provides a list of what is food for each recognised illness, a statement of what ‘foods’ are taboo, an explanation of why (may be a myth), and usually a ritual to be observed in order to bring about the desired change in well-being. Moreover, if a person breaks some taboo, then some evil will follow. This is the mechanism for control, leading to social conformity. The list of foods allowed/prescribed for a given medical condition varies among culture. In India, foods may be classified as ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ - which has to do with their effects in balancing body humours, a concept that is explained in the Ayurveda system of medicine. Orientals classify foods as ‘yin’ and ‘yan(g)’, a similar concept. The list of foods to be eaten is composed usually of those that are rare or costly. Therefore, if they are sacrificed in getting rid of the illness, the benefit is clear. The list of foods proscribed usually includes many items that are available and desired. Therefore, if they are not eaten, this sacrifice will bring a benefit. The explanation of why a food should or should not be eaten may be based on observations or myths. For each category of food, a set of beliefs evolves that defines who, what, and when X, Y, and Z can be taken in relation to various illnesses. The set of beliefs defines what is suitable for individuals and categories of people to eat in certain times and conditions, for example, a man works hard and so he is given energetic food like jaggery and milk. Bajra is viewed as hot food and, therefore, preferred in winters, whereas wheat is viewed as cold food. The consumption of bajra is avoided during pregnancy by

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many people due to the fear of abortion. Channa dal and urad dal are viewed as

hot, whereas moong dal is viewed as cold. The consumption of channa and urad dal is avoided during lactation because it is believed that it would cause stomach disturbances among infants. Curd and buttermilk are treated as ‘cold’ food, while buffalo milk is viewed as hot. Buttermilk and curd milk are avoided during

lactation and winter season because it can cause cough and cold. Roots and tubers are viewed as hot, whereas other vegetables as cold. Egg and meat are considered as hot food, and their consumption is avoided during pregnancy and preferred during winter season. The informants viewed desi ghee (pure butter) and oil as hot. It is observed that increased quantity of desi ghee and oil is hot. It is observed that increased quantity of desi ghee is given (on an average 12-15 kg) to women after delivery so the lost strength can be recovered, and it also helps in milk secretion. It is supposed to be consumed in 40 days. Jaggery is viewed as hot food and, therefore, used quite frequently in diet in winters. People also divide the food on the basis of light and heavy food based on their digestive capacity. In general, people believed that hot foods are heavy while cold foods are light in nature. Bajra and rice are viewed as heavy, whereas wheat is light. Among pulses, channa dal and urad dal are termed as heavy, while moong dal is termed as light. Cow’s milk is considered as light, whereas buffalo milk as heavy. Roots and tubers are considered heavy, while green leafy vegetables light. Desi ghee and oil are considered heavy. Sugar is considered light, and jaggery is viewed as heavy. Halwa, churma, and gond ke ladoo are considered as heavy food and they are consumed during the winter season and given to mothers just after delivery as they are helpful in lactation and provide warmth. The foods which are termed as light are generally preferred during pregnancy and illness. The food which can be served to guests is termed as prestigious food by the villagers. Halwa, buffalo milk, desi ghee, and kheer are considered as more prestigious than the other foods. The most striking examples of non-prestigious food are green leafy vegetables, oils, and fresh foods. Bajra and rice are viewed as non-prestigious food. Ceremonial foods are those which are used during festive occasions and various social and religious ceremonies. Kheer, halwa, and churma are viewed as ceremonial foods, while green leafy vegetables, pulses, and fresh foods as non-ceremonial foods. Bajra, channa dal, urad dal, moong dal, and curd are considered non-ceremonial. All of this defines what is good and, therefore, what is wanted under special circumstances. If one accepts these beliefs and follows the prescribed procedures conscientiously, then all will be well, in theory. If a gap develops between what is good and what is wanted, then fear, anxiety, and evil will result. From the

above, it can be concluded that no food is without any belief. These belief patterns determine their consumption pattern. But, as with all things, cultural transmission of all of the concepts is imperfect, meaning is lost, and rituals become empty and are finally abandoned.

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Homans, H. (1983), ‘A Question of Balance: Asian and British Women’s Perceptions of Food during Pregnancy’, in A. Murcott (ed.), The Sociology of Food and Eating, Aldershot: Gower.

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Kumar, V. et al. (1981), ‘Maternal Beliefs Regarding Diet during Acute Diarrhoea’, Indian Journal of Paediatrics, 48: 599-603.

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10 Organic and Genetically Modified Food in India

In 1995, following the Uruguay Round of General Agreement on Trade and Tariff negotiations (1986-94), the World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed, and agriculture- and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPs) were Officially added to the trade agenda. The inclusion of the TRIPs was essential for the rapid global expansion of genetically modified (GM) maize and soybeans. Unless developing countries could be kept from reproducing the North’s new genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the chemical-cum-seed companies like Bayer and Monsanto were not going to do business in the Global South. The WTO enshrined the structural adjustment policies of the 1980s and early 1990s into international treaties (where, coincidentally, citizens cannot rescind them) called free trade agreements. The stated purpose of the WTO was to reduce trade barriers and establish non-discriminatory mechanisms to enforce global trade rules. In recent times, concerns about the impact of the GM food that people consume have largely been debated. GM crops have led to the commercial production, and in turn, it has also increased the accessibility of the masses for food. However, people are also wanting to go back to nature and thus preferring organic food with no alteration. The demand for organic food has increased tremendously. The decision on organic food consumption can be explained by relating attributes of organic food with more values in terms of its security, naturalness, environment-friendly product, etc. In this chapter, we will look into the emerging production and processing of organic and GM food. Thus, this chapter will exclusively focus on organic and GM food.

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What is Organic Farming? The concept of food quality has changed dramatically in recent years. It now refers not only to the characteristics of the final product but also to the way in which it is produced, processed, and transported. Retailers and importers in developed country markets are applying their own quality standards, which are often more stringent than the national quality regulations. Consumers in developed countries and a few in developing countries have become more health conscious, and they have started spending on greener, healthier, and natural foodstuffs. They are willing to spend more on organically produced and labelled products. As a result, farmers in developed countries are encouraged to convert their existing farm into organic farms and are often fully supported with financial incentives and technical assistance. Organic farming (also known as ecological or biological farming) is commonly recognised as a farming system that excludes the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. This is a rather simplistic view of organic agriculture as it differs from other farming systems around the management of the entire system. Organic farming is a clearly defined production system that takes a holistic approach to production, considering the entire farm or production system as an ecological unit. Organic farming is not only about environmental interaction in a holistic manner but it also includes food quality, human health, animal welfare, and socio-economic aims. Organic agriculture includes all agricultural systems that promote the environmentally, socially, and economically sound production of food and fibres. These systems take local soil fertility as a key to successful production. By respecting the natural capacity of plants, animals, and the landscape, it aims to optimise quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment. Of course, a basic issue is defining what exactly is meant by organic farming. Among the more stringent definitions is that of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has defined it as follows: a system that is designed and mailed to produce agricultural products by the use of methods and substances that maintain the integrity of organic agricultural products until they reach the consumer. This is accomplished by using, where possible, cultural, biological, and mechanical methods, as opposed to using substances, to fulfil any specific fluctuation within the system so as to maintain long-term soil biological activity; ensure effective peak management; recycle wastes to return nutrients to the land; provide attentive care for farm animals; and handle the agricultural products without the use of extraneous synthetic additives or processing in accordance with the act and the regulations in this part.

Principles of Organic Agriculture According to International Federation of Organic Agriculture (IFOAM), 2005, organic agriculture is based on four principles:

1.

Movement

Principle of Health: Organic agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, and human as one and indivisible.

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Principle of Ecology: Organic agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them, and help sustain them with the help ofit. Principle of Fairness: This principle points out that the health of individuals and communities cannot be separated from the health of ecosystems - healthy soils produce healthy crops that foster the health of animals and people. Principle of Care: Organic agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment.

Benefits of Organic Farming

Organic agriculture can contribute in the following areas: : 2.

Food security and long-term productivity Biodiversity provides important ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, water production, flood mitigation, carbon absorption, oxygen production, and regulation of species numbers. Social benefits: It is generally accepted that organic farming operations offer greater social benefits than conventional agricultural systems. It fulfils the basic needs and obtains an adequate return and satisfaction from the work, including a safe working environment.

According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (2003), there are certain social benefits associated with organic farming. These are as follows: z.

The site-specific nature of organic agriculture means that indigenous plant species and indigenous knowledge are important. Further, farmers may welcome a management system more aligned to their own traditions and not driven by the production paradigm. Relying on the local knowledge of complex interactions and variations of conditions from place to place tends to not favour large production areas. With the tendency towards reduced farm size, equitable access to land may be enhanced. Consistent labour requirements associated with crop diversity provide income stability. Fair trade, where buyers demonstrate a concern for social justice by buying fair trade products, is part of the ethic or organic agriculture and is the IFOAM guidelines. Improving the situation of women in agriculture is an important issue, particularly availability of work, gender distribution of labour, and positions of greater responsibility. Using local inputs can potentially benefit the community by stimulating the local economy and reducing the need to purchase external inputs on credit.

But it is also true that consumer perception on the organic production method may, in certain detailed but important provisions, differ from region to region in the world. That is why both national and international norms for the definition of organic farming and organic foodstuffs become necessary.

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Organic agriculture brings with it a number of added benefits, for example, improved soil fertility and water quality, prevention of soil erosion, and generation of rural employment. But to make this a reality, developing countries, including India, need to frame supportive policies for encouraging such agriculture for exports as.well as to enhance food security. The concept of food quality has changed dramatically in recent years. It now refers not only to the characteristics ofthe final product but also to the way in which it is produced, processed, and transported. Retailers and importers in developed country markets are applying their own quality standards, which are often more stringent than the national quality regulations. Consumers in developed countries and a few in developing countries have become more health conscious, and they have started spending on greener, healthier, and natural foodstuffs. They are willing to spend more on organically produced and labelled products. As a result, farmers in developed countries are encouraged to convert their existing farm into organic farms, and are often fully supported with financial incentives and technical assistance. Projects Encouraging Organic Farming in India

The World Bank has organised a project designed to empower rural communities to export organic spices. The main programmes envisaged under the project are improvement and promotion of organic production of spices and certification and export of selected spices like black pepper, white pepper, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, clove, and nutmeg and western herbal spices like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and parsley. The programmes are being taken up in selected project sites in Idukki and Wayanad district in Kerala, Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, and Kandhamal district of Orissa and implemented through locally based non-governmental organisations (NGOs), from the year 2000 to 2003. The salient features of the project are imparting training to NGOs and farmers on basic standards, organic production methods, documentation, inspection, and certification. The project also envisages empowerment of NGOs by providing personal computers and software for market promotion of organic products. The Information Technology Companies (ITC) will conduct market survey in potential markets of organic products and disseminate the information to the potential producers in India. Certification of the project areas as organic is also envisaged under the project. The many aspects of such a project make it clear that such a process of encouraging a shift to organic farming along internationally accepted lines, thus producing organic food for export, is a very expensive process. It can only be attempted by development agencies and NGOs, in specific pockets or villages, and extending it over wide areas and a sizeable number of cultivators would require large resources that are not easy to raise or access.

Prospects for Organic Farming in India Only 30 per cent of India’s total cultivable area where irrigation facilities are available is using fertilisers, and the remaining 70 per cent of the arable land, which is mainly rain-fed area, has not been using any fertiliser. Also, it is

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estimated that around 600-700 million tonnes ofagricultural waste is available in the country every year, but most of it is not properly used. There are several alternatives for supply ofsoil nutrients from organic sources like vermicompost. Technologies have been developed to produce large quantities of vermicompost. There are specific bio-fertilisers for cereals, millets, pulses, and oilseeds. However, such bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides have not become very popular

in India for two reasons. The first is the lack of marketing and distributing network. Retailers are typically not interested in selling bio inputs because their demand is low, supply is erratic, and farmers are ignorant about bio inputs. The second reason is the presence of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, with their heavy advertisement, public support, and higher margin for retailers. All these problems also need to be addressed if a more comprehensive state support for organic farming is to be considered. There is no doubt that organic agriculture is in many ways an eminently preferable pattern for developing agriculture in countries like India in particular. Organic agriculture can offer multiple benefits. These include price premiums, natural resource conservation (e.g. improved soil fertility and water quality, prevention of soil erosion, preservation of natural and agro-biodiversity), and social effects (e.g. generation of rural employment and corresponding lower urban migration, improved household nutrition and local food security, and reduced dependence on external inputs). But to take advantage of trade opportunities, developing countries must contend with a plethora of national and regional standards and high certification costs. Moreover, active international efforts are needed to reduce these costs, particularly for smallholders, and facilitate market access. In addition, a big role has to be played by developing country governments to develop supportive policies for encouraging organic agriculture, both to improve exports and to enhance local food security. In a country like India, this can imply tensions between pricing policy, input supply, and the priorities of ensuring that the public distribution system actually meets the food needs of the entire population.

Organic Farming and Certification in India In India, the relative lack of national rules, regulations, and specific standards relating to organic food production, inadequate certifying agencies, and unrecognised ‘green’ marketing and retailing channels have not only been confusing for producers and consumers alike but have prevented farmers from exploiting the export market advantages of organic production. This is a major missed opportunity because most small and marginal farmers in India have actually been practicing organic farming as part of traditional cultivation practice. Thus, they have used local or own-farm-derived renewable resources and are managing self-regulating ecological and biological processes. In fact, this is usually found to be absolutely necessary simply in order to cultivate acceptable levels of crops and livestock and human nutrition products while protecting them from pests and diseases through bio-chemicals and bio-fertilisers (such as neem extract). However, it is true that the higher cost of

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such inputs and processes compared to industrially generated fertilisers and pesticides has encouraged many farmers to shift production patterns. It is true that the Government of India has now woken up ifbelatedly to this

problem and is now attempting to establish at least the basic rules and accreditation processes which are necessary. In March 2000, the Ministry of Commerce launched the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), designed to establish national standards for organic products, which could then be sold under the India Organic logo. To ensure the implementation of NPOP, the National Accreditation Policy and Programme has been formulated, with accreditation regulations announced in May 2001. These make it mandatory that all certification bodies, whether already engaged or proposing to engage in inspection and certification of organic crops and products should be accredited by an accreditation agency. Foreign certification bodies operating in the country must also be accredited. The appointed accreditation agencies are the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Coffee Board, Tea Board, and Spices Board. At present, only APEDA has invited applications for accreditation. An appointed evaluation agency is to ascertain the programmes and credentials of the implementing agencies and submit its report to the accreditation agency. According to information from APEDA, to avoid duplication a common Evaluation Agency and Committee for Accreditation will be formed with experts and members drawn from other accreditation agencies. The regulations also make a provision for export, import, and local trade of organic products. Currently, however, only the export of organic products comes under the government regulation, while imports and local trade do not. Thus, an agricultural product can only be exported as an organic product if it is certified by a certification body duly accredited by APEDA as one ofthe accreditation agencies. The categories of products covered under accreditation are organic crop production, organic animal production, organic processing opera-

tions, wild products, and forestry. What is Organic Food? It is a way of growing food that does not use any artificial pesticides or fertilisers but instead relies on healthy soil and biological controls to keep weeds, bugs, and diseases away. Organic food is the product ofafarming system which avoids the use of made-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulations, and livestock feed additives. Irradiation and the use of GMOs or products produced from or by the GMOs are generally prohibited by organic legislation. Organic food is produced by methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming, in general, features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve diversity. In order to be labelled organic, a food product must be free of artificial food

additives. These include artificial sweetness, preservatives, colouring, flavouring, and monosodium glutamate. The most commonly purchased organic foods are fruits, vegetables, gains, dairy products, and meat. Nowadays there are

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also any processed organic products available, such as sodas, cookies, and breakfast cereals. Organic Food Production

Organic food is regarded as a healthy and high-quality product. It is a traditional and sustainable way of producing the food without using pesticides and chemicals. Therefore, products are seen as pure and safe for consumers. However, at the level of selling, producers do not get the prices which they are entitled. People are not willing to pay higher prices for the organic products that have not been proved to be better than the products produced in the conventional way. In organic farming, the quality and quantity of the harvests are always more unstable than in conventional farming. Wholesale companies want to buy in large quantities, and a producer must guarantee that there is enough to harvest and sell. For the manufacturers, making deals on organic products include bigger risks than making deals on conventional products. Retailers’ opinion was that in general, organic foods do not sell as is believed and is portrayed in the media. People are not willing to pay higher prices because the conventionally produced food products are as good as the organic foodstuffs. Organic Food Consumption Organic food consumption is expected to grow significantly in future. Eastern Europe is the largest regional market for packaged organic food. The leading markets for organic packaged foods in Western Europe are Germany, United Kingdom, and Italy with estimated sales of US$1.9 billion, US$1.6 billion, and US$1.5 billion, respectively. The market for organic foods is still in the embryonic stage in the most developing countries like India and China and is negligible in Africa and Middle East. Many empirical studies on consumer perceptions towards organic food in Europe and across the globe conclude gradual switchover of consumer demand from ready-to-eat and processed to slow food and organic food. Organic foods have penetrated both the market place and the consciousness of US consumers. Sales of organic food have increased 100-fold since 1980 and are predicted to grow further. With an average annual growth rate of 20 per cent per year for the last few decades, organic food production is now the fastest growing sector of US agriculture.

Size of the Organic Food Market In many developed countries as well as in some of the developing countries with higher income, the sale counters of retail chains and supermarkets have been given special ‘green status’ to promote and sell organic and natural foods. The organic food processing companies are being nurtured and labelled as environment-friendly companies. This was already a huge market even in 1997; the size of the US organic food market was valued at $4.2 billion, while the German market was estimated at $1.2 billion and that of Japan at $2.5 billion. It is also a rapidly growing market all over the world and particularly in the developed countries, as Table 1 suggests. The rapid growth in market estimates by 2000

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indicate a much larger market now, especially as the recent food scares relating to the products of industrial agriculture and livestock rearing make consumers more willing to pay more to ensure food safety. Further, organically grown food commands higher prices, with premiums for organic products ranging from 10 to 100 per cent. However, it should be remembered that these can disappear when supply increases, especially in those countries with policies to encourage organic farming. Table 1 International Market for Organic Food Products (US$ in billions) Country

Sales in

1997

(US$ in billions)

Estimated Sales Potential in 2000

(US$ in billions)

United States

4.2

8.0

Germany

1.8

25

Japan

17

2.5

Italy

0.75

1.1

France

0.72

1.25

Great Britain

0.45

0.9

Australia

N.A.

0.17

China

N.A.

0.12

New Zealand

N.A.

0.58

Taiwan

N.A.

0.10

Philippines

N.A.

0.06

Other

1.33

10.38

Total

10.45

19.727

Source: Bhagirath Choudhary.

Indian farmers set to go green. Partly because of this growing demand, many countries are in the process of developing their own ‘organic food’ standards and regulations. The United States and the European Union have already announced comprehensive National Organic Programs. Japan, Canada, and Australia have national standard for organic products in practice since the early 90s. New Zealand, Israel, and Brazil have almost attained the equivalency status with the standards of the European Union and the United States. China, Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Turkey, and Mexico have established credible organic certifying agencies and are on the verge of gathering more information on organic policy. The major organic products sold in global markets include (in order of importance) dried fruits and nuts, processed fruits and vegetables, cocoa, spices, herbs, oil crops and derived products, sweeteners, dried leguminous products, meat, dairy products, alcoholic beverages, processed food, and fruit preparations. Non-food items include cotton, cut flowers, animals, and pot plants.

Retailers Spur Organic Food Sales Imagine starting your day with mangoes, apples, and bananas infused with fertilisers and pesticides and ripened artificially. If you can digest that, look out for

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the organic foods section in your neighbourhood supermarket. This niche section is a small but significant part of the organised food retail market. Organic food spans across staples (like rice and pulses), oils, honey, and preserved and fresh produce (fruits and vegetables). It is classified as good grown on land that for at least 7 years has been untouched by artificial pesticides and fertilisers and processed without any additives. What used to be a boutique sort of business with an odd Fab India or Olives Gourmet Bazar stocking a few organic items is now seeing mainstream players jumping into the fray. R.P. Goenka Retails Spencers will be stocking an organic range in their fresh produce section. Margins in organic food are much higher, around 25-30 per cent instead of the usual 10-15 per cent depending on the item and the retailer. But it is important to stock in places with the right catchment since it is a niche product range catering to a limited audience, says Samar Shikhawat, VP (marketing) of RPG Retail. Organic food usually comprises only 1-2 per cent ofthe overall food stock at most stores. But we have set aside almost 5 per cent of our space for it because there is growing demand for this category, says Viney Singh, MD of Max Hypermarkets, which runs Spar. The store has seen a 15-20 per cent growth in organic foods every month. Rising awareness, increasing disposable incomes, and frequent travel are the main reasons for the growth ofthe organic food market. From young professionals to concerned parents to middle-aged couples who lived overseas, there is a wide consumer base for this market. While it is difficult to put down a size, experts estimate that the organised market is around & 25 crore, which is doubling annually. Prices of organic food are at least 50-100 per cent higher than the regular item. But it may not be possible to lower prices immediately because there is also wastage to be accounted for, particularly in the fresh produce section, says Arvind Chaudhary, Chief Executive Officer (food business), Future Group.

Organic food currently accounts for 2-3 per cent at food bazaars, but Chaudhary thinks this will touch 8-10 per cent in the next 5 years in metros. With more mass players in the organised market and greater awareness, prices too came down, but only to a certain extent as the yield is not as high as that of regular crops, says Chaudhary. ITC Foods, for instance, recently launched Aashirvaad Select organic spices with red chili, turmeric, and coriander powder, all priced between & 24 and & 34. But how organic is your organic food? Certification from Indian Organics is restricted to a few labels, and for the rest, especially the fresh produce, the customers have no way of verifying if the fruit or vegetable they are buying is indeed untouched by artificial processes or chemicals or has not seen the usage of contaminated water in the agricultural process. There are not many vendors in this space. Only a few: players like Sresta have organic food that they grow and sell themselves. ‘This gives us the unbeatable advantage of monitoring quality, which in turn, ensures customer satisfaction and loyalty’, says R.K. Misra, Director ofSresta.

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Labelling of Organic Food and Certification Certain very large organic food markets such as the United States present particular problems for exporters because of the rigid requirements for labelling. In the United States, products are accepted as organic only if they conform to USDA requirements, which are fairly stringent and require certification which can be costly and cumbersome for exporters form poor countries. The process of certification is as follows: A grower or handler seeking organic certification submits an organic farm plan or organic handling plan to a USDA-accredited private or state certification programme. The organic plan must detail all current growing or handling methods and any materials which will be used. The plan must also cover future intentions and improvements to all areas of production. Even growers or harvesters of organic wild crops must develop a plan showing that harvesting practices will not be destructive to the environment or to the future productivity of the crop. The USDA further requires that records of all management practices and materials used in organic production must be kept for 5 years. In order to be certified as organic, crops must be grown on land which has been free of prohibited substances for 3 years prior to harvest. Crops grown on land in transition to organic (during the first 3 years after switching from conventional farming) cannot be labelled as organic. The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) makes no provision for a USDA-sanctioned ‘transitional’ label. OFPA covers organic agricultural methods and materials in great detail, including soil fertility, the application of manure, crop rotation, and composting. Compost ingredients recommended by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) include crop residues, crop waste from food processing operations, animal manure, yard waste from private or municipal sources, or other vegetable by-products. NOSB recommends prohibiting municipal solid waste compost and sewage sludge compost and the use of any prohibited material as a compost ingredient. OFPA also establishes a national list of acceptable and prohibited materials. These can include pest control treatments as well as other agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and seed treatments. NOSB recommends that all agricultural inputs be evaluated for their long-term effect on the environment and not simply whether they are synthetic or natural. It is obvious that these are fairly stringent requirements and so not at all easy to meet. Apart from this, though small growers in other countries may well meet the criteria, it is difficult to establish that as they have not maintained records. On an international level, the FAO in collaboration with the World Health Organization has developed the Codex Alimentarius for organic products. FAO

has declared that it will give increasing support to organic farming and wants to achieve harmonisation of different national organic standards to spur international trade with organic products. There is already an IFOAM, which is an international umbrella of organic agricultural accreditation programmes. The IFOAM was established in 1972 in France. There are 600 organisational members of IFOAM from 120 countries, including India. The main thrust of IFOAM was to define the concept of organic farming through their basic

Organic and Genetically Modified Food in India

standards. Another

important task of IFOAM

is to harmonise

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certification

programmes through accreditation system. The other activities of IFOAM include participation in the United Nations and contact with international NGOs and communication through seminars, magazines, etc.

What is Genetically Modified (GM) Foods?

Globalisation has led to increased movement of food commodities in international trade. Of particular importance is the introduction of GM foods. GM foods are produced by altering the genes of an organism, be it plant, animal, or microorganism. This can be done by altering an existing section of DNA or inserting a gene from another organism. Genes carry the instructions for how we appear and what characteristics we have which are inherited by an organism. They are made up of DNA, the fundamental unit of heredity. When scientists perform genetic modification to a plant, they insert a foreign gene called ‘transgene’ in the plant’s own genes. This could be introduced from one plant to another plant, from a plant to an animal, or from a microorganism to a plant. For example, this might be a gene from a bacterium resistant to pesticide. Therefore, the GM plant also is able to withstand pesticide due to the transgene. An organism that undergoes genetic engineering is considered to be a GMO. Bacteria and GM mice were the first GMOs generated in 1973 and 1974, respectively. In 1982, insulin-producing bacteria were the first to be commercialised, and GM food has been sold since 1994. GM Crops in India In developing countries with a high population, GMOs might be a ready way to solve food security, and this can be a reason for hasty adoption, though this promise is not being fulfilled by industry. Many experts say that high-yield and disease-resistant GM crops may help developing nations like China and India feed their growing populations. This was the point made by Xinhua News Agency. In an editorial on 6 June 2001, the following was written: China has enthusiastically pursued GM products in its drive to be self-sufficient in food supplies for its 1.26 billion people. Proponents contend that genetically altering crops to resist pests, drought other adverse conditions may be the only way to ensure food security in the developing world, particularly in densely populated Asia. But the technique of splicing genes from one organism in to another has also provoked fears of unforeseen hazards to health and the environment. The country has not seen the level of heated debate that ranged in Europe and elsewhere over their safety.

Currently, India has the world’s fourth largest GM crop acreage surpassing China’s 3.0 million hectares (mh), while equalling that of Canada’s 11 mh, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech mostly on the basis of GM cotton, the only GM crop allowed in India. In 2014, farmers in India planted a total 11.6 mh under transgenics, leaving the first three spots for

Argentina (24.3 mh), Brazil (42.2 mh), and the United States (3.3 mh). Significantly, the entire 11.57 mh crop area in India in 2014 consisted of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton, most of which (about 96%) is now covered by hybrids.

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While Bt cotton wholly dominated India’s GM crop acreage, much of it is based on the US life sciences giant Monsanto’s proprietary ‘Bollgard’ technology; this is not the case with major countries. India has not seen any new entrant in the sector of GM-based crop varieties after Bt cotton because of the resistance from certain civil organisations. Many GM varieties are believed to be under different stages of development, but yet to make a formal release. GM mustard is under consideration. It has been cleared by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the biotech regulator in India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, with no such bio-safety or public health concerns. India spends roughly around $12 billion annually on vegetable oil imports. GM mustard has been considered by agri-experts as a solution for the country’s edible oil deficit because it has yields upto 30 per cent higher than the normal! varieties. The variety named as Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 or DMH-11 which has been developed by a team of scientists from Delhi University led by Deepak Pental. Bt cotton was modified to produce an insecticide that could kill any invading pest, but that is not the case with GM mustard wherein modification has been effected to simplify the breeding process. It uses a system of genes from soil bacterium that makes mustard a self-pollinating plant, to better adapt it to hybridisation than the current Indian gene pool. Therefore, the current status of yet another GM crop hinges on public perception and not on scientific reports (Agriculture Today 2016). Field trials for 21 GM food crops, including GM vegetables and cereals, have been approved by the government though commercial cultivation of GM food has not been permitted by any state government in India till now (Venkat 2016). Labelling of GM Food For those GMO products which are on the shelves, the rules require labelling of them. Rules have been established. Unfortunately, the rules do not seem to have reached the shop shelf yet. There are no NGOs in China to raise the issues pertaining to GMOs. Obviously, many GMO products have reached the selves of supermarkets, but also many more that are currently under development. It is easy to forget that DNA is and always has been part of our daily diet. Every daily consumer is absorbing millions of copies of genes from thousands ofsources and by different ways ofintake. We do not know what many of these genes do, and their sources are innumerable: they could be genes from a piece of tomato, cucumber, and lettuce in a salad; the bovine genes in a beef steak; the fragmented DNA in many differently processed foods; and even the genes of the many microorganisms that we breathe and swallow. And how can they realise this anyway when there is little public access to information about GMOs? Safety Issues of GM Food

In spite of the potential benefits of GM foods, their adoption and acceptance have caused uncertainty and debate. The genetic modification process involves the

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identification of the gene coding for the desired characteristic and the transfer of that gene from one species, where it occurs naturally, to another species, where the characteristic is required. There is significant public concern about the safety and environmental effects of the adoption of GM plants in agriculture. Safety issues of GM foods have been focussed on certain perceived risks that may lead to health hazards. These risks are associated with the inserted genes and their expression products, secondary effects of gene expression, and insertional mutagenesis. Concern has been expressed regarding the type of inserted genes and the resultant protein. In the genetic modification process, the various genetic elements required for the expression of the gene, namely, the promoters and terminators are often derived from bacterial and viral genes whose effects are as yet unknown. Various antibiotic resistance genes are often used as markers in the production of GM plants. There may also be possible transfer of these genes to the human gut microflora. Health concerns have also been expressed regarding allergic potential of the transgenic proteins. The GM mustard controversy has brought to the fore the entire essence of GMOs, especially products that are consumed. Within years oftheir introduction in the market, GMOs have generated, often acrimonious, debate among the industry, consumers, government regulators, and the civil society. Apart from issues relating to safety, need, and environmental impact of GMO, the question of providing information to the consumers has attracted much attention. No discussion on GMO can be complete without addressing the question of genetically engineering foods. Critical Analysis of GM Foods

GM have not fulfilled the promise of eliminating diseases caused by dietary deficiency; while GM foods are widely grown and used in the United States, they are far less trusted in Europe and India, where both the general public and politicians question the long-term safety of these products on health, environmental or economic grounds, and the financial motivations of the agribusiness who developed them. The downstream process of substitution explodes farm products from a direct relation of producer-product-consumer into an array ofbasic ingredients for a vast array of food products sold by the powerful supermarket sector. Upstream, appropriation does the opposite by imploding the complex farm labour process into fewer and fewer inputs. Monsanto’s GMO seeds, for example, have introduced Bt genes and a gene that is tolerant to glyphosate (a powerful herbicide) into their seeds. The Bt genes replace pesticides, and glyphosatetolerant genes allow the cultivar to withstand applications of herbicide (that is, at least until insects develop a tolerance to Bt and weeds develop a tolerance to glyphosate). Even the ostensibly humanitarian effort to biofortify crops like ‘Golden Rice’ or the ‘GM banana’ that attempt to insert vitamins into crops are a substitute for fewer and fewer vitamin-rich cultivars in the field and a loss of diversity in diet as well. The drive to introduce more ‘stacked’ seeds (with

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multiple introduced characteristics) through genetic engineering that controls pests and weeds, incorporates vitamins, and resists drought as a classic example of how appropriations replace diverse farming systems and complex farm, labour, and management processes, collapsing them into a single seed commodity (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 126). In 2016, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had told in the Supreme Court that ‘GM foods are not allowed in the country’, and yet, GM foods have been imported, particularly soya bean and canola oil. In India, Food Safety Regulations give the Centre the charge of regulating safety of imported food, but the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has passed the responsibility to state governments. The regulatory system in the country is not followed, and citizen’s interests are not protected. In 2016, illegal GM soya cultivation was found in Gujarat.

References

Agriculture Today (2016), ‘GM Mustard - In or Out?’, Agriculture Today, 19(10). —

(2003), Organic Agriculture and Resources Series No.4, Rome: FAO.

Climate

Change,

Environment

Food

Standards Agency (2016), Food and Feed Law Guide, https//www.food.gov.uk (accessed on 28 Dec 2018).

[Online:

Holt-Gimenez, E. (2017), A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism Understanding Economy of what we Eat, New Delhi: Dev Publishers & Distributors.

and

Natural

web],

URL:

the Political

IFOAM (2005), Principles of Organic Agriculture, International Federation of Organic Movements, [Online: web], URL: accessed on 2 Jan. 2019. http://www.ifoam.org/ about_ifoam/principles

The Indian Express (2015, February 2), ‘India World’s 4th in GM Crops Acreage, Well Ahead of China’, The Indian Express. Venkat, V. (2016, July 8), ‘All You Need to Know about the GM Food Controversy’, The Hindu.

11 Food and Technology

Food technology is a field that applies scientific methods to selecting, preserving, processing, packaging, and distributing safe, flavourful, and nutritious food. The application of food science helps in manufacturing safe, wholesome, and nutritious food products. The study of food technology is to develop new methods and systems for keeping food products safe and resistant from natural harms such as bacteria and other microorganisms. At every step of the journey from farm to fork, technology is helping in producing a safe, abundant, sustainable, and nutritious food supply. Precision agriculture, with the aid of global positioning system satellites, can target individual crop treatments to the smallest plots of soil, which reduces environmental impacts. Advances in livestock production, from climate control to the nutritional qualities of feed, have improved animal health and welfare and boosted agricultural output. Refrigeration and modern packaging technologies have increased the safety of food. The shrinking distance across the globe due to rapid transportation has extended the freshness of food. The food industry is increasingly embracing technology, social media, and internet-based mobile applications to reach their potential customers and drive sales and create revenue opportunities. Technology in the food industry has transformed right from ordering food, pick up, to meal delivery. The growth in the food industry can be attributed to technological advancements, streamlined and controlled manufacturing processes, growth in population, and improved cold chain technology. In this chapter, we will discuss the role of technology in food production, food processing, food preservation, and food distribution. We will essentially look into the following critical aspect of technology related to different dimensions of food:

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Food Food Food Food Food Food

technology at production level and medical biotechnology processing and technology distribution and technology technology at preservation level technology: critical appraisal

Food Technology at Production Level The most successful and promising advances in food is biotechnology. It includes a range of benefits for the food supply through various breeding and other techniques. It employs the tools of modern genetics to enhance beneficial traits of plants, animals, and their food components. Food crop through biotechnology is insect-protected and virus-resistant. Crops are also planted in the places where they would never survive before and also provide higher yields. Biotech crops can also aid in protecting the environment by producing herbicide-tolerant varieties, thereby decreasing the amount of pesticides used in farming. Decreasing pesticide use can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of wildlife, decrease farmers’ exposure to pesticides, and contribute to a cleaner water supply. With biotechnology, the food is more healthful and nutritious, as crops with nutritional traits make their way to the supermarket. These foods can help to combat chronic diseases by providing more healthful compounds, including higher levels of antioxidants and vitamins and lower amounts of fats, which one should limit.

After 1950, the new wave of technological application in the field of food allowed many companies to compete with each other at fast speed. The application of science to agriculture has dramatically increased productivity. The ingredients of new foodstuff are more and more derived by synthetic means, which makes food products as less recognisable as original products of farm produce (Pyke 1970, 1972). The technological change in production and processing implied a restructuring and massive increase in the size of markets for foodstuffs made possible and stimulated by the improvement of the means of transport and widespread urbanisation. The packaged foodstuffs are made available to the people with the help of ready-to-eat technology. Improved food technology has made available substitutes such as beat sugar, cornflakes, tinned fruits, and juices. The growth of technology - and since the 1980s, biotechnology applied to plants and animals - has been substantial. Biotechnology has tremendous potential for increasing food production and improving food processing. Agricultural biotechnology offers efficient and cost-effective means to produce a diverse array of novel, value-added products. In addition, biotechnology has the potential to increase food production, improve food quality and healthfulness, reduce the dependency of agriculture on chemicals, alleviate biotic and abiotic stress (for example, high salt or temperature extremes), and lower the cost of raw materials, all in an environmentally sustainable manner. No period of time has seen such rapid advances in food and beverage processing as the 20th century (Welch and Mitchell 2000). Modern food

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science and technology has extended, expanded, and refined these traditional methods and added new ones. Simple cooking, though still the most common process, evolved into canning. Dehydration, once restricted to less sanitary sun drying, now is usually a highly mechanised and sanitised process. Refrigeration has evolved from cool storage to sophisticated refrigerators and freezers, and the industrial techniques of blast freezing and individual quick freezing are less detrimental to nutritional quality and sensory quality (Leistner and Gould 2002). Food and Medical Biotechnology

Rapid developments in medical biotechnology have yielded and benefited society. They have produced many pharmaceutically useful compounds and vaccines with the help of genetic engineering. In the Third World, the greatest benefits of biotechnology will most likely come from agricultural biotechnology, notably in food production and protection applications. Pest control, disease resistance, extension of shelf life of agricultural products, and increased nutritional value of food crops will not only look after self-sufficiency for developing nations but also social and economic stability. The benefits of agricultural biotechnology in crop protection and food production have enormous significance for all of humankind. Genes coding for useful traits, resistance to disease or insects, for example, have been transferred to crop varieties from non-cultivated plants, but recombinant DNA methods that are now available have greatly extended the sources of genetic information for transfer, including sources outside the plant kingdom. It is firmly established that resistance of crops to disease or insets has resulted in increase in agricultural yields in Asian and Latin American countries (Colwell 2013). The expression ‘Green Revolution’ was coined to describe the increased agricultural production achieved in the developing countries by means of the new varieties, especially wheat and rice (Sasson 1986). The unfortunate aspects of the Green Revolution were that cultivators of crops required extensive use of pesticides, irrigation, and fertilisation. From cross-breeding of the new varieties and hardly local breeds, well-adopted cultivators giving yields were obtained. Millet and sorghum, triticale, maize, and several leguminous plant species, as well as wheat and rice, were included in the Green Revolution research. The exciting aspect of the Green Revolution is that within around 10 years, more than 50 per cent of the surface of corn growing locally and 30 per cent of the rice-growing areas in developing countries were sown with high-yield cereal varieties. With sufficient irrigation, fertiliser, and weed killer, the yield is two or three times greater than that of traditional varieties (Colwell 2013). Introduction of new varieties of wheat to India in 1966 resulted in a doubling of Indian wheat production within a decade, resulting in approximately 23 million tons in 1970 and eventually 33 million tons by 1980. India was catapulted from the second largest cereal importer in 1966 to self-sufficiency by the end of the 70s (Sasson 1986). Genetic engineering of plants has not occurred without controversy. The issue attracting the greatest attention is the release of genetically engineered

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organisms into the environment. Regulation of the uses of recombinant DNA technology and the fear of the unusual power of this technology, especially the uncertainty modified in new ways, are topics of intense debate. Traditional agricultural products are being replace with other products that in some cases were developed using biotechnology, e.g. high fructose corn syrup and aspartame replacing cane sugar (Hobbelink and Ruivenkamp 1987). However, biotechnology must lead to self-reliance, which implies that the process should profit from local resources and fit in with the norms and values of the local population (Stolp and Bunders 1989). Food Processing and Technology Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing combines raw food ingredients to produce marketable food products that can be easily prepared and served by the consumer. Food processing typically involves activities such as boiling, broiling, frying, grilling, pickling, pasteurisation, and many other kinds of preservation and canning or other packaging. Food processing helps in preserving the flavour and reduces the toxins in the food product, which results in better distributional efficiency and easy marketing of the food product. The modern food techniques are the key to flourishing supermarkets we have today. Food processing dates back to the prehistoric ages when crude processing incorporated fermenting, sun drying, preserving with salt, and various types of cooking (such as roasting, smoking, steaming, and oven baking). Such basic food processing involved chemical enzymatic changes to the basic structure of food in its natural form, as well as served to build a barrier against surface microbial activity that caused rapid decay. Salt preservation was especially common for foods that constituted warrior and sailors’ diets until the introduction of canning method. Modern food processing technology developed in the 19th and 20th centuries was developed in a large part to serve military needs. In 1809, Nicolas Appert invented a hermetic bottling technique that would preserve food for French troops, which ultimately contributed to the development of tinning and subsequently canning. Pasteurisation, discovered by Louis Pasteur in 1864, improved the quality of preserved foods and introduced wine, beer, and milk preservation. In the 20th century, World War Il, the space race, and the rising consumer society in developed countries contributed to the growth of food processing with such advances as spray drying, evaporation, juice concentrates, freeze drying, and the introduction of artificial sweeteners, colouring agents, and preservatives such as sodium benzoate. In the late 20th century, products such as dried instant soups, reconstituted

fruits and juices, and self-cooking

meals were developed. In the pre-independence India, there were only local small entrepreneurs who were producing traditional items. Food processing goes back to the prehistoric ages when crude processing incorporated slaughtering, fermenting, sun drying, preserving with salt, and various types of cooking such as roasting, smoking, steaming, and even oven baking. Salt preservation was especially common for foods that constituted warrior and sailors’ diets until the

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introduction of canning methods. These crude processing techniques remained essentially the same until the advent of the industrial era. There was also a

limitation in the process of standardisation. The most emerging technologies i.e. high-pressure pressuring (HPP) and microwave - have been replacing canning or heat pasteurisation. HPP and microwave heating are the two main technologies currently seen in commercial applications. The food being prepared under unusual and less healthy conditions is rapidly replacing the food prepared by conventional and healthy methods. People are increasingly eating stuff that does not look much like what used to be grown on the farm. This change in consumption patterns is largely determined by upstream decisions on what should be available. For instance, the food industry is pushing processed food. Mornings are a rushed affair, and to make life easy, one takes a glass of milk and bowl of cereal picked from the supermarket. Medical experts say that packaged food - even the cereal that you have been assured is healthy - which is a quick fix for the on-the-go generation, is full of chemicals and, more often than not, completely devoid of nutrients (The Times of India 2015, February 22). While one may argue that the labelling on the food packet assures you of no-trans-fat, no preservatives, no monosodium glutamate (MSG), these packets are full of other hidden ingredients that can pose serious health problems if consumed in the long term. It is impossible to preserve food for 12 months if preservatives and chemicals are not added to it. Those additives may be permissible for that much quantity of food, but if someone keeps on eating it day in and day out, it will cause great danger to his/her kidney and liver. Colouring agents are also toxic, which are frequently used for soups, syrups, etc. Colouring agents put the liver and kidney into overdrive, since these organs have to work extra hard to wash away chemicals from the system and make them safe for the body. This means that the overworked liver is unable to do its regular job - it handles the nutrients that have been absorbed by the gut from the food, removes toxins from the blood, makes proteins like albumin and clotting factors, and secretes bile, which helps digest fatty foods in particular - as efficiently. Hydrolysed vegetable protein contains up to 30 per cent MSG, which is known to trigger headaches, rapid heart rate, and chest pain and cause nausea. Yeast extract powder increases the bad bacteria in the body. This causes problems with the pH levels and creates acidic blood condition, thus decreasing immunity (The Times of India 2015, February 22). Thow and Hawkes (2009) have identified that the changes in trade policies have resulted in a rise in meat availability and its consumption. The dairy products and processed food consumption have also risen. They pointed out that these policies of trade

liberalisation

have impacted

health of the consumers

by contributing

to

nutrition transition. This transition is associated with rise in the rates of people suffering from obesity and other chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer. The success story ofthe food industry is application of scientific know-how to food design and production. Food scientists have learned how to combine

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ingredients such that the human palate is easily hooked. They do the careful research on the catchy points like optimal taste and tactile sensation. They calibrate products so as to maximise cravings and make the products addictive. Salt, sugar, and fat are key to that success. Food items cannot be too strong in taste or too sweet. One needs combinations of ingredients that stimulate the taste buds long enough to be alluring but not long enough to leave a flavour ‘that tells the brain to stop eating’ (Moss 2013: 39). Food scientists hit the jackpot when they designed the Cheetos - cheese flavoured, puffed cornmeal snacks. Cheetos are pure pleasure. They melt down quickly in your mouth and the brain is tricked. The phenomenon is called ‘vanishing caloric density’ (Moss 2013: 46): the mind decides that there can’t be many calories because you put Cheetos in your mouth and they are instantly gone. You feel you can just keep eating them forever, which is what some people seem to do (Ratcliff 2017: 158). Potato chips, with the salt, fat, and sugar from the starch of the potato, are another winner. For many people, the combination rewards the brain with instant feelings of pleasure. The starch causes glucose levels in the blood to spike, which leads to craving for more. Food companies depend on this type of science to make their products. It is a highly competitive market, and each food company is competing for what they call ‘stomach share’, the amount of digestive space that a company can grab from the competition (Moss 2013: 3). Food Distribution and Technology It is impossible to live without food and without technology. With the importance we place on food, it is no surprise that the technology has taken an interest in the industry and changed the way food is grown, processed, and received in the plate. Below, we will discuss the ways technology is outreaching to people at their door step: 1.

Delivery of Food: With a population of over 1.2 billion, India is undeniably one of the biggest consumer markets in the world today. With nearly 50 per cent of this population under the age of25, India has the advantage ofbeing one of the youngest population in the world. Most of the fast food demand comes from age-group of 18-40 years, and many of them are being productively employed in lucrative industries, like information technology companies who have made their wallets fatter. With dual-income families, urban youths lifestyle and food habits are changing. The demand for quick access to food and one with affordable rates is on the rise. Owing to time crunch and an increasing need to spend quality time, this young population is reaching out for fast food or takeouts to save time and energy that would otherwise go into cooking up a meal at home every day. The number of working women has also increased over a period oftime and they have less time to cook full blown meals at home. With growing demand, there is a recent spurt in online food and restaurant service companies. It is soon

expected to reach $27 billion. The dabbawalas, also called tiffinwalas, is a decades old classic example of food delivery system. They deliver hot lunches from homes and restaurants to people at work, especially in Mumbai. The lunch boxes are picked up in

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the late morning, delivered predominantly using bicycles and railways trans and return empty in the afternoon. They are also used by meal suppliers in Mumbai, who pay them to collect lunch boxes with ready-cooked meals from central kitchens to customers and back. The tiffin

delivery service are rapidly expanding from big cities to small towns supplying food tiffin at door step. In 2013, a Bollywood a film titled “The

Lunchbox” was released, which was based on the dabbawala service. In 2010, Harvard Business School added he case study “The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time” to their compendium for its high level of service with a low-cost and simple operating system. The online delivery of food is rapidly growing as it has cost-benefit component. It does not require space for dining, interior, furniture, and man-power for serving the food. Due to such cost benefits, more operators like Food Panda, Zomato, McDonald, Pizza Hut, Swiggy, Big Basket are making their presence in the online delivery of food. Restaurants are now trying to maximize their business output by offering delivery services. This way they are able to rationalize existing fixed costs and also make their business sustainable. Home delivery is a very vital component in this mix. The placing of food order is done online through mobile apps and through web-based system.

Tracking Waste Food: Artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science has marked their presence in food industry. For example, in the supermarket there are a lot of food items that go to waste every day, and this is mostly because of bad demand forecasting. With the help of previous data or how much food goes to waste, how much product gets to sell, machine learning can build a better demand forecasting. It helps supermarkets owners to order items at on adequate level - not more, not less. Hitachi Company in a hospital situation helps in monitoring the food waste. It mounts a camera on the trolly that collects waste in the hospital. The camera takes a picture of leftovers, and later on it gets analyzed through algorithms. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a food cam. It works in a very simple and organic manner. Suppose there is asome leftover edible food, you just need to press the food cam button and it shares the image of food on channels like Twitter, Slack and a mailing list. Once it is shared, people who want to eat can come and get it. Agshift is another U.S. based company which is fighting food waste. The company has developed an autonomous food inspection system that uses deep learning. The models can analyze the defects in the sample images and predict the overall quality of the sample. According to UN estimates, forty per cent of the food produced in India is either lost or wasted. The food wastage, however, is not limited to one level

but perforates through every stage; from harvesting, packaging, and transporting to the end of consumption. Technology is central to food waste. The innovative reefer-container technology used in transportation of perishable items, helps in maintaining freshness for over a month. This has

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enabled agriculture producers to safely send all products ranging from grapes to shrimps across geographies. Multi-commodity cold storages also helps in maintaining supply chain ofhorticulture produce. Many city-based organizations are tracking food waste at social events. They collect food from parties and distribute in slum areas. Mobile apps are being developed for sourcing data or hunger spots and which takes requests for donation of excess food. Various community level initiatives like gleaning networks, food banks and social supermarkets are helping in redistribution of food to needy people.

There are many apps like Feedie, Flashfood, Food Cowboy, Food for All, Food

Rescue

Hero,

Foodfully,

Go

Mkt,

Goodr,

Impact

Vision,

NoFood

wasted, OLIO, Transfernation, Winnow, YoNo, Desperdicio etc. which help in managing food waste. These apps helps to connect farmers to consumer, retailers to charities, and growers to intermediaries. NoFood Waste crowd-sources data on hunger spots in India to facilitate surplus food donations. So far, the app has identified 80 locations in Delhi NCR. Users themselves can mark hunger spots, which the team verifies and enters in their database. Users can also donate food or request the app to deliver the donation using its volunteer drivers. Usually, NoFood Waste picks up the excess food for a minimum of 50 people. For fewer than 50 people, users drop the food at designated collection points or local facility centres.

Access to Food Recipes: In general, recipes have been passing from generation to generation, however, now-a-days people are managing recipes via applications or on online platforms. Access Food Recipe Database

Management is a utility that allows you to keep all the old and new recipes organised in a versatile database. The description of recipe includes - food categories, time to prepare, the number of servings, instructions, utensils required and nutritional information. The Food Apps allows access to over millions of recipes and thousands of food products. Food ontology and semantic recipe search engine makes it possible to search for recipes using natural language queries, such as “Gluten free brownies without sugar” or “low fat vegan cupcakes”. The apps also provide information regarding nutrition and diet data for generic foods, packaged foods and restaurants meals. Virtual cookbook is another way of accessing cookbook review episodes free, on demand.

food recipes. A virtual The FundCraft Digital

Cookbook is a platform to store all recipes and at the same time has the ability to sort over 250,000 hometown recipes. It provides chance to build one’s own family cookbook and print it. Online Food Shopping: Food items sell irrespective of recession and inflation in any country. One can stop going to the cinema and other leisure

activities, but there is no way one can live without food and vegetables. Caught in the city’s fast pace, tedious commuting and long working hours, many consumers do not have the time to either buy or cook food.

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With a large customer base and increasing penetration of internet connectivity (partly because of smartphones and growing popularity of online food shopping) has given space to some companies who have ventured into food business. Popular names of online stores are: Amazon, Grofers, AramShop.com, EkStop.com, Bigbasket.com, AtMyDoorSteps.com, MyGrahak.com, ZopNow.com, Omart.in, LocalBanya.com, RationHut.com and SeaToHome.com.

Perishable products are a challenge for online retailers. Vegetables, dairy and meat products cannot be stored for long. So many e-tailers stick to packaged food items. However, there are a few retailers that sell perishable products by procuring it only after an order is placed. Technology at Food Preservation Level The foods of animal origin are highly perishable due to high nutritional content, moisture, and neutral pH. These foods require proper preservation to maintain quality and safety, failing which leads to human illnesses and disease outbreaks. These food-borne illnesses are serious and costly public health concern. To maintain the quality and safety of foods, various measures are generally adopted by the food industry. These are in terms of manufacturing practices, good hygienic practices, etc. There are a number of preservation techniques starting from low-temperature preservation like refrigeration and freezing to thermal preservation techniques like pasteurisation, sterilisation, and preservation using certain chemicals. In contemporary time, bio-preservation, irradiation, and hurdle technologies are also common. In the series of different technologies for preservation, bio-preservation is the latest and more reliable as it is capable to shelf life with quality, hygienic status with minimal nutritional loss (Singh 2018: 106). Bio-preservatives eligible for use in food must fall under the category ‘generally recognised as safe with no

pathogenic and toxic effect on food’. Bio-preservation is a technique of extending the shelf life of food by using natural or controlled microbiota or antimicrobials. The fermentation products, as well as beneficial bacteria, are generally selected in this process to control spoilage and render pathogen inactive. The special interest organism or central organism used for this purpose is lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their metabolites. They are capable of exhibiting antimicrobial properties and helpful in imparting a unique flavour and texture to food products. The most common LAB bacteriocin is nisin, which has wider applications in food industry and has been approved by Food and Drug Administration. Hurdle technology is another technology used in industrial as well as in

developing countries for the gentle and effective preservation of foods. Hurdle technology was developed several years ago as anew concept for the production of safe, stable, nutritious, tasty, and economical foods. Hurdle technology is a method of ensuring that pathogens in food products can be eliminated or controlled. This means the food products will be safe for consumption and their shelf life will be extended. The hurdle technology makes minimal sensory and nutritional changes in the product and is more valuable and acceptable than

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traditional methods of preservation. Previously, hurdle technology, i.e. a combination of preservation methods, was used empirically without much knowledge of the governing principles. The intelligent application of hurdle technology has become prevalent now because the principles of major preservative factors for food (e.g. temperature, pH, and composite flora), and their interactions, became better known. Recently, the influence of food preservation methods on the physiology and behaviour of microorganism in food, i.e. their homeostasis, metabolic exhaustion, and stress reactions, are taken into account, and the novel concept of multi-target food preservation has emerged. Hurdle technology deliberately combines existing and new preservation techniques to establish a series of preservative factors that microorganisms are unable to overcome. These hurdles can include temperature, water activity, acidity, redox potential, preservatives, competitive organisms, vitamins, nutrients, and more. Hurdle technology is a valuable tool in the fight against overprocessing. It combines different preservation factors or techniques to achieve mild but reliable preservation. The hurdle technology makes minimal sensory and nutritional changes in the products and is more valuable and acceptable than traditional methods of preservation. Paneer (cheese) is a highly perishable product. It was reported that the freshness of paneer remains intact only for 3 days at refrigeration temperature. At room temperature, paneer does not remain good for more than 1 day. Hurdle

technology is applied to main dairy products to enhance the shelf life. Shelf life of paneer can be enhanced on applying various hurdles such as pH and MAP; the quality and shelf life of paneer extends to 12 days at refrigeration temperature without affecting its physiological and sensory properties (Thippeswamy et al. 2011). Food Technology: Critical Appraisal While the assessment of the safety and efficiency of newer technologies will always be a challenge to scientists, the immediate need for safety evaluation of products from the present-day ‘biotechnological revolution’ is paramount. It is a forceful emerging challenge as several foods have already started entering the market. Contemporary techniques of genetic modification make it possible to speed up traditional processes of plant and animal breeding and enable interspecies gene transfer not possible by traditional methods. Besides safety considerations, nutritional concerns, particularly in novel food plants, are going to be major issues, especially where important nutrients are modified or eliminated. In addition, the lost, reduced (or increased) bio-availability of micronutrients and the increase in anti-nutritional factors are concerns that would need to be addressed. Besides the scientific issues, there are issues of ethics, consumer perception, and labelling, which will need to be taken up by food control authorities. In traditional agriculture, stock-breeding had been more or less subordinated to the growing of basic vegetable products. With the change in Western consumption from vegetable to animal foods, the raising and holding of stock became subordinated to industry, which led to battery-hens and box-calves. The

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emergence of biotechnology in the 1980s had even more far-reaching consequences.

It was

connected,

among

other things, with the shift in the food

industry away from production of primary ingredients, such as flour, milk, and sugar, to ‘the fractioning of these ingredients into their constituent nutrients, carbohydrates, fats and proteins’ (Sorj and Wilkinson 1987: 310; 294; see also the anonymous article in Food Technology 1991 on ingredients for snacks). Basic to the extension of the range of applicability of biotechnology in the food industry is the capacity to control the catalytic processes for microorganisms such as bacteria and enzymes and to re-programme their genetic properties. Raw materials are reduced to biomass and become interchangeable, while proteins can even be produced from petroleum and natural gas. An important possible consequence ofthese technologies is the future replacement, in part, of agriculture by industries (Hobbelink and Ruivenkamp 1987). The genetically modified mustard controversy has brought to the fore the entire essence of genetically modified organisms (GMO), especially products that are consumed. Within years of their introduction in the market, GMO have generated, often acrimonious, debate among the industries, consumers, government regulators, and the civil society. Apart from issues relating to safety, need, and environmental impact of GMO, the question of providing information to the consumers has attracted much attention. No discussion on GMO can be complete without addressing the question of genetically engineering foods.

References

Boyle, A. (2016, December 5), ‘The End of Grocery Checkers? Amazon's High-Tech Store Points to the Future of Physical Retail’, GeekWire.

Colwell, R.R. (2013), ‘Fulfilling the Promise of Biotechnology’, Biotechnology Advances, 20(3-4), 215-28. Hobbelink, H. and G. Ruivenkamp (1987), ‘Biotechnology in the Third World: Demasque of a New Promise’, /nternational Coalition for Development of Action.

A

Leistner, L. and G.W. Gould (2002), Hurdle Technologies: Combination Treatments for Food Stability and Quality, New York: Plenum Publishers. Moss, M. (2013), Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, US: Random Publishing Company.

House

Pyke, M. (1970), Food, Science and Technology, London: John Murray. —

(1972), Technology Eating, or Where Does the Fish Finger Point?, London: John Murray.

Ratcliff, K.S. (2017), The Social Determinants of Health: Looking Upstream, Cambridge, 7 UK; Malden, MA: Polity. Sasson, A. (1986), Quells Biotechnology Power les pays en Development?, Paris: Biofutur/UNESCO. Singh, V.P. (2018), ‘Recent Approaches in Food Bio-preservation: A Review’, Open Veterinary Journal, 8(1): 104-11.

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Sorj, B. and

J. Wilkinson

(1987),

From

Farming

to Biotechnology:

A

nage of

Agro-Industrial Development, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publications. Stolp, A. andJ.Bunders (1989), ‘Biotechnology: Wedge or Bridge?’, Tibtech, One World Biotechnology, 7: 52-4.

The Times of India (2018, December 6), ‘Zomato Buys TechEagle for delivery via Drone’, The Times ofIndia. —— (2015, February 22). Thippeswamy, L. et al. (2011), ‘Effect of Modified Atmospheric Packaging on the Shelf Life Stability of Paneer Prepared by Adopting Hurdle Technology’, Journal of Food Science Technology, 48: 230-5.

Thow, A.M. and C. Hawkes (2009), ‘The Implication of Trade Liberalization for Diet and Health: A Case Study from Central America’, Globalization and Health, 5: 5. Welch, R.W. and P.C. Mitchell (2000), ‘Food Processing: A Century of Change’, British Medical Bulletin, 56: 1-17.

12 Food Safety and Food Labelling

Ensuring the quality and safety of food is a multidisciplinary subject and is looked at from various angles. There has been a growing concern regarding environmental contamination of food and excessive use of chemicals in food production and processing in the country in recent times. The use of food additives has grown unprecedented in the food industry. This chapter discusses a number of issues that are influencing the beginning of food safety regulation first at the international level and then in India in the specific context. It also aims to highlight the challenges and issues which are considered crucial to an understanding of contemporary food safety controls. These issues include ensuring food quality and strategic response to food safety and regulatory mechanism. Food labelling is one medium by which consumers can acquire knowledge about the food they consider worth buying. The placement of nutrition information on the front of food packages has been introduced as a method of providing simplified and visible nutrition information. Below, we will discuss food safety and food labelling issues. Defining Food Safety According to World Health Organization (WHO), health could be defined as what sustains the physical and mental well-being of people. Once this concept is applied to food, two ways to address the health issue can be distinguished. These are as follows: In the negative approach, food does not compromise the health of consumers by any chemical, biological, or microbiological element or substance

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it might contain. In the positive approach, food is perceived with respect to its nutritional qualities, and as far as it helps to be in form, sustains physical performance, slows down ageing, prevents sickness, and, more generally, obstructs the misdeed of life. The first approach alone refers to food safety and defines the field of the standard studies of risks related to food additives, pesticides, residues, veterinary medicines, microbial germs and their toxins, and other contaminants.

All over the world, consumers’ safety is an integral part of the major duties of public authorities, which elaborates in this regard regulations and official controls. This is not such an easy task, and Food and Agriculture Organization and WHO decided to set up a body to guide the national governments in this field in 1962: the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Any safety regulation enacted by any government was supposed to be scientifically based on acknowledged procedures of risk analysis. First of all, the parameters should be identified for the risk of food safety. It can be microbial germ, chemical element, biological substance, etc. This can be helpful in analysing the level of contamination by any type of residue and contaminant or the presence of any additive in a given food category. Food Safety: Emerging Challenges Ensuring food quality and food safety is equally significant for the welfare of an individual, a community, and a nation. Many human illnesses are food related. Nutritional status and economic well-being are affected by food carrying pathogenic organisms and their toxins and by poisonous chemicals. It is estimated that approximately 3 million children below the age of 5 years die of diarrhoea every year. About 70 per cent of these deaths are said to have food-borne origin (Esrey 1990). In developing countries, people spend almost 50 per cent of their income on food; among poor income groups, this figure may go up to 70 per cent (Malik 1981). At the national level, food and agriculture form a major sector of almost all national economies in terms of GDP, employment, and foreign exchange earnings. About $500 billion worth of food enters international trade each year. In the United States alone, over 30,000 consignments offood valued at over $1 billion were detained in 1992 due to unsatisfactory quality and safety requirements (US and Drug Administration 1992). Worldwide losses can well be imagined. Most governments do not make such data public. The bad quality of food and unregulated measures of safety of food result in many types of food hazards.

Types of Food Hazards Many foods are highly perishable. They are easily contaminated when produced in an unhealthy and unclean environment. In fact, food is a very good indicator of environmental contamination, and spoilage of food needs to be prevented through good handling practices. With the introduction of intensive agricultural and animal husbandry practices, there is a simultaneous need to control the use of pesticides, fungicides, animal drugs, etc. as they otherwise leave undesirable

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residues. The use of food additives during food processing and marketing requires careful control. Food can easily be adulterated to defraud consumers and deprive them of their money’s worth. Adulteration adversely affects the nutritional quality of food. The main causes for such potential problems in food lie in the fact that before reaching the consumer, it usually passes through a complex, and quite often lengthy, food production, processing, and distribution chain. Until recently, many foods were locally produced. Now, with the dynamism of the food sector and the lengthening of the food distribution chain, there is also an increase in potential hazards to the consumer. The range of food systems can be gauged from the fact that while, on the one hand, there is an organised food industry producing and distributing pre-packaged foods, utilising the latest and mostly safe technologies, on the other hand, we have the phenomenon of street foods, where food is often handled and prepared under unhygienic conditions. The types of food hazards which may endanger the quality and safety of foods are listed below: 1.

2. 3.

Physical: Foreign matter, for example, glass, metal, wood paint, insects and their fragments, insect and rodent excreta, human air, rodent hair, dirt hides, rubber, paper, and plastics. Microbiological: Related with microbes and viruses. Chemical: Pesticides, environmental contaminations, and toxins; trace metals; lubricants; solvents and sanitising agents; veterinary drugs; and vitamins and minerals.

After discussing the food hazards, we would like to see the levels of food safety where food can be taken care for its hazards.

Levels of Food Safety Food safety can be conceptualised by involving various levels for its application. These are as follows: Sanitary and Technical Level

The Uruguay Round has led to a substantial reduction in tariff protection. As traditional trade barriers tend to come down, non-tariff trade barriers are becoming a more important issue in the agriculture and food sectors. This includes sanitary regulations, and more generally, a larger set of technical rules are embedded in the national regulations. A few years ago, little was known on the trade effect of domestic regulations, but this issue is now getting more and more

documented.

The

Uruguay

Round

provides

a framework

for solving

disputes through the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement body; it tackles the problem ofnon-tariff trade barriers through the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement and a strengthened Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement. It also gives great importance to international bodies, especially Codes Alimentarius, an international code of standards for human health protection under the auspice of the FAO and WHO. The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement recognises the right of governments

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to restrict trade in order to protect human, animal, or plant health, but such measures must be transparent, consistent, and based on international standards or scientific risk assessment. There must be equal treatment for all nations and between imports and domestic products. The SPS Agreement covers health risks (food safety) arising from additives, contaminants, toxins, and pathogens

contained in food products. The TBT is much broader, covering all technical regulations, voluntary standards, conformity assessment procedures, and any other measures not covered by the SPS Agreement. It seeks to ensure that national measures are transparent, have a legitimate purpose, and minimise restrictions on trade. Compliance with relevant international standards is encouraged. Governments have also often set up regulations in order to address consumers’ concerns. Such regulations often have a negative impact on trade, although this was not their primary purpose. This is the case, for example, when various options exist for ensuring a given label of consumer protection. In order to ensure that a product is safe, a government may consider banning certain techniques or laying down maximum tolerance levels for residual pathogens. If one country’s standards are based on the first option and another country’s are based on the second, exports come up against technical barriers and additional control costs. Differing incomes and tastes may lead to differing regulations. Developing countries cannot allow themselves the same standards as developed countries, with the result that their firms come up against regulations which constitute a de facto barrier to exports. Even in developed countries, in economic terms, it is possible to determine an optimum standard for each country, reflecting in particular terms, it is possible to determine an optimum standard for each country, reflecting in particular a trade-off between cost and demand for food safety (Antle 1995; Viscusi et al. 1995). It depends on the distribution of consumer's willingness to pay, and there is no reason why such an optimum standard should be the same in all countries. But different standards, albeit entirely justified in economic terms, can hamper international trade. More generally, regulations which affect trade may come from genuine technical, geographical, cultural, and sometimes religious differences. The concept of product quality is multi-dimensional and is not limited to product safety (Hooker and Caswell 1996). The perceptions of attributes are essential when defining quality because they differ greatly among countries. Differing tastes, incomes, and willingness to pay for a particular attribute are reflected in dissimilar regulations. In many countries, there is a public debate over regulation of the food industry. This includes safety of food, how it is produced, i.e. social conditions, animal welfare, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hormones and growth promoters, cultural preferences, and resource sustainability and protection of the environment. New production and processing methods driven by technology have added to consumer unease. The resulting national regulations can pose problems for exporters. The complexity of the issues makes it difficult to provide the right policy response, especially in the absence of convincing evidence of health risk, but when consumers’ concerns look nevertheless genuine.

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Cultural Level

The differential preferences of the consumers pose certain controversial issues; these are as follows: i.

Disagreement on Quality Attributes: There is a considerable disagreement on quality attributes, such as the nutritional content, taste, production,

production methods, and authenticity of products, that are relevant and on the extent to which they may legitimately be the subject of regulation. Some countries consider that the soil, climate, and traditional know-how that exist in a region have a decisive influence on product quality, others do not. There is considerable disagreement on the meaning of ‘authenticity’ which has inspired the 1992 European Union (EU) legislation on food quality labelling (the term ‘authenticity’ is used to translate the concept of ‘typicite’, which is the basis of all French and Italian quality labelling system, meaning that a product must be ‘typical’ - i.e. representative - ofa particular area, in addition to being produced with premium raw materials and, often, traditional techniques). Definitions based on taste or traditional know-how receive little support at an international level. These notions of product quality are ill-matched to the more restrictive approach adopted internationally (Chen 1996). The stance of the SPS Agreement is to take into consideration only single-quality attributes, namely sanitary quality. International Standardization Office (ISO) labels, which could become de facto standards regulating international trade, do not include all the quality dimensions of European regulations, which are based to a considerable extent on a product's organoleptic qualities (taste) and authenticity. Different Conceptions ofRisk: It is neither seldom possible nor economically feasible to achieve zero risk with respect to food safety. The SPS Agreement explicitly requires analysis to be carried out if a country adopts different standards from those of the Codex Alimentarius (Articles 5.1). However, there is no agreement on what constitutes justifiable risk or ‘acceptable risk’ as mentioned in the SPS Agreement (Annex A.5). Nor is there any agreement on the importance to be given to risk analysis, or on what is meant by the term ‘risk’, or on methodology. Officially, risk analysis is a three-stage process. The first stage, risk assessment, consists of identifying hazards, in particular their forms, thresholds, and probabilities. The second phase is risk management, and the third phase is communication concerning the risk. Approaches may differ widely from one country to another, especially concerning the importance to be placed on risk management (Mazurek 1996). Some countries prefer to emphasise risk elimination (e.g. sterilisation of mineral waters and ban on cheese made from pasteurised milk). Others emphasise the possibility of risk control (in the above-mentioned examples by bottling at source,

Hazard

Analysis

at Critical

Control

Points

[HACCP],

etc.), which

is

sometimes less costly and alters the product less, and point to the inconsis-

tency of seeking to achieve zero risk in one area while tolerating high risk in others (Doussin: 1995).

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Technical Regulations and Local Conditions: National regulations differ widely. However, in fact, it is difficult to measure the risks in this area, which makes any attempt to define standards highly controversial (Mazurek 1996). Even national regulations applied even-handedly to domestic and imported products can have an effect on trade, especially if the chemical substances are not used in the country concerned. This is the case with procymidone, for example, a fungicide that is a subject of controversy in the wine-making industry. As the fungus against which procymidone is effective does not pose a problem in Californian vineyards, mainly for climatic reasons, there is no reason to use procymidone there. But low tolerance levels for residues would indirectly limit imports of wine from other countries, which need to use the product because oftheir climate. The role that should be left to private operators in devising workable standards is a source of disagreements between countries. Producers want to be given greater freedom in the way they produce high-quality food and point to the costs that highly specific regulations impose on the production process. They find it hard to understand why consumers and public authorities interfere so much with the definition of standards which in other (non-food) sectors is left much more up to the industry. Consumers do not see things in the same light and criticise what they regard as industry's over-representation on the scientific committees of standards bodies, such as the Joint FAO/WHO expert Committee on Food Additives, the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residue, and the Codex Committees. This highlights the difficulties of finding the right mix between highly detailed and restrictive regulations and consumers’ concern at the latitude accorded to manufacturers. Legal Differences: Domestic regulations are defined in relation to the legal system prevailing in each country. This framework differs a lot across countries. Punitive damages in product liability action are very different in the United States and in European countries. In the United States, ex post liability clearly plays an important role in deterring firms from marketing unsafe products. Because of the potential outcome of tort law, firms often set up standards that exceed those required for passing government approval process. Fundamental differences in the legal system for protecting consumers from health hazards provide some justification for diverging conception on the role of government in setting standards. More generally, differences in the legal environment, such as ex ante regulation vs ex post litigation as a basis for law, may provide justifications for differ-

ences in governmental standards between countries. Cultural Differences: Arguably, the fact that Islamic countries tend to erect barriers to pig meat imports is not seen as an unfair non-tariff barrier. One may wonder why the Egyptian ban on GMOs should not also be considered as legitimate, since it also had some religious connotations (the ban was announced but actually never enforced). This raises the question of how far one should go in this area, and whether the concerns of consumers in Luxembourg and Austria on GMOs (which look genuine)

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can also legitimate an import ban. A recent survey measured consumer acceptance of GMOs in 19 countries and showed that only 22 per cent Austrian consumers seem willing to buy genetically modified products (GMPs), against 74 per cent in the United States (Hoban 1997). Even in Britain, one of the most permissive countries in the EU in this area, a poll shows that only 14 per cent of consumers were happy with the introduction of genetically modified foodstuffs, and 96 per cent wanted labels on food made of genetically modified seeds (The Economist 1998). This reluctance cannot be completely explained by lack of information, since Hoban’s survey reported that a higher proportion of consumers than in the United States said they had read or heard information about biotechnologies. Part of the explanation seems to lie in cultural factors. Most of the consumers’ concerns actually seem to be linked to the possible spread of unwanted genes in the environment, rather than concerns about their own health. The case of GMOs is an illustration of the impact that consumers’ cultural values can have on trade, regardless ofscientific considerations. It is not the only one. Consumers in some countries remain opposed to irradiation, which is seldom used as a result (except for specific products such as spices, onions, and some poultry in certain countries) even though the International Atomic Energy Agency and WHO have concluded that irradiated food presents no toxicological risk since 1980. Dissimilar consumer preferences have an impact on trade, as for example, if one country requires ground meats offered for sale on its territory to be irradiated and another refuses to use the technology. Here again, despite scientific considerations, even very subjective quality considerations can

6.

have an indirect effect on trade. Ethical Concerns: Animal welfare regulations, introduced under pressure from animal rights activists, are becoming very important. This may also have large consequences for international trade. Growing numbers of consumers are also concerned about the possible adverse effects of their purchase on the destruction of natural resources in other countries, for example, on child labour (Mahe and Ortalo-Magne 1998). There is a growing pressure from public opinion for the imposition of more environment-friendly practices in Third World countries, especially in order to protect the ‘common resources of humanity’ such as tropical rainforest. Some governments support a ban oftimber products from countries where forests are threatened (Vogel 1995). Consumers are also concerned about an importation of goods which they reject for cultural or religious reasons. But the fact that consumers’ ethical values are not the same in all countries is bound to affect trade.

Consumer Level

Governments and international agencies should not dismiss consumer concerns about food safety, nor about ethical, environmental, or cultural values, and even perhaps about imagined health risks. This could significantly

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erode public support to the trade liberalisation process. Mandatory compliance to ill-accepted standards may result in consumers’ rejection offree trade (Olson 1998). In 1991, General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) panel on tuna (fish), which basically ruled that a country could not ban imports for environmental reasons outside its territory, by boldly stating that domestic environmental programmes may not infringe upon international trade and that one country may not unilaterally impose environmental standards on other countries (The Economist 1993). Threats from the European Commission to restrict the sale of unpasteurised cheese are said to be ‘responsible for 5 out of 6 French votes against Maastricht’. It reflects how anti-European populist groups exploited fears of being ‘condemned to eat standardised, aseptic, industrialised cheese’. The 1997 panel on hormone-treated beef also had a strong negative impact on European public opinion. Because ofthis panel, the WTO is now often perceived as an international agency whose goal is to overcome countries’ rights to protect their consumers and more generally to undermine national sovereignty. Clearly ignoring consumers’ concerns could lead to a severe rejection of ‘globalisation’, which already had a poor record in public opinion in many countries. Food is a sensitive topic, and few things are likelier to give trade liberalisation a bad name than to have it associated with being foisted on consumers of eating mediocre or even potential unsafe food. One of the important causes that militate against the effective integration of consumer interests in food control relates to the lack of awareness and knowledge among consumers about food quality and safety issues vis-a-vis the inherent constraints of the food system and the need for the maintenance offood supplies at an optimum level. While it is the responsibility of the government and the industry to provide such information in simple language, it is equally necessary that consumer organisations work towards increasing their credibility. This calls for improved scientific literacy among consumer groups. The first step is for industry, academia, and the government to understand and deal with the

public’s emotional reactions. It is no use calling them irrational or unscientific. What is required, indeed, is to understand how public opinion is shaped and which communication methods are the most effective. This calls for a continuous, frank, and honest dialogue between the consumers, the government, and the industry. Food consumption is part of a wider social context. As a consequence, consumer behaviour is influenced by this context

through traditions, values, mores or codes of conduct, media coverage, government policies, etc. People’s worldviews and lifestyle mindsets, for their turn, may be presupposed to have an effect on their preferences, choices, and consumption patterns. After discussing the types of food hazards and the levels on when food safety is questioned, we turn to discuss food safety in India. Food Safety in India

Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts and orders that have hitherto handled food-related issues in various ministries and

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departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. Various central acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954; Fruit Products Order, 1955; Meat Food Products Order, 1973; Vegetable

Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947; Edible Oil Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1988; Solvent Extracted Oil, de-Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967; and Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 have been repealed after commencement of FSSAI Act, 2006. The FSSAI is responsible for active enforcement of the national laws and regulations that govern the retail supply chain and its food processors. To ensure the availability of safe, wholesome food for human consumption, the FSSAI sets down scientific standards for food articles to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import. The FSSAI has issued a regulation in which every restaurant in every city will require a separate licence to ensure food safety. In addition, a food business firm will need a central licence obtained from the head office. To get the ‘food business operator’ licence, all restaurants and hotels, snack bars, cafes, school and office cafeterias, and cafes within hospitals will need to comply with a series of stringent guidelines, including specific hygiene practices. Food Processing in India The food processing industry in India comprises the organised and unorganised sectors, the latter being much larger, consisting of small cottage or household type manufacturing units. Monitoring the quality of the processed food prepared in this sector is especially difficult. It includes the colouring and adulteration of food. Studies conducted by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in the state of Uttar Pradesh had revealed that nearly 2 per cent of the artificially coloured eatables in the rural markets have non-permitted colours that are hazardous to health (Dixit et al. 1995). Biswas et al. (1994) in their study of central and suburban areas ofCalcutta also revealed the use of non-permitted colours, including some textile dyes, by itinerant vendors, the unorganised sectors as well as small and cottage scale industries. In 6.6 per cent of the cases where permitted colours are used, the statutory limit of 200 ppm was exceeded with some eatables containing as much as 730 ppm ofcolour. Studies conducted by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, have shown the use of adulterants such as Lathyrus sativus and non-permitted colours in urban street foods (Bhat et al. 1994).

Regional Food Safety Issues in India Health problems arising due to the consumption of special foods are region specific, as they largely depend on the cultural and dietary habits of the people. Data for the safety evaluation of such foods has to be generated indigenously. For example, the habit of chewing tobacco in the form of pan masala/gutka (perfumed, sweetened mixtures of tobacco, and nut powder) is an emerging threat to health, especially among people in the Indian subcontinent. A study by

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NIN in collaboration with Government Dental College and Hospital, Hyderabad (Basu et al. 1996) has found habitual chewing of pan masala/gutka to be associated with the presentation of Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSF). Traditionally, in India, only married adults have been consumers of betel quid. However, during recent years, with the advent of attractive, conveniently

packed sachets, and mass media advertisements, the consumption of pan masala by young people has increased. In fact, a prospective study among 1,790 patients attending a dental hospital in Hyderabad has found 23 per cent of the patients diagnosed with OSF to be aged between 14 and 19 years. The habit of chewing tobacco in the form of pan masala/gutka is thus emerging as a threat to health not only in India but also in other parts of the world.

Food Products’ Safety in India Milk is one of the most important and essential drinks not only in India but everywhere. In India, the unorganised sector is the dominant supplier of the milk. People get milk either directly from individual animals or buy it from farmers with very small herds. The risk of being exposed to veterinary drug residues is thus greater in such a situation. This fact was also confirmed in a study by NIN in Hyderabad. Nearly 87 per cent of the farmers interviewed were found to be treating animals without consulting a veterinarian, and almost 73

per cent of the milk samples from individual animals were found to contain antibiotic residues. In contrast, most of the pooled milk samples tested negative for these residues (Sudershan and Bhat 1995).

Challenges in Food Safety With the liberalisation of trade in India, there is a growing list of food additives and processing aids which reguire approval from the regulatory authorities for their use in different foodstuffs. There is an urgent need for the scientific community in India to evaluate whether these additives are indeed technological necessities and whether they pose a hazard to the Indian consumer. The rationale of fixing a uniform permissible limit for different foods may not be justified. There is a need to fix the levels based on the overall intake of the specific food which will vary from country to country, depending on the dietary habits of people. India needs to generate its own mechanism to deal with all types of food safety measures.

Food and Biotechnological Process Food bioterrorism is a deliberate poisoning or contamination of the food supply to achieve some political goals. Questions about food bioterrorism take us into the realm of emerging food safety hazards that might be used as biological weapons: mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease, and anthrax. From a science-based perspective, these problems are of uncertain nature or low overall risk to human health, but they rank high as causes of dread and outrage. The terrorist attacks of September 2001 increased the level of anxiety, particularly about the country’s vulnerability to bioterrorism in general and to food bioterrorism in particular (Nestle 2003). While the assessment of the safety and

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efficiency of newer technologies will always be a challenge to scientists, the immediate need for safety evaluation of products from the present-day ‘biotechnological revolution’ is paramount. It is a forceful emerging challenge, as several foods have already started entering the market. Contemporary techniques of genetic modification make it possible to speed up traditional processes of plant and animal breeding, and enable interspecies gene transfer not possible by traditional methods. Besides safety considerations, nutritional concerns, particularly in novel food plants, are going to be major issues, especially where important nutrients are modified or eliminated. In addition, the lost, reduced (or increased) bio-availability of micronutrients and the increase in anti-nutritional factors are concerns that would need to be addressed. Besides the scientific issues, there are issues of ethics, consumer perception, and labelling, which will need to be taken up by food control authorities.

Ensuring Food Quality To ensure that quality and safety are built into the product, quality control must be carried out throughout the food chain — production, processing, storage, and distribution up to the point of sale. For this purpose, three stages can be identified: Production

It indicates the environment under which the food is produced; control on the use of pesticides, veterinary drugs, and fertilisers; quality control at the time of harvesting; post-harvest handling, particularly during storage (temperature, humidity/water activity, and time control); and grading and segregation of sub-standard or spoiled produce. How much of this is carried out in developing countries? The types of monitoring done by governmental authorities and the opportunities available to the producers to upgrade their technical skills are moot points. A recent Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) report on Surveillance of Food Contaminants in India, 1993, indicates that considerably more work needs to be done in this direction in order to determine the scope and extent of the problems and to identify measures and strategies to control them. Post-harvest handling of food requires skills and facilities not commonly available in rural areas. The food industry, which has a vital stake in the quality and safety of the raw materials procured by it, should be able to play a crucial role. The industry can and should impart the necessary know-how and physical inputs to increase the producers’ awareness and assist them in introducing good agricultural and animal husbandry practices as well as good food handling practices.

Food Processing The food industry plays a pivotal role here. With increasing quantities of food being processed every year, the industry has a unique opportunity to ensure the quality and safety of food and maintain or enhance its nutritional value. This calls for proper hygiene; sanitation and cleaning schedules of plants and machineries; hygienic employee practices; appropriate processing technology; the proper use

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of additives; appropriate packaging to ensure product integrity and long life; and correct labelling, giving the necessary information to the consumer, not only about product use but also about its composition, nutritional properties, shell-life, conformity to national food standards, and other requirements. Food Distribution and Sale

The food needs to be kept under conditions which will prevent spoilage until it reaches the consumer. Some of the important areas calling for quality control are as follows: 1.

2. a

4.

The ambient conditions under which food is stored or transported, for example, time, temperature, and humidity. The application of the ‘first-in, first-out’ principle to see that food is not held beyond its shelf-life. Protection against insects, rodents, and extraneous matter. Preparation offood, particularly street foods, under hygienic conditions in food service establishments.

Food Safety and Regulatory Mechanism

The increasing complexity of the food chain due to advances in food sciences and technology, innovations in storage and distribution systems, and the growing demands of consumers - radically altered by aggressive publicity - have also prompted the industry and food control authorities to further intensify their efforts to better protect the consumer. With newer foods entering the markets every day, and exotic and ethnic foods becoming available throughout the year, opinion at the international level is shifting towards newer approaches, such as: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Greater emphasis on horizontal standards covering all foods: examples include food hygiene requirements; food additives and other chemicals including pesticides residues in food through positive lists; labelling, including nutritional labelling, etc. Better utilisation of the available technical and financial resources: Limiting the preparation and use of individual food standards (often called recipe standards) to those absolutely necessary. Simultaneously, greater use of labelling standards to provide consumer information. Tobe more strictly applied during the stages of production and processing by the food industry, that is, vigorous application of the Genetically Modified Products (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approaches and the International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 series requirements. This means that the onus of ensuring conformity to national regulations shall lie squarely with the industry. This way, it necessitates the involvement of approved private inspection, monitoring, and certification agencies. To lay greater emphasis on the overall monitoring of in-process quality control procedures of the industry, rather than spending disproportionate resources on sampling and inspection at the retail end. As the resources shrink, greater stress should be placed on the scientific calibre of the

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inspection stage and training, rather than on increasing manpower. The introduction of computerisation and other modern means for the collection and dissemination of vital data should improve the efficiency of the food control system.

Besides quality of food and its safety, food labelling is also required to ensure the safety offood for the health ofthe individual and society at large. What is Food Labelling? Labelling is written, electronic, or graphic communications on the packaging or on a separate but associated label. Basic objectives of the labelling are brand identification and provision for information of product and promotion. Food label comprises printed, symbolic, or graphical information which is accompanied by food. The food label is one of the most important and direct means of communication of product information between buyers and sellers. Food product labelling is a policy tool for ensuring provision of nutrition and health information to consumers. Product differentiation strategy by food companies has gained importance in the recent past across the globe. Food label is a legal requirement which has to be fulfilled by food processing companies for the consumer's better health and safety. Hence, food labels play an important role by disseminating important nutrition information to consumers. Big brands in India’s food and beverage market are increasingly providing nutritional information on menus and packaging. This is mandatory for processed snacks and drinks but remains voluntary for restaurants. Indian researchers are still more sceptical about voluntary nutritional messaging. Research by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on fast food brands suggested that the practice is riddled with inaccuracies for mis-information. Top Ramen Super Noodles (Masala), for example, claims zero trans fats content; a study conducted by CSE found 0.7 grams of these ‘bad fats’ per 10 grams. Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia has more than three times that figure despite similar no-fat claims. The default option for fast food chains is to provide no information at all. MacDonald’s Happy Meal packaging is silent on the issue of trans-fats despite containing 9 per cent of a child’s recommended daily allowance.

Food and Its Labelling Labelling food product is nothing new. Plenty offoodstuffisbeing labelled either voluntarily or due to some sort of regulation. A packet of chocolates, biscuits, ice cream, or a bottle of soft drink contains enough information. Various surveys have shown that consumers do not want to buy a food without knowing how it is made or produced or what it contains. For instance, a national government survey of consumers in Australia found that 89 per cent wanted labelling on genetically engineered tomatoes. In the United Kingdom, a study for the Food and Drink unanimously (93%) demand for clear labelling of products, which are the result of biotechnology. To be protected against products, production processes, and services that are hazardous to health or life is the right given to people. Given the nature of genetically modified (GM) food

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and the non-availability of sufficient data about its safety, people need to know what they are buying and eating. People may not be willing to jeopardise long-term health and safety merely to allow corporations to rush new foods to the market. Given the experience in developed countries in implementing regulations about food safety, it appears that labelling of GM food is necessary. For example, in developed countries, the slaughter houses are monitored daily by inspectors; the fast food chains that sell hamburgers are licenced and inspected by the local health departments. Yet, in the face of all these rules and regulations, children still get sick eating tainted hamburgers. Probably, the most important justification for labelling GM food is the consumer's right to be informed. It also involves the right to choose and to make informed choices. It is true that information alone cannot guarantee safety. Yet, it facilitates understanding and the choice to buy or not to buy. Product labels perform an important social function, that is, the communication between a seller and the consumer. It is widely believed that GM crops can damage the environment, which threatens the consumer's right to health and sustainable environment. The demand for GM foodstuffs will ultimately determine what GM plants are planted. The mounting evidence about GM crops-related health and environmental risks provides a strong justification for mandatory labelling of GM foods. In such a situation, consumers may want to use their purchasing power to exercise a precautionary approach. This needs proper information about GM foods. Concerns of Labelling in Food Selection In a consumer market, the consumer decides what she or he likes to buy. The producers have to woo the customer into choosing their product, which makes for competition in improving the quality. In a producer’s market, which is a result of basically there being more people who want to buy than the quantity being produced, the consumer buys what is available. In choice of selection of food, the price also plays an important role. With the gradual and progressive entry of processed and packaged foods into our life styles, grades, brands, and labels are becoming familiar - AGMARK, Patanjali, HAFED, Amul, Kisan, Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH), etc. What is written on the outside of the packages or on the tin is the label. Below we will discuss more about grades, brands, and label which matters for the information about the food product. Indian consumers also take care of the food labels and check the nutritional labels of the food items. They become more particular when they purchase food for their children and for ill people in the family. Packaged Foods and Grades

A grade is a classification of grouping of units of a product having the same qualities and value. The qualities by which the grade is determined may not be the same for every product. By means of grades, many products have come to be classified and standardised according to size, maturity, colour, and other constituents that determine quality. Consumers’ awareness regarding health, nutrition, food quality, adulteration, pollution, and infection is increasing by leaps and bounds. Many people are illiterate, and they hardly look towards grades and labels.

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In 1935-36, the selling of impure and adulterated food item was a common practice in India. The first food item that received attention in this respect was ‘pure ghee’, and it was found that adulteration of ‘pure ghee’ with vegetable products made from groundnut and other oils was at times as high as 80 per

cent. Attention to food quality was thus first drawn by way of the need to prevent adulteration. The Bombay Act-11 of 1899 was the first one in India designed to prevent adulteration in foods. Looking into this situation, a need was felt to grade the agriculture produce so that common basis for foods’ standard quality can be maintained. The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act of 1937 enabled the government to lay down grade specifications of quality, grade designations, and also methods of marking to indicate various grades. It was, however, left to the choice of the producer to have his/her produce graded and packed in accordance with the provisions of the Act and Rules and use AGMARK as a mark of grade/standard along with his own trade mark, for example, AGMARK vanaspati ghee or AGMARK honey. Name of the brand and the stamp of Indian Standards Institution (ISI) specify quality, and a certificate by them is a certification of an acceptable quality. The grading is, however, only voluntary for domestic market. It is compulsory only for export. This is where the consumer can play a vital role by preferring to buy a particular brand or ISI-certified goods and asking for it as an assurance of quality. It is gradually catching up as consumers are asking for ISI marks. Food Labelling and Food Waste

The term waste is applied in the context of food waste. Food waste means the food is eliminated or discarded as it is no longer useful or required for eating or feeding. An estimated 30 to 50 per cent of the world’s food goes uneaten. Food waste is not uniform across the globe: 23 per cent of the global food loss and waste occurred in South and Southeast Asia, 14 per cent in North America and Oceania, 14 per cent in Europe, 9 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, 7 per cent in North Africa and West and Central Africa, and 6 per cent in Latin America. While more food is lost in production and storage in developing countries, food waste occurs on a higher scale in the consumption stage in developed countries (Lipinski et al. 2013). Adults waste more food than children, and larger households waste less per person than smaller households. There is less food loss in low-income household than in high-income households, and young people tend to waste more than older people. In farming, production losses are greatest for fresh produce. Produce may not be harvested because of damage caused by pests, disease, weather, or low market prices. It is difficult for farmers to grow the exact amount that will match the demand, and so they may grow too much food. Loss can occur due to storage, inadequate packaging, and frequent handling by food processor, brokers, and wholesalers. According to some studies, a typical food product is handled an average of three times before it is touched by a consumer (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 197-8). Twenty per cent of consumer waste occurs because of data label confusion (Leib et al. 2016). In most cases, people throw away food once the date passes because they mistakenly think the date indicates that it is no longer safe to eat when in fact the date indicates how long the manufacturers think the food will be at its peak

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quality. Factor in that food labels range in phrasing from ‘sell by’ to ‘best before’ to ‘use by’, and it is no wonder that retailers and consumers alike are confused. The US Food Waste Challenge is a private-public initiative between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the agri-foods industry to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2030. The industry is eliminating ‘shrinkage’ in packing, shipping, and processing. Supermarkets are giving expired products to food banks or selling old produce for animal feed. France, recently, passed a legislation prohibiting grocery stores from throwing away expired food. Food Brands

A brand is a trade name under which a particular item of food is sold. The effort of the producer is to establish his or her commodity as a standard and desirable quality product and to create demands, specifically for his product, to influence the consumers’ choice to an extent that when they shop and they will ask for the product by the brand name. The advertisements of any food product also centre around brand name. Patanjali, Haldiram, Amul, MDH, etc. can be seen on all channels for their brand advertisements. Some knowledge of trade and brand names is necessary in identifying food products to the modern marketing system. There are a number of brands in the market. Brands help the consumer to make an intelligent choice. As for the buyer, it is important for him/her to become acquainted with the standards of brands in order to be sure of buying a uniform quality product. Labels of Food Products

Closely related to grades and brands are the labels of products. These are important, and one should read before buying them. Labels provide information about the product. The type oflabel and the use producers and consumers made of it are very important in getting correct information about the product inside. A good label should have on it the grade of the product and the stamp or mark of the authority that has graded it. A good label provides an adequate information of the product in simple terms regarding the use and care of the product. It also provides information related to net weight, price, and the date of manufacturing given on labels. For eatables, it also provides information about vegetarian and non-vegetarian products. In India, a sizeable population is vegetarian; therefore, putting green label automatically denotes vegetarian and red label denotes non-vegetarian.

References

Antle, J.M. (1995), Choice and Efficiency in Food Safety Policy, Washington, DC: The AE] Press American Enterprise Institute. Basu, S. et al. (1996), ‘A Comparative Clinico-Pathological Study of Oral Submucous Fibrosis in Habitual Chewers of Pan Masala and Betelquid’, Clinical Toxicology, 34: 317-22. Bhat, R.V. et al. (1994), A Report on Urban Street Foods in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Hyderabad: National Institute of Nutrition.

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Biswas, G. et al. (1994), ‘Surveillance on Artificial Colours in Food Products Marketed in Calcutta and Adjoining Areas’, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 31: 66-67. Chen, J. (1996), ‘A Sober Second Look at Appellations of Origin: How the United States will Crash France’s Wine and Cheese party’, Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, 5(1): 29-64. Dixit, S. et al. (1995), ‘Food Quality Surveillance on Colour in Eatables Sold in Rural Markets of Uttar Pradesh’, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 32: 373-6. Doussin, J.P. (1995), Le Codex Alimentarius a l'heure de |’ Organisation mondiale du

commerce, Annales des Falsifications de L’Expertise Chimique et Toxicologique, 933: 281-92. Esrey, S.A. (1990), Food Contamination and Diarrhoea, WHO, January-February: 19-20. Food Safety and Standard Regulations (2011), Food Safety Standards, Authority ofIndia, New Delhi: Government of India.

Hoban, T.J. (1997), ‘Consumer Acceptance of Biotechnology: An International Perspective’, Nature Biotechnology, 15: 232-5. Holt-Gimenez, E. (2017), A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism Understanding Economy of What We Eat, New Delhi: Dev Publishers & Distributors.

the Political

Hooker, N.H. and J.A. Caswell (1996), ‘Voluntary and Mandatory Management Systems in Food Processing’, Working Paper, Amherst: U-Mass. Leib, E.B. et al. (2016), Consumer Perceptions of Date Labels: National Survey, Consumer Survey, John Hopkins Centre for a Liveable Future, Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, National Consumer League.

Lipinski, B. et al. (2013), ‘Reducing Food Loss and Waste’, Working Resource Institute, pp. 1-40.

Paper, World

Mahe, L.P. and F. Ortalo-Magne (1998), ‘International Cooperation in the Regulation of Food Quality and Safety Attributes’, OCDE Workshop on Emerging Trade Issues in Agriculture, Paris: OCDE. Malik, R.K. (1981), ‘Food - A Priority for Consumer Protection in Asia and the Pacific Region’, Food and Nutrition, 7(2): 18-23.

Mazurek, J.V. (1996), ‘The Role of Health Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Decision Making in Selected Countries: An Initial Survey’, Discussion Paper 96-36, Washington, DC: Resources for the Future. Nestle, M. (2003), Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism, Vol. 5, Berkeley: University of California Press. Olson, E. (1998, May), ‘Critics Say World Trade Group Disregards Environment’, The New York Times, May 16. Sudershan, R.V. and R.V. Bhat (1995), ‘A Survey on Veterinary Drug Use and Residues in

Milk in Hyderabad’, Food Additives and Contaminants, 12: 645-50. The Economist (1993), ‘The Greening Protectionism’. —

(1998), ‘Food Fights’, June 13th Issue, pp. 99-100.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) (1992), Definition of Food Security, Policy Determination, PNAAV 468, Washington, DC: USAID. Viscusi, W.K. et al. (1995), Economics of Regulation and Antitrust, Cambridge: The MIT Press. Vogel, D. (1995), Trading up Consumer and Environmental Regulation in a Global Economy, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

13 Food Protection Laws International and National Scenario

Food laws were among the earliest of enactments known to man. ‘Food laws’ in one form or another, such as religious tenets or prohibitions, were inherent in all civilisations and have come down to us from early times. It was not until the late 19th and early 20th centuries - with the urbanisation of societies and the depopulation of rural areas - that food laws, as understood today, were prepared. This process was hastened by the pressure that developed as the public rebelled against the generally unhygienic conditions of the period (Lasztity et al. 2004). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO), food standards may be defined as a body of rules or legislation defining certain criteria, such as composition, appearance, freshness, source, sanitation, maximum bacterial count, purity, and maximum concentration of additives, which food must fulfil to be suitable for distribution or sale. Governments over many centuries have endeavoured to provide for the safety and wholesomeness of man’s food by legal provisions and appropriate punitive action. Over the years also, rude forms of frauds, such as adding worthless substances to food or extracting valuable constituents from it, have been followed by sophisticated methods of adulteration that are more difficult to detect. When scientists demonstrated that some adulterants were dangerous to health, the aroused public demanded laws that would both protect their health and prevent fraud. The objective of food laws is to ensure that the food articles which the public buys should be prepared, packed, and stored under sanitary conditions and with such ingredients and such processes so as not be injurious to the health of people who consume it. Consumer protection has its deep roots in the rich soil of Indian civilisation, which dates back to 3200 BC. In ancient times, human values were cherished,

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and ethical practices were considered of great importance. However, rulers felt that the welfare of the subjects was the primary area of concern. This chapter analyses the historical perspective of international and national food protection laws from the past to the modern period. It also analyses the development of consumer laws related to food in India. International History of Food Laws Food laws can be traced back to times of the earliest societies. Ancient food regulations are referred to in Egyptian, Chinese, Hindu, Greek, and Roman literature. In the middle ages, the trade guilds exerted a powerful influence on the regulation of food trade and the prevention of falsification of food products. Later, the initiative in food control was taken on by the state, municipal, or other local authorities. The big changes in food production and distribution because of the industrialisation and rapid growth of urban population, together with public health problems, resulted in the production of many food laws in industrialised nations during the latter part of the 19th century. Following examples of the introduction of early food control measures by developed nations, some of the larger, more established, non-industrialised societies also took steps to set up measures of control. During the later 19th and early 20th centuries, a general consolidation of earlier rules took place, but more importantly, this period saw the creation of a separate branch of law relating to foods. Most of the national standards organisations were established in Europe in the 1920s. The need for improved health and food control and the rapidly expanding international food trade stimulated cooperation on an international level. After World War II, the activity in international standardisation started intensively in the framework of International Organization for Standardization (ISO). A joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme was established in 1962, and a joint subsidiary body was created: the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). The trend in the field of food regulation is characterised by growing efforts for harmonisation at an international level. Since World War II, there have been major changes in the food industry, and this development continues today; at the same time, our knowledge of the risks, actual and potential, has considerably increased. Reorientation and further consolidation of food laws have, therefore, become necessary to protect the health of the consumer from the many new risks to which he has become exposed and over which he/she has little personal control. Books of Old Testament prohibited meat consumption of animals that died from causes other than slaughter. They also regulated weights and measures in foods and other commodities. In early records, classical writers also referred to the control of beer and inspection of wines in Athens ‘to ensure purity and soundness of these products’; Rome provided for state control over food supplies and, according to records available, protected consumers against bad quality and fraud. Under Roman Civil Law, the rules concerning the sale of food were as complicated and detailed as modern legislation. Documentation relating to the 1st century AD describes the falsification of olive oil by a product made from wood, leaves, and berries of trees and the falsification of wine by substances made from a variety of plants.

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In the middle ages, some European communities formed trade guilds to regulate and prevent the adulteration of foodstuffs. Bread was among the items for which detailed manufacturing procedure were stipulated. In 1649, a Commonwealth statute was enacted to regulate the quality of butter. At that time, whey butter was mixed with cream butter. In Hungary, the first collection of regulations concerning prohibition of production and trade of adulterated food was published in 1431. It was prescribed that any slaughter house must be located near a stream and that no diseased cattle, swine, or sheep should be slaughtered and its meat held, sold, or offered for human food. In France, there was a penalty for violations of food norms that invited confiscation, expulsion from the guild, or corporal punishment. For five centuries, the corporations in France continued to expand their food control rules, improving the specific points to be observed and tightening their professional discipline, but the Revolution of 1779 in France swept away the guild master ships and hierarchies, and freedom of industry and trade was proclaimed. By the 17th and 18th centuries, chemistry was being used as an analytical tool in the fight against food adulteration. Robert Boyle, suing the principles of specific gravity, established the foundation for the scientific detection of the adulteration of food. The period beginning with the industrial revolution was a time of tremendous expansion in all fields, which has a particular bearing on food production, food regulations, and food control services. In England, in 1820, a treatise on Adulteration of Foods and Culinary Poisons highlighted the fraudulent practices that endangered public health. During the 19th century, however, legislation and other means to control the composition of various food products did appear. In 1858, a municipal service was set up in Amsterdam for controlling foodstuffs and beverages. This was followed in England by the enactment ofthe first comprehensive modern food law in the world. This was an Act of 1860 for ‘Preventing the Adulteration of Food and Drink’. Although the main food control activity at this time was in industrialised nations of Western Europe, many other progressive countries also enacted food laws. Apart from European countries, laws were produced in Australia, Canada, and the United States and elsewhere. Australia did not enact a national food law: this was a function of each state and has remained so even today. The second half of the 20th century produced clear recognition of the importance of food control services, and nations legislated accordingly. The dangers of food adulteration were accepted, and these enactments formed the basis for more modern laws. There are nearly 30 or so international standards-developing bodies outside the International Organization for Standardization/Information Education Communication/International Telecommunication Union (ISO/IEC/ITU) system. Each of these bodies work in

a specific area usually with a UN mandate. The CAC is such a standardisation body in the field of agricultural and food products. ISO and IEC together produce about 5 per cent of all International Standards, and the other specialised bodies account for the rest. The 20th century saw remarkable advances in all areas of food technology. These changes have in turn required greater flexibility in legal controls to adequately protect the consumer from newly emerging hazards and

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to assist the food trade in its development. Modern food laws must be more precise in their application, more specific and complete in content, and take account of situations beyond national borders. Protection of the consumer has been extended to the control of false descriptions of products, nutritional declarations, and misleading claims in labelling and advertising. Trading partners

now require a working knowledge of each other’s food laws. Protection of Food in Ancient India: A Historical Perspective Consumer protection, in the field of adulteration and falsification of food, represents one of the earliest forms of government regulation of commercial enterprises. Mosaic and Egyptian laws included provisions to prevent the contamination of meat. In excess of 2000 years ago, India had regulations prohibiting the adulteration ofgrains and edible fats (Lasztity et al. 2004). In ancient India, all sections of society followed Dharmasastras (Dharma) which laid down our social rules and norms, and served as the guiding principle governing human relations. The principles of Dharma were derived from Vedas. Vedas were considered the words of God, and law was said to have divine origin which was transmitted to society through sages. Thus, Vedas were the primary sources of law in India (Supakara 1986). Manu Smiriti describes the social, political, and economic conditions of ancient society. Manu, the ancient law giver, also wrote about the ethical trade practices. He prescribed a code of conduct to traders. He referred to the problem of adulteration and said ‘one commodity mixed with another must not be sold (as pure), nor a bad one (as good) not less (than the property quantity or weight) nor anything that is at hand or that is concealed’ (Buhler 2009). The punishment ‘for adulterating unadulterated commodities and for breaking gems or for improperly boring them) was the least harsh’ (Buhler 1990: 393). Severe punishment was prescribed for fraud in selling seed corn: ‘he who sells (for seed corn that which is) not seed-corn, he who takes up seed (already sown) and he who destroys a boundary (mark) shall be punished by mutilation’ (Buhler 1990: 394). There was a process to inspect all weights and measures every 6 months, and the results of these inspections were duly noted (Buhler 1990: 393-94). Written subsequently to Manu Smiriti, Kautilya’s Arthasastra is considered to be treatise and a prominent source, describing various theories of statecraft and the rights and duties of subjects in ancient society. The trade guilds were prohibited from taking recourse to black marketing and unfair trade practice. Severe punishments were prescribed for different types of cheating. During Chandragupta’s period, in which Kautilya lived, good trade practices were

prevalent. For example, ‘Goods could not be sold at the place oftheir origin, field or factory. They were to be carried to the appointed markets where the dealer had to declare particulars as to the quantity, quality and the prices of his goods which were examined and registered in the books’ (Mookerji 1966). Every trader was required to take licence to sell. A trader from outside had to obtain permission. There were severe punishments for smuggling and adulteration of goods. For example, public health was guarded by punishing adulteration of

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food products of all kinds, including grains, oils, alkalies, salts, scents, and : medicines (Mookerji 1966). Protection of Food in Medieval Period

In the medieval period, consumer protection continued to be of prime concern of the rulers. During Muslim rule, a large number of units of weights were used in India (Hai 1977). There was a mechanism for price enforcement in the market. Similarly, shopkeepers were punished for under-weighing their goods (Habib 1998). During the Sultanate period, the prices used were determined by local conditions. During the rule of Allauddin Khilji, strict controls were established in the market place. In those days, there was an unending supply of grains to the city, and grain carriers sold at prices fixed by the Sultan. Protection of Food in British Period

In India, as early as 1919, when the portfolio of health was transferred to the provincial governments, most of the provincial authorities made special provisions acts for the prevention of food adulterations. There was, however, little uniformity either in the field of standards or in the mode of enforcement. To reconcile the divergent laws of the various provinces and to fix uniform standards of purity of food articles, the Department of Health of the Government of India in 1937 set up a Central Advisory Board of Health. The Board appointed a committee to look into the question of food adulteration in the country, with a particular reference to the varying food standards and legislations then in force. This committee was called the Food Adulteration Committee. In pursuance of the recommendations made by this committee, a Central Committee for Food Standards was formed in 1941, under the aegis of the Central Ministry of Health. This Committee functioned as an advisory body along the lines of the Society of Public Analysts in the United Kingdom. After India’s independence in 1947, more serious thought was given to the problem of food adulteration. It was soon realised that provincial food acts were not only outdated for India’s purpose, but they also hampered trade and industry. To ensure the purity of articles of food sold throughout the country, the central government enacted the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) of 1954. This act, with its later amendment, is still in force. In the modern period, the British system replaced the age old traditional legal system of India. Consumer protection was provided within India through Indian Penal Code of 1860. It deals with offences related to the use of false weights and measures (Indian Penal Code (b) 40: 1860), the sale of adulterated food or drinks, the sale of noxious food or drink, and sale of adulterated drugs (Indian Penal Code (a) chapter 45: 272-6).

Protection of Food in Independent India Consumer protection legislation enacted after India’s independence from Britain include the Essential Commodities Act of 1955, the PFA and Rules of 1954, and the Standard of Weights and Measures Act of 1976. A benefit of these acts is that they do not require the consumer to prove mens rea. Rather, ‘the

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offences are of strict liability, and not dependent on any particular intention of knowledge’ (Saraf 1990). Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and Rules 1954

PFA came into effect from 1 June 1955 after framing its rules. After that, it was known as Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules 1955. It pertains to food sold and defines in specific words what is meant by a food adulterant, and what shall be considered to be an adulterated food. Food can be adulterated when anyone of the following acts are resorted to: Admixture of inferior or cheap substance. Extraction of certain quality ingredients from the food. Preparing and packing under unsanitary conditions. Sale of insect-infested food. Obtaining food from a diseased animal. Incorporation of apoisonous component. YP wN f "ep Use of colouring matter or preservatives other than, or in quantities greater than, that approved for the food. 8. Sale of substandard products which may or may not be injurious to health.

The main objectives of the PFA and Rules 1954 are to protect the consumer against ill health caused by adulteration, to restrict and control the use of food additives, and to confirm the nutritional standards of the food. These laws are applicable for both kinds of foods whether manufactured indigenously or imported. Any person found guilty of selling adulterated food can be punished. The severity of punishment depends upon the gravity of the offence. The act is implemented by the state governments and the local authorities. They provide laboratory facilities for dependable and quick analysis in addition to management facilities for implanting the PFA. The local Health or Food authorities are invested with executive powers to inspect, collect, and analyse stored and marketed foodstuffs and finally prohibit the sale of foods found to be adulterated. The PFA provides guidelines for the minimum basic requirements of food quality. The guidelines are in fact intended to protect consumers from the health hazards of poisonous food. The act also covers requirements for labelling of food products. Over the years, the PFA and Rules 1954 have been amended three times, that is, in 1965, 1972, and 1975. In 1976, it was amended thoroughly with the prime objective of overcoming the growing problem of adulteration, as our nutritional standards are already very low and it was becoming dangerous for the society. The PFA and Rules have been amended more than a hundred times. These amendments have greatly increased the severity and complexity of PFA and Rules without having significant impact on the achievement of their basic objectives. PFA has not taken into account the fact that generally the vendors and retailers who are prosecuted the maximum are illiterate. Appendix B attached to PFA and Rules giving the specifications for various foods and food products is not an exhaustive one. It does not cover all the food products, specifically the instant foods which are often used. Though the legislation has fixed standards

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and specifications for various food articles, the PFA and Rules make no mention about ensuring the ability of an industry to perform all the tests for the purposes of quality control. The PFA and Rules do not have provision for standardisation of the methods, reagents, and provisions, which are to be adopted while analysing the sample. There should be standardised methods available to all concerned, and it should be made mandatory to follow only these methods while analysing the sample. The PFA and Rules have adopted different approaches while permitting the use of additives in various food articles, e.g. in the case of preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, stabilisers, and food colours, there is a list of permitted chemicals, whereas for food flavours, the list is for prohibited flavours (Sinha and Mehrotra 1987: 75). Indian Consumer Protection Act of 1986

The Indian legal system experienced a revolution with the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) of 1986, which was specifically designed to protect consumer interests. It is intended to provide justice which is less formal, has less paper work, less delay, and less expense. The CPA has received wide recognition in India as a poor man’s legislation, ensuring easy access to justice. However, the CPA simply gives a new dimension to rights that have been recognised and protected since the ancient period.

Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 Without food regulations, no country can ensure food safety, and India has therefore legislated the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006. All previous food laws that existed prior to 2006 like the PFA and Rules were repealed once the FSSA was implemented. The Government of India has passed a number of laws to protect the interest of consumers. The recent law is the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006. This Act came into force from 5 August 2011, and it consolidated and replaced the entire existing mandatory Food Safety Acts include PFA, Food Products Order, Milk and Milk Products Order, and Meat Food Products Order. The Act is considered to be contemporary, comprehensive, and intends to ensure consumer safety through Food Safety Management Systems and setting standards based on science and transparency. The present food act, i.e. the FSSA 2006, incorporates the salient features of PFA, international legislation, and CAC. Food laws are extremely important for providing wholesome, nutritious, poison-free food to the public. Food laws encourage the production and handling of food under hygienic conditions and also prevent the chemical and microbiological contaminations which are responsible for the outbreak of food-borne diseases and other health hazards affecting large segments of the

population. The main objectives of the foods laws are mentioned below: 1.

To protect the consumer against any health hazards arising out of adulteration.

2. 3.

To protect the consumer from unfair trade practices. Toensure and enforce fair trade practices.

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Features of FSSA 2006

1. 2. 3. 4.

5.

Change of multilevel and multidepartmental control to integrated line of command. Integrated approach to strategic issues like novel/genetically modified foods and international trade. Decentralisation oflicencing for manufacture offoods. Shift from regulatory regime to self-compliance through Food Safety Management Systems. Graded penalties depending on the gravity of offences. It will also meet the dynamic requirements of India Food Trade and Industry and International Trade.

References

Buhler, G. (2009), The Laws of Manu, BiblioLife. —— (1979b), ‘Sharing the Same Table Consumption’, Objects, Subjects and Mediations in Consumption, 4: 271. —

(1980), ‘Sharing the Same Table Consumption and the Family’, The Sociological Review, 28: 241-31.

Habib, I. (1998), ‘The Price Regulations “Ala” Uddin Khalji-A Defence of “Za” Barani’, in S. Subrahmanyam (ed.), Money and Market in India 1100-1700, in M. Alam and Sanjay Subramanyam, The Mughal State, 1526-1750, USA: Oxford University Press, p. 85. Indian Penal Code (a), chapter 14, pp. 272-6. —— (b), No. 45 of 1860, chapter 13, pp. 264-6. Lasztity, R. et al. (2004), ‘History of Food Quality Standards’, in R. Lasztity (ed.), Food Quality and Standards, Oxford: Eolss Publishers.

Mookerji, R.K. (1966), Chandragupta Maurya and his Times, 204. Saraf, D.N. (1990), Law of Consumer Protection in India, 169. Sinha, A. and N.N. Mehrotra (1987), ‘Prevention of Adulteration: Ineffective legislation’, Economic and Political Weekly, 22(3): 75-77.

Supakara, S. (1986), Law of Procedure and Justice in Ancient India, New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, p. 38.

14 Right to Food and Food Security

Coaxing enough food from the earth has traditionally been guided by a certain simple logic: plough more land, intensify labour, refine techniques, and the supply of food will flow commensurately. But this has been the logic of humans, not of nature, and nowadays, newspaper headlines tell with increasing frequency a different, more puzzling story. Millions of individuals, and sometimes whole countries, are learning the hard way that more work does not necessarily mean more food and that it may mean fatally less. Right to food is recognised directly or indirectly by all countries in the world. War, drought, natural disaster, and poverty are the causes of food insecurity. For poor families, the household costs increase the burden ofcare. They even struggle for subsistence. When this hardship is multiplied by millions of families worldwide, it creates a devastating ripple effect that imperils global development. Food sovereignty is the right of people, communities, and countries to define their own agricultural, labour, fishing, food, and local policies which are ecologically, socially, economically, and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances. It includes the true right to food and to produce food, which means that all people have right to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food and to food-processing resources and the ability to sustain themselves and their societies (International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty 2001). Origin of Farming Farming began in separate locations around the world as people domesticated plants and animals, ushering in the Neolithic Revolution some 10,000 to 12,000

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years ago. Although agriculture did not completely replace hunting, gathering, or fishing, it did drive a global population explosion, creating societies that depended largely on agriculture for their survival. Centuries of co-evolution among people, plants, and animals produced a tremendous variety of cultivars breeds, production methods, knowledge, tools, cultures, and cuisines. These also

gave rise to a complex system of production and exchange. However, with evolution, many people also remained hungry or did not have enough to eat. This has resulted in the thinking about food security and right to food. Right to Food and United Nations Since its inception, the United Nations has identified access to adequate food as both an individual right and a collective responsibility. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that ‘everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food...’. Nearly 20 years later, the International Covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) developed these concepts more fully, stressing ‘the right of everyone to ... adequate food’ and specifying ‘the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger’. What is the distinction between the right to be free from hunger and the right to adequate food? The right to freedom from hunger is fundamental. This means that the state has an obligation to ensure, at the very least, that people do not starve. As such, this right is intrinsically linked to the right to life. In addition, however, states should also do everything possible to promote full enjoyment of the right to adequate food for everyone within their territory - in other words, people should have physical and economic access at all times to food that is adequate in quantity and quality for a healthy and active life. For food to be considered adequate, it must also be culturally acceptable, and it must be produced in a manner that is environmentally and socially sustainable. Finally, its provision should not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights, for example, the acquisition of sufficient food for an adequate diet should not be so costly as to threaten the satisfaction of other socio-economic rights, or be fulfilled to the detriment of civil and political rights. At the 1996 World Food Summit, leaders from 185 countries and the European Community reaffirmed, in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security, that ‘the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger’. Eradicating hunger is not merely a lofty idea. Ensuring the right to adequate food and the fundamental right to be free from hunger is a matter of international law, specifically enshrined in a number of human rights instruments to which states around the world have committed themselves.

Recognition of the Right to Food Food is first and foremost a commodity which is traded annually for billions of dollars, and its status as a human right is very much secondary to this fact. A sympathetic version of this ‘realist’ thesis has been explained in the following terms by Haverberg:

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In theory, moral consideration should play a significant role in policy decisions. In practice, however, such factors per se are not taken into account at the national planning level.... Nutrition cannot be sold to governments on humanitarian grounds. Since moral dicta and nutritional principles generally converge, the most that can be hoped for is that nutritional considerations will play a more dominant role in policy formulation, and thus moral issues while not explicitly addressed will be implicitly implied. (Haverberg 1977: 212)

Another argument is that the complexity of the issues involved in promoting realisation of the right and the absence of a universal consensus on either the causes ofor the solutions to the problem make it virtually impossible to establish effective machinery for implementation ofthe right to food. Thus, in the personal view ofthe Legal Counsel to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), J.P. Dobbert, the right to food ‘is not enforceable at the international level and only within very narrow contractual limits at the national level’. Another argument, which is generally applied to economic, social, and cultural human rights as a whole is that civil and political rights are of prior importance and that economic rights such as the right to food are only likely to be realised once freedom has been attained by the people of the world. Right to Food at International Level

There is a range of right-to-food-related standards which have been adopted to date as part of International Treaty Law. Article 25(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 provides that ‘everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food’. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) ESCRs should be seen not only against the background of that provision, but also of several other Articles of the Universal Declaration. The most important of these are (1) Article 3 which provides that ‘everyone has the right to life’; (2) Article 22 relating to the realisation, through national efforts and international cooperation of ESCRs; (3) Article 28 which provides that ‘everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth and this Declaration can be fully realised’; and (4) Article 29(1) which states that ‘everyone has duties to the community’. The right to self-determination which is the first Article in each of the two Covenants is sometimes mistakenly neglected in the context of the right to food. It is clear that there is a strong incentive for states which are genuinely committed to achieving and maintaining their right to self-determination to ensure

food

self-reliance.

In addition,

however,

it is also

arguable

that a

government would be in violation of the right to self-determination if it permitted the exploitation of the country’s food-producing capacity (natural resources) in the exclusive interests of a small part of the population or of foreign (public or private) corporate interests while a large number of the state’s inhabitants are starving or malnourished. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which proclaims every human being’s ‘inherent right to life’ is also relevant to the right

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to food. This point was underlined in 1982 by the Human Rights Committee which was established to supervise states’ compliance with their obligations under the Covenant. The Committee observed that the expression ‘inherent right to life’ could not properly be interpreted in a restrictive manner and that protection of the right requires states to adopt positive measure rather than merely refraining from certain proscribed measures. The committee considered

that it would be desirable for state parties to the Covenant ‘to take all possible measures to reduce infant mortality and to increase life expectancy, especially in adopting measures to eliminate malnutrition and epidemics’. The principal objectives specified in Article 11(2)(a), which deals with the national dimensions of the right to food, are to improve methods of food production; to improve methods offood conservation; and to improve methods of food distribution, all three with a view of promoting the realisation ofthe right to food. In addition, the article lists other complementary objectives: making full use of technical and scientific knowledge; dissemination of knowledge of the principles of nutrition; and developing or reforming agrarian systems. None of the individual objectives of Article 11(2)(a) are in isolation. They are only objectives when it contributes to the realisation of the overall normative end, which is ensuring the right of everyone to be free from hunger. Thus, for example, the Covenant cannot be interpreted as supporting increased food production or agrarian reform per se. This point is often neglected in the analysis of the right to food. The broad content of the norm is relatively clear and taken as it is. It is sufficient to enable determination in some cases that particular acts, or omissions to acts, are either in conformity or in conflict with the norm. The most prominent aspect is the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition adopted by the World Food Conference and endorsed by the General Assembly in 1974. Yet, while the declaration does proclaim the ‘right to be free from hunger and malnutrition’, it does not refer specifically either to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or to Covenant. There is thus no stated intention of elaborating upon or interpreting the relevant provisions of the Covenant, and the content of the declaration of similar instruments cannot be taken to constitute an authoritative interpretation of the norm. International humanitarian law protects the access of civilians and prisoners of war to food and water during armed conflicts and prohibits the deliberate starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. Under International Criminal Law, violations of such protection constitute war crimes, deliberate starvation, whether in war or peace, and may also constitute genocide or a crime against humanity.

Right to Food and Beneficiaries The principal holders of the right to food under the terms of Article 11 are individuals. The right of individuals is formulated in terms of ‘the right of everyone’. Article 11 does not specifically identify states as holders of the right to food. Nevertheless, by imposing duties upon the states to act, ‘through international cooperation’, the Article implicitly vets rights in certain states as a

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corollary of the duty of all states to act. Moreover, in practical terms, the obligation ofthe states’ parties ‘to ensure an equitable distribution of the world food supplies in relation to need’ can only be operationalised on an inter-state basis. The shield of state sovereignty severely restricts the possibility of implementing such an obligation at any other level. The state might be entitled to make claims on the grounds that they are subjects of the right to food can only be sorted out on the basis of an assessment of the overall availability of food at the national level by comparison with the aggregated needs of the state’s inhabitants for adequate food. Right to food is complimentary to food security. We will discuss food security in the following pages. Defining Food Security

Food security can be defined as access for all people at all times to sufficient nutritious food to permit a healthy and active life. Access can be realised by producing, buying, or exchanging food. When talking about household food security, the household level is the most important (Niehof 2003). Apart from the issues ofaccess to food and individual consumption of food, there are three more critical aspects of food security that are implied by the definition. These are availability of food, stability of the available food supply throughout the year, and quality of food. Availability of food refers to the amount offood available at the household level. It is influenced by seasonality and by the environmental factors (Niehof 2003). The quality aspect has to do with the value of food in terms of nutrition and calories. It relates to what food is stored and the way it is stored, preserved, processed, and prepared. Moreover, quality includes food safety, that is, absence of harmful toxins or micro-biological matters. Stability of food supply is people’s concerns, which inspire food security strategies of farming households. A commonly accepted definition of food security is that ‘all people have both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life’ (United States Agency for International Development 1992). Food security also connotes freedom from famine and chronic malnutrition, which requires provision of means with the individual or family or a country for adequately meeting the nutritional needs on a daily and annual basis. Achieving food security implies not only producing sufficient food but also making food accessible to the entire population throughout the year on a sustainable basis. Dimensions of Food Security

There are three important dimensions of food security which need attention: 1. 2. 3.

Availability of food on a sustainable basis. Accessibility of food. Utilisation of available food.

An individual, family, community, or a nation which has lost or is at the risk of losing any of these dimensions is food insecure. The food insecurity may be

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transient or chronic and mild or acute. The essential requirements achievement of food security can be summed up as follows:

for the

Availability of Food

1. 2. 3.

Satisfactory level and growth of food production. Sustainability of growth of food production. Stability of aggregate supply, i.e. minimum fluctuations in production levels or availability from year to year.

Access to Food

1.

Physical access to food, i.e. the availability of food in all the regions and villages and to all families.

2.

Economic access to food, i.e. the availability of food to individual families at affordable prices.

Food Utilisation

1.

Intra-family allocation of food to ensures members as per their needs.

its availability to individual

2.

Maintenance of standard of health for all individuals to enable them to consume and absorb minimum food.

Each of these components of food security are influenced by several factors relating to both the national and the household socio-economic environment. The experience suggests that adequate food availability is a necessary but nota sufficient condition to achieve adequate food access. Food access, in turn, is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for adequate food utilisation. Food Security in India

In 1970, Norman Borlaug, a crop scientist from Iowa won the Nobel Prize for developing high-yielding dwarf hybrids of Mexican wheat, which were later introduced to India and Pakistan. Borlaug is widely credited for ‘saving a billion people from hunger’. The application of Borlaug’s breeding techniques to rice and maize and the general spread of hybrids, irrigation, fertilisers, and pesticides from the United States to the developing world became known as Green Revolution. The term was specifically selected to counter the communist-inspired ‘Red-revolutions’ that swept the poor in Asia, Africa, and Latin America during the 190s. Modern agriculture was capitalism’s bulwark against rebellion. The Green Revolution (1960-90) was a campaign to spread capitalist agriculture — itselfan extension ofthe industrial North’s economic model - into the countries of the Global South. Though routinely credited for saving the world from hunger, the Green Revolution also produced as many as hungry people as it saved (Lappe and Collins 1986). India has made considerable progress in terms of reducing the percentage of underweight children from 43.5 per cent in 2005-2006 to 30.7 per cent in 2014. However, India’s hunger status continues to be categorised as ‘serious’ according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, inducing the highest number of underweight children in the world (Von Grebmer 2014).

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Increasing agricultural production for achieving food security for all has been the central focus of India’s agricultural development strategy since independence. Food security bill also remains a very sensitive issue in India as the country has the largest concentration of poor in the world. Food security implies food as well as nutrition security. A food and nutritional security scenario may be understood through: 1.

Food availability.

2. 3.

Economic access. Absorption.

4.

Stability in food systems.

Food production is a direct mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture, whereas providing economic access through provision of buffer stocks is the direct mandate of Department of Food and Public Distribution. Absorption or provision of nutrition through midday meals and Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), etc. come within the purview ofthe Ministry of Health. The process of food security can be understood at three levels, i.e. (i) natural resources, (ii) agricultural support system, and (iii) agricultural and rural development policy and planning. Natural Resources

The preservation of biological diversity, including plant and animal genetic resources, is now widely recognised as critical to achieving food security. The rural poor, who have benefited least from modern high-yielding plant varieties and cannot afford external inputs (such as fertilisers, pesticides, and high quality seeds), grow the majority of their crop from seeds that they have selected and stored themselves. To protect themselves against crop failure, animal losses, and malnutrition, men and women subsistence farmers have developed different expertise and knowledge about the local environment, plant and animal species, and their products and uses. These class-differentiated local knowledge systems play a decisive role in the conservation, management, and improvement of genetic resources for food and agriculture. They are largely responsible for the selection, improvement, and adaptation of plant varieties. In many regions, community people are also responsible for the management of small livestock, including their reproduction, and they often have a more highly specialised knowledge of wild plants used for food, fodder, and medicine than people specialised in this field. Increased understanding and recognition of the complex decision-making processes related to the management of biodiversity is gradually leading breeders and researchers to realise that a community will adopt and select new and improved seeds for food crops if they have been tested and approved by both women and men farmers. Access to land or the lack of it concerns both rural women and men, as it is essential to improving agricultural productivity. Without secure land rights, farmers have little or no access to credit, rural organisations, and other agricultural inputs and services. In some cases, customary practices and laws that limit women’s rights to land prevail over legislation that guarantees their right to land. Furthermore, insecure land

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tenure reduces people’s incentives to maintain soil quality because they have no permanent rights to the land. Also, in order to ensure effective adoption of improved technologies for natural resources management, the methodology and approach for development and transfer of such technologies must be participatory, as is done in the implementation of farmers’ field schools.

Agricultural Support System

The division of labour between women and men in agricultural production varies considerably from region to region and community to community. However, it is usually men who are responsible for large-scale cash cropping, especially when it is highly mechanised, while women take care of households’ food production and small-scale cultivation of cash crops, requiring low levels of technology. Increased access to agricultural support systems, including credit, rural organisations, technology, education, extension, and marketing services, is essential to improving the agricultural productivity of both women and men farmers. Given women’s crucial role in production, provision, and processing of food, any set of strategies for sustainable food security must address their limited access to productive resources. Despite the fact that rural women and men are both active agents in agricultural and rural development, women have generally been ignored in agricultural support systems to farmers. For example, the agricultural extension system has often failed to reach female farmers, not only because extension workers have addressed the (male) head of the household, but also because women often fail to find the time to participate in extension activities and demonstrations due to their heavy total workload and/or inappropriate venue or timing of extension service delivery.

Agricultural and Rural Development Policy and Planning Agricultural and rural development policy and planning often do not reflect and address the different roles and needs of rural women and men adequately. The lack of gender-specific information of the role people play in achieving food security and agricultural development have led to the fact that the ‘human factor’ has often been overlooked by agricultural development planners. Development of policymaking processes are now undergoing a transformation to promote a greater participation of stakeholders in planning and decision-making at all levels, expanding the role of the private sector, and increasing decentralisation in decision-making. Women’s empowerment and enhanced participation in policymaking and decision-making in all spheres of society (economic, political, social, and cultural), at community, national, and international levels, is an essential requirement for the elaboration of gender-responsive and participatory

agricultural and rural development policies. Current Status of Food Security/Insecurity in India Indian agriculture is broadly a story of It has done remarkably well in terms price shocks in the past few years. Food of 259.32 million tons in 2012-13. The

success (Swaminathan and Sinha 1986). of output growth, despite weather and grains production reached a record level growth target for agriculture in the 12th

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Five-Year Plan remains at four per cent, as in the 11th Five-Year Plan. However,

the average annual growth rate of 3.6 per cent was actually achieved during the 11th Five-Year Plan for the agriculture and allied sectors. India currently produces about 25 million tons of cereals to meet the needs of a population of 1.15 billion. The current situation in India is that cereal production has to be doubled by 2050 in order to meet the needs of the expected population of 1.8 billion, in addition to meeting the needs oflivestock and poultry (Swaminathan 2009). It means more productivity has to be achieved by smaller and smaller arable lands and shrinking water resources. Despite advances in food production and increasing food stocks, the world still faces food insecurity. There is an estimated 790 million people lacking adequate access to food, of whom 31 per cent is in South Asia (Pinstrup-Anderson et al. 1999; Uphoff 2002). According to FAO, ‘a total of 33 countries still have an average per capita food consumption of less than 2200 kcal per day’ (Pretty et al. 2003: 217). India is one of those nations where there is rampant hunger and malnutrition; India ranked 97 of 118 in Global Hunger

Index (GHI).! There may be supply of food, but an individual or a family may not be able to access food because ofthe unaffordable food prices. In the past, many households - particularly in rural areas - produced their own food through subsistence farming. However, recent studies have shown an increase in dependence on market purchases by both urban and rural households. This market dependency makes the poor particularly vulnerable. And, it is for this reason that the concept of food security includes the ability of people to access food. The concept of food security that has evolved over a period has not only highlighted this social relation that people have towards food but also focussed on the sustainability aspect, wherein it is pointed out that degrading the environment for agricultural purposes could lead to loss of access to food in the long run. Thus, sustainability is under focus lately, even though we have had industrial-agricultural system as the dominant mode. The new strategy adopted by India since the mid-60s to reduce food insecurity paid rich dividends. The change in the status of food security can be measured from several angles. The most significant change has been the increase in the domestic output of food grains, particularly cereals. The average incremental output of cereals in the country was around 4 million tons per year. Owing to the increase recorded in the output of food grains, the dependence on imports for meeting the food needs of the population went down considerably. During the last two decades, India has been, at the margin, importing and exporting food grains, with net imports averaging at less than 0.17 million tons per year. The increase in output of cereals has kept pace with the increase in population. Per capita net output of cereals had increased at the rate of 2.51 per cent per annum. During the 90s, though the growth rate has decelerated compared to that during the 80s, it continues to be higher than the growth of population (Acharya 1997). Apart from the increase in the level of output of cereals, the instability in the availability of cereals from domestic sources went

down considerably. Further, a more dispersed growth of cereals, during the last

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decade, helped in increasing physical access to food in different regions. The contribution of rice, the production of which is more dispersed to the incremental production of cereals during the last decade, was considerably higher than that of wheat. Moreover, the growth of production of rice itself was more dispersed geographically. Another important development contributing to the food security has been the increase in economic access of masses to cereals. With the retail prices of rice and wheat increasing at a rate lower than the increase in average per capita income in the country, the proportion of average per capita per day income required to buy a kilogram of wheat declined from 57 per cent in 1973-45 to 20 per cent in 1994-95 and that of rice from 75 per cent to 30 per cent during this same period (Acharya 1997). A related development which needs to be noted is that while the availability of cereals increased and their relative prices decreased, per capita consumption of cereals has tended to decline in recent years (Kumar 1996). It declined from 176 kg in 1987-88 to 163 kg in rural areas. In 1993-94, it declined from 136 kg to 129 kg in urban areas during this period. This can be interpreted as shifts in tastes and preferences towards livestock products, fruits, and vegetables. A long-term analysis based on data from NSS surveys also reveals a declining trend in the per capita consumption of cereals in both rural and urban areas from early 70s to 1993-94 which is accompanied by the decline in the proportion of expenditure on food grains and cereals and increase on milk and milk products, meats, eggs, fruits, and vegetables (Selvarajan and Ravishanker 1996). Utsa Patnaik in her book The Republic of Hunger (2004) tries to analyse the rural poverty which is responsible for the declining level of absorption of foodgrains. In the course of the last five years, the population of India has been sliding down towards sharply lowered levels of per capita foodgrain absorption, levels so low in particular years that they have not been seen for the last half-century. Between the early 90s when economic reforms began, and now taking three-year averages, the annual absorption of foodgrains per head has come down from 178 kg to 155 kg. Such low absorption levels were last seen in the initial years of World War II - from where they had fallen further still. Again, after some recovery, the very first few years after independence and the food crisis of the mid-60s are comparable to present average absorption levels. Over four-fifth of the total fall in the 90s has taken place in the last five years also, from 174 kg to 155 kg - taking the average of the two pre-drought years. This unprecedented fall in foodgrain absorption in the last five years has entailed a sharp increase in the number of people in hunger; particularly, in rural areas, for many it has meant starvation. The average downward trends are as follows: foodgrain absorption is rising fast for the (mainly urban) well-to-do people, and it is either the same or falling faster than the average for the bulk of the (mainly rural) population. The phenomenon is completely independent of drought, and indeed the lowest levels of foodgrain absorption to date has been registered two years before the severe drought of 2002-03. As incidence of hunger rises, a ‘denial mode’ among those who govern and among those who are associated with making

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or influencing policies during the period concerned is to be expected. But, in the present case, the divergence between the reality of increasing hunger and the blended justifications of the phenomenon as a positive one is so striking that this divergence itself requires a theoretical explanation. Reports of starvation, farmer suicides, and deepening hunger should cause little surprise when we consider the trends in the official data on foodgrains’ output and availability. By excluding the abnormal drought year 2002-03 and considering the average output of the preceding two years, the net foodgrain output per capita has fallen by about 5.5 kg since the early 90s owing to a slow output growth. This fall in per head output had

been anticipated; as agriculture was opened up to the pull of global demand, eight million hectares of foodgrain-growing land had been diverted to exportable crops between 1991 and 2001, and the yield had not risen enough to compensate, leading to a sharp decline of annual output growth, which has fallen below the population growth (even though the latter itself has been falling). Even more striking than output decline, however, has been the decline in foodgrain availability or absorption per capita over the 90s. Availability (defined as net output plus net imports and minus net additions to public stocks) has fallen by four times as much as output or by 22 kg. A large gap between per capita output and availability was last seen during the food crisis of the mid-60s, but in the opposite direction (At that time, since output fell, 19 million tons of foodgrains were imported over two years to ensure enough domestic availability, apart from existing stocks being drawn down for the same purpose). Even though output per head has fallen in years, both very large additions to stocks and massive food exports have taken place, and this is the reason for decline in the availability. Availability is the same as the actual absorption of foodgrains, and the two terms are used interchangeably. There was a slow decline in the absorption of foodgrains per head of the country’s population between 1991-92 and 1997-98, after which it has fallen very sharply. Thus, in 2000-01, the average Indian family of four members was absorbing 93 kg less foodgrains compared toa mere 4 years earlier - an unprecedented drop, entailing a fall in average daily intake by 64 g per head, or a fall in calorie intake by 250 calories from foodgrains which accounts to 65-70 per cent of the food budget of the poor. Since the richest one-sixth to one-fifth of the population, mainly urban, has been improving and diversifying their diets, the nutritional decline for the poorer three-fifth of the population, mainly rural, has been much greater than what the average fall indicates. Thus, there is a sharp decline in the foodgrains absorption per head while average per capita income increase is highly abnormal. This is not only in the light of international experience but also in comparison with our own past experience. Between 1960 and 1991, per capita absorption rose slowly from 152 kg to 178 kg. What lies behind the decline in the absorption of foodgrains? The massive decline compared to 1998 is the result of an unprecedented decline in the purchasing power in rural areas following directly from a number ofdeflationary policies at the macro-economic level, combined with trade liberalisation, both of which are integral to neo-liberal economic reforms. This has resulted in a deflation of effective

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demand as far as the mass of rural population is concerned. Now that the perception of drought has ended, food-for-work projects have been wound up, and the media are full of news of a good monsoon and record projected grain output in 2003-04, and the prognosis for a recovery of absorption levels to anywhere near that of 1998 remain bleak. Millions more than before were going hungry at only 158 kg average absorption level in the year of the largest harvest

seen to date - 212 million tonnes in 2001-02 or 177 kg average output. The difference of nearly 20 kg per head between output and absorption was going into addition cost and into exports. In India, in the middle of rising rural unemployment, falling per head grain intake and a rise in the absolute and relative numbers in nutritional deficit were observed (Patnaik 2004). Famine and hunger are not always the result of decrease in food supply or production as Amrtya Sen argued in his classic Poverty, Famine: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation. Sen (1981) distinguishes between the availability of the commodity, in this case food, and the relation to that commodity. Thus, there may be supply of food, but an individual or a family may not be able to access food because ofthe unaffordable food prices. An important development related to the improvement in the nutritional security is that with improved availability of staple cereals at declining real prices, the subsistence and small farmers in several regions diverted the resources from low yielding coarse cereals to other crops which inter alia helped in increasing the output of oilseeds/edible oils, sugarcane, vegetables, fruits, spices, and condiments, thereby stepping up the availability of other food items. Another important development relating to food security is the buffer stocks offood grains with the public agencies and the public distribution system created in the country which helped in not only reducing the inter-year fluctuations in supply but also in checking the starvation deaths during the periods of severe droughts or floods. Along with these positive developments on the food production front, there had been some failures also. These relate mainly to the output of pulses and nutritional levels of the masses in the country.

1.

2.

3.

The production of pulses, which is an important source of protein for the majority of the population, increased from around 10 million tons during 1974-75 to 13.60 million tons during 1996-78. However, the growth rate was considerably lower than the growth of population. As a consequence, the dependence on imports to meet the domestic demand for pulses has continued to be large. Another area of concern relates to the number of hungry people. According to a National Sample Social (NSS) survey, during 1993-94, 6.45 million people were starkly hungry (without two square meals a day) and 44.8 million were partially hungry in the country (NSSO 1997). In percentage terms, the figure may be small, yet the number is substantial. As regards to the level of nutrition, the average per capita calorie intake is closer to the accepted norm, food intake of even the poorest sections has improved somewhat (Kumar 1996), the average life expectancy has gone

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up, and the infant mortality rate has decreased. However, the situation is far from satisfactory. The infant mortality rate at 68 per 1,000 live birthsis quite high. Nearly 63 per cent of under five children are still malnourished.

Further, the maternal mortality rate (MMR) at 17 per 100,000 live births is also high (Census of India 2011).

Agricultural Productivity Woodhouse (2010: 438) is of the view that the ‘imperative to increase agricultural productivity has been strongly associated with industrialisation, driven partly by growth of new markets constituted by an urban and industrial workforce’. While there are local variations, the agricultural practices to increase yield tend to converge on a set of practices that involve a combination of agrochemical use with mechanisation and improved access to water-irrigation canals, etc. and the use of high-yielding variety of hybridised seeds and seedlings. This mode of industrial agriculture was adopted in India in 1960s, which led to a spurt in productivity and heralded what is called the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution started with a great promise by delivering higher foodgrain yield. However, it was found to have devastating effects on the environment, due to the use of chemicals, pesticides, and unsustainable irrigation practices. Besides that, it benefitted only the rich farmers. By the 1980s, the growth in the agrarian sector in the Green Revolution-administered states reached a plateau. Of course, the situation is contingent upon many regional variations, agrarian, and class relations in rural areas, state governments, and central policies, and so on. However, there was a palpable crisis in the agrarian situation in India, particularly so with the adoption ofliberalisation policies and opening up of economy to larger market influences. It is assumed that trade and market would mean increase in income and thereby food security. This assumption is challenged on examination of the ground realities in India (Krishnaraj 2006; Patnaik 2007; Shiva 2016). While exports are on the rise, food prices have increased even further, taking food beyond the reach of the poor. And the consequences are easily discernible in the nutritional levels. Nutritional levels are generally low and abysmally low among the poor (Meenakshi and Vishwanathan 2003). The entry of big corporations, whether foreign or Indian, with their market-driven interventions - GM crops, Bt seeds, chemical fertilisers, and retail food chains - is upsetting the production process and, in extreme cases, becoming a reason for increasing number of Indian farmers committing suicide.

Role of Women in Food Security Although both rural women and men have different and complementary roles in guaranteeing food security at household and community levels, women often play a greater role in ensuring nutrition, food safety, and quality and are generally responsible for processing and preparing food for their households and, thus, for the nutritional well-being of the household members. Food processing contributes to food security by assuring ongoing diversity of diet, minimising waste and losses, and improving marketability of foods, enabling

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women to participate in the trade of food products. Their marketing activities translate directly into improved family nutrition, as studies have shown that

women tend to contribute a far greater percentage of their cash income to household food requirements than men do. Women in their reproductive years, especially during pregnancy and lactation, have specific nutrient requirements, which determine both their nutritional status and that of their children. Nagla (2007) in her study found that women are the victims of food discrimination, whereby priority is given to feeding the male members of the family first, compromising the nutritional and health status of the female family members. Right to

Food Campaign

Marginalised and poor people struggling for subsistence rights in the present era has theoretical implications for understanding the role of the state in a globalised world. Variations in power exercised by state institutions at the local and national levels have implications for the tactics that movements adopt. Using the orders of the Supreme Court order in 2001, the right to food campaign converted welfare initiatives for children into legal entitlements for access to nutritious food, holding state officials accountable at the local level. It also gave way to the enactment of the National Food Security Act of 2013. The act makes the state accountable for food security; however, in fact, state is not a monolithic whole but comprises institutions at national and sub-national levels (country, state, district, and village), all of which may not always work towards the same goal. Second, the state’s implementation of neo-liberal policies that deny subsistence rights of the poor results in localised resistances that are linked national and global protests. Third, a temporal lens on local and national politics is important to understand the dynamic local struggles and state institutions.

Various Scheme of Food Security

A number of food security schemes have been provided to the people of the country. We will discuss them below.

Antyodaya Anna Yojna Antyodaya Anna Yojnawas introduced on 25th December 2001 in which 10 million poorest of the poor out of the below poverty line families were

identified. Under this scheme, selected families were provided 35 kg foodgrains per month at the central issue price of2 per kg for wheat and &3 per kg for rice. Initially, the scheme has been slow to take offin many states; however, with the passage of time, this scheme’s performance has remarkably improved.

Midday Meal Scheme

Midday Meal Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 15 August 1995 for the benefit of students in primary schools. The scheme covers students for classes I-V in the government primary schools aided by government and run by local bodies. Foodgrains are supplied free of cost at 100 gram per child per school day where cooked/processed hot meal is being served with a minimum content of 300 calories and 8-12 g of protein each day of

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school for a minimum of 200 days and 3 kg per student per month for 10 monte in a year, where the foodgrains are distributed in raw form. Wheat-based Nutrition Programme

Wheat-based Nutrition Programme is launched under the auspices of the Department of Women and Child Development. Ministry of Human Resource Development allotted under the scheme is utilised by the States/Union Territories under ICDS for providing nutritious/energy food to children below six years of age and expectant lactating women.

Scheme for Foodgrains to SC/ST/OBC Hostel/Welfare Institutions Scheme for foodgrains to SCs/STs and OBCs was introduced in October 1994 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The residents of the hostels having two ofthree students belonging to these categories are eligible to get 15 kg foodgrains per resident per month. Annapurana Scheme The Ministry of Rural Development launched Annapurana Scheme in 2001-02 for indigent senior citizens or 65 years of age or above who are eligible for old age pension under the national Old Age Pension Scheme but are not getting the pension. In all, 10 kg of foodgrains per person per month is supplied free of cost under the scheme.

Long-Term Grain Policy Started in November 2000, the Long-Term Grain Policy Committee is asked to look into the functioning of minimum support price (MSP), public distribution system (PDS), buffer stocking, and international trade in foodgrains. The Committee examined the MSP and price support operations; the role of the Food Corporation of India; functioning of the PDS and policies regarding buffer stocks; open market sales; and foreign trade.

Note

1. The GHI is calculated by taking into account three key parameters: shares of undernourished population, wasted and stunted children aged under five years, and infant mortality rate of the same age group. Wasting refers to low weight in relation to a child’s height, reflecting acute under nutrition. Stunting refers to the deficiency in height in relation to age, reflecting chronic under nutrition. In India, 15.2 per cent children are stunted and a staggering 38.7 per cent are wasted, indicating the acute levels of hunger. GHI is published by the International Food Policy Research Institute, 2016 Global Hunger Index: Getting to Zero Hunger (Retrieved on 9th May 2018 (http://www. ifpri/topic/global-hunger-index).

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References

Acharya, S.S. (1997), ‘Agricultural Price Policy and Development: Emerging Issues and Challenges’, Presidential Address, Journal of Agricultural Marketing, 52(1): 1.

Food and Agricultural Organization (2014), Agricultural Outlook, United Nation: Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Food Safety and Standard Regulations (2011), Food Safety Standards, Authority of India, New Delhi: Government of India.

Haverberg, L. (1977), ‘Individuals Needs: Nutritional Guidelines for Policy?’ in L. Brown and H. Shue (eds), Food Policy: The Responsibility of the United States in the Life and Death Choices, New York: Free Press, p. 212. International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (2001), [Online: web], URL: http://www.foodsvereighty.org/new, accessed on 23 June, 2018.

Krishnaraj, M. (2006), ‘Food Security, Agrarian Crisis and Rural Livelihoods: Implications for Women’, Economic and Political Weekly, 41(52): 5376-88.

Kumar, P. (1996), ‘Agricultural Productivity and Food Security in India’, Agricultural Economics Research Review, 9(2). Lappe, F.M. and J. Collins (1986), World Hunger: Twelve Myths, New York: Grove Press, Food First Books. Meenakshi, J.V. and B. Vishwanathan (2003), ‘Calorie Deprivation 1983-1999/2000’, Economic and Political Weekly, 38(4): 39-75.

in Rural

India,

Nagla, M. (2007), ‘Feeding the Family in India’, /nternational Journal of Consumer Studies, 31: 295-302. National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) (1997), Reported Adequacy of Food Intake in India: 1993-94, 50th Quinquennial Survey of Consumer Expenditure, NSS 50th Round, Department ofStatistics, Government of India, Report No. 415, September.

Niehof, A. (2003), ‘Gendered Dimensions of Food Security’, in No Security Without Food Security-No Food Security Without Gender Equality: GOOD Conference Kappel am Albis, Switzerland, pp. 59-66. Patnaik, U. (2004), ‘The Republic of Hunger’, Social Scientist, 32: 9-35. ——

(2007), ‘Neoliberalism and Rural Poverty in India’, Economic and Political Weekly, 42: 3132-50.

Pinstrup-Anderson, P. et al. (1999), World Food Prospects: Critical Issues for the Early 21st Century, Food Policy Report 2020 Vision, Washington, DC: IFPRI. Pretty, J.N. et al. (2003), ‘Reducing Food Poverty by Increasing Agricultural Sustainability in Developing Countries’, Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment, 95(1): 217-34. Selvarajan, S. and A. Ravishanker (1996), ‘Food Grain Production and Consumption Trends’, Agricultural Economics Research Review, 9(2): 128-41.

Sen, A. (1981), Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, Clarendon: Oxford University Press. Shiva, V. (2016), ‘Women’s Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation’, in L.P. Pojman et al. (eds), Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application, Boston: Cengage. Shue, H. (1980), Basic Rights: Subsistence, Affluence and U.S. Foreign Policy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, p. 53.

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Swaminathan, M.S. (2009), ‘The Media and the Farm Sector’, The Hindu, November 11.

Swaminathan, M.S. and S.K. Sinha (1986), ‘Global Aspects of Food Production’, in Building National and Global Nutrition Security Systems, Dublin: Tycooly. The Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 (2011), New Delhi: Commercial Law Publishers.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (1992), Definition of Food Security, Policy Determination, PNAAV 468, Washington, DC: USAID. Uphoff, N. (2002), Agroecological Inventions, London: Earthscan. Von Grebmer, K. et al. (2014), Synopsis 2014 Global Hunger Index: The Challenge of Hidden Hunger, Vol. 83, Institutional Food Policy Research Institute. Woodhouse, P. (2010), ‘Beyond Industrial Agriculture? Some Questions about Farm Size, Productivity and Sustainability’, Journal ofAgrarian Change, 10(3): 437-53.

15 Food and Nutrition Policy A Critical Analysis

The issue of chronic food insecurity, poverty, and malnutrition continue to be fundamental human welfare challenges in developing countries like India. Problems related to increasing the food availability, feeding the population, and improving their nutritional status continue to confront decision makers. Food policy in India came into being after the terrific Bengal Famine of 1943. The main concern of the food policy is to make food available and also monitor food prices. Consumption of food is also related with the nutrition of people, which makes a person healthy or unhealthy. In view of this, the National Nutrition Policy was formulated for the first time in 1993. It views nutrition as an outcome of a complex array of factors such as agriculture, food production, purchasing power, market prices, knowledge, changing tastes, and gender differences. As a follow up of National Nutrition Policy, a National Plan of Action was formulated in 1995 with sectoral commitments by nutrition-related ministries/departments, namely Agriculture, Food, Civil Supplies, Forestry, Education, Health and Family Welfare, Food Processing, Rural Areas and Employment, Urban Development, Labour Welfare, Information and Broadcasting, and Women and Child

Development, which is to serve as a nodal agency responsible tation of National Nutrition Policy. Ministry of Health and involved in prevention, early detection, and management deficiencies, health and nutrition education, infection control, small family norm to achieve improved nutritional status.

for the implemenFamily Welfare is of micronutrient and promotion of

History of Food Management in India Famines were not unusual in the pre-independent India, but they were mostly confined to limited affected areas. A survey shows that between 1860 and 1909,

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a total of 20 famines occurred in the country. But it was only in 1890-91 that the food situation became precarious. During this period, the growth in population was much above (5 per cent annually) than the growth in foodgrain output (2 per cent annually). Consequently, there was a sharp increase in the prices of foodgrains between 1895 and 1909. The Great Depression of 1929 further suppressed foodgrain prices and agriculture production. The Bengal famine of 1943, which killed about 1.5 million people, shocked the conscience of the world. This famine occurred as a consequence of World War II and inefficient administrative handling of the food situation by the government. Food production was not catching up with the increasing population and crop failure of 1941. There was no institutional arrangement for food procurement, and therefore, the situation continued worsening especially in Bengal and its surroundings, and ultimately, in October 1943, about 1.5 million people died due to shortage of food supply. What is Food Policy? National food policy came into existence mainly to prevent illness and for informing people about the importance ofa balanced diet. People are advised to eat fruits, green vegetables, and fewer foodstuffs containing fat. Food policy is also supposed to guarantee the safety of food products, which means issuing and enforcing rules and regulating for food producing, food processing, food technology, and food distribution companies. Food policy also strives to promote healthier eating habits, increase national self-sufficiency in food production, and strengthen the agro-based economy of the country. Food Policy in India

India’s food policy evolved out of the Bengal famine of 1943, which killed more than a million people with starvation caused mainly by lack of adequate supply of foodgrains rather than the lack of production. Foodgrains Policy Committee 1943 was appointed under the chairmanship of Sir George Theodore, which emphasised rationing to overcome such situation in future. In India, before independence, the policies were aimed at maintenance of popular support for the colonial rule rather than the long-range development of food production base (Knight 1954). The government’s active involvement in the matters of food was acutely felt after the Bengal famine of 1943. The emphasis of the policy, however, revolved around controlling the foodgrain prices. Even after independence, for about a decade, the main objective of food policy revolved around keeping the cost of living in check. Several committees were appointed and, as recommended by them, measures aimed at controlling the food prices were initiated (Acharya and Agarwal 1994), In the 50s and up to the mid-60s, as the main concern ofthe food policy was to ensure that the gap between demand and supply did not result in excessive rise in consumer prices, considerable quantities of cereals were imported by India. During the mid-60s, India was importing about 16 per cent of the net available foodgrains. This period was a turning point in the approach to food security in India. Apart from the increased dependence on imports for meeting the food needs, there were two severe consecutive drought years, which led to

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the launch of a new strategy of agricultural development for increasing the output of foodgrains. The strategy was based on the recognition that for building a sound agricultural economy, there are three foundations: (a) provision of an improved technology package for the farmers; (b) creation ofan efficient system of delivery of inputs and services including credit; and (c) assurance of quick market clearance and a remunerative price environment for the farmers. As a part of this strategy, apart from the investment in irrigation and infrastructure, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was established as the sole agency of the state for the purchase, storage, transport, and distribution of foodgrains. Simultaneously, the Agricultural Prices Commission was set up to advise the government on matters relating to agricultural price policy in the context of the need to raise the production of agricultural commodities, particularly of foodgrains, and give relief to consumers. It may be mentioned here that one of the main objectives of the policy has been to assure a remunerative and relatively stable price environment for the farmers for inducing them to adopt new technology and modern inputs and thereby augment the availability of foodgrains. Further, the policy also sought to make available foodgrains to the masses at reasonable prices. Following are the goals of India’s food policy. Basic Goals of Food Policy

1. 2. 3. 4.

Increase in food production and self-sufficiency. Stabilising foodgrain prices. Maintaining adequate stocks of foodgrains as a measure of food security. Assurance ofan equitable distribution of foodgrains at reasonable prices.

Increase in Food Production and Self-sufficiency

At the time of independence, food supply situation in the country was not satisfactory. India had inherited a completely exhausted agriculture sector, where the supply of foodgrains was substantially short of the national requirements. Therefore, the import of large quantity of foodgrains was inevitable. The method of cultivation was very traditional, and a large part of the cultivated area was under rain-fed conditions, which had rendered agricultural output, particularly that of foodgrains, quite fluctuating. Further, the land tenure system and other institutional arrangements, like infrastructure facilities, were not conducive for rapid agricultural growth. Per capita income was very low, and markets were disintegrated, weak, and exploited due to a lack of transportation facilities (Tyagi 1990). Emphasis was put on enhancing the land productivity. Consequently, the high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds, chemical fertilisers, and mechanisation of certain agricultural operations started. The role of technology was accorded as a major input in agriculture. Agricultural Price Commission was set up in 1965 to look into the following: 1. 2.

The need to provide incentives to the producer for adopting improved technology for the purpose of enhancing production. The need to ensure rational utilisation of land and other production resources.

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The likely effect of the price policy to the rest of the economy as cost of living, level of wages, etc.

To attain the above-mentioned objective, two central bodies, namely the FCI

and Agriculture Price Commission (APC), were established in 1965. The FCI is responsible for procurement, import, distribution, storage, and sale of foodgrains, while the APC is responsible to control and guide the cropping pattern, land use, and profitability through minimum support price (MSP) mechanism. This policy continued till the dawn of New Economic Reforms in 1991 when the World Bank entered and advised the government to dismantle the public distribution system (PDS). World Bank also asked for the removal ofthe Essential Commodities Act, the removal of price and inventory control, and deregulation of agriculture trade. Further, it recommended the corporatisation of agriculture and a shift from a state-centred to a corporate-centred food system.

Stabilising Foodgrain Prices Agriculture price policy has evolved out of the need to augment the domestic foodgrain production so as to achieve food self-sufficiency and protect the consumers from scarcity and speculative price rise. During the first Five-Year Plan, foodgrain prices moved erratically, and government depended entirely on ad hoc corrective measures. During the second Five-Year Plan also, the maintenance of price stability through physical control] and other regulatory measures continued to be the primary objective, but in spite of these, the prices showed a continuous upward trend. During the third plan, it was realised that a policy is necessary to prevent sharp fluctuations in prices as well as to ensure a certain

minimum benefit to the farmers. Simultaneously, consumers’ interest is also paramount to be taken care of through proper buffer stock, trade regulatory measure, and suitable distributive arrangements. The L.K. Jha Committee, 1964, prescribed the first price policy in the matter of foodgrains. The objective of the price stability was sought to be achieved through reducing year-to-year seasonal fluctuations in prices. The committee recommended the MSPs for the year 1964-65. In the light of recommendation, APC was set up in 1965, and since then, it has been recommending the MSPs (below the market prices) and the procurement prices (higher than MSP but below the market prices). The support prices act as insurance and direct incentive to the farmers to increase agricultural production. Foodgrain prices since then had been under varying degrees of

control despite the fact that barely 10 per cent ofthe total foodgrain production and 25 per cent of its marketable surplus passed through the PDS. On the other hand, the administered issue prices, which had an element of food subsidy in it, had a more than marginal downward effect on the market prices, as the consequence of the actual rise in foodgrain price was less than the potential rise. Subsequently, agriculture price policy intervened to cover many more agricultural commodities in the network of minimum guaranteed prices (Bhalla 1994: 110).

Maintaining Adequate Stocks of Foodgrains as a Measure of Food Security To maintain adequate stocks of foodgrain as a measure of food security, procurement is the most important. Procurement means the purchase of

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surpluses from producers by the government at predetermined fair prices. This surplus is utilised to feed the rationed population, whereas the quantities left with the producers

and traders

are used

for the non-rationed

population.

Procurement is undertaken by FCI in collaboration with numerous state agencies. There have been ups and downs in the procurement levels since 1947, as several factors have been playing crucial roles like procurement target, crop performance, and the import of foodgrains. Crop performance, on the other hand, has been related to the performance of monsoon. Foodgrain import has been subject to international compulsions and price fluctuations. Since it is the responsibility of the government to arrange for the equitable distribution of foodgrains at reasonable prices, very often, any shortfall in procurement targets are met through imports. The quantum of procurement by the FCI and state agencies largely depends upon the volume of production and the difference between the open-market prices and government-determined prices. In case of rice procurement, it is mainly through levy on millers. Regular hike in MSPs has increased the procurement of foodgrains beyond the sustainable level. Present high stocks are a result of this and of past decisions to increase the issue prices. Due to a lack of proper stocking capacities, FCI is forced to transport large quantities of stocks to far and wide depots in the country, which involves heavy transportation and damage costs besides the usual wear and tear. Thus, the open-ended procurement policy of the government at continual higher MSPs has only added to the governments’ rapidly increasing food subsidy bill. Buffer stock provides the best and most flexible instrument for moderating the short-term fluctuations in the demand and supply of foodgrains so that scarce resources can be employed more efficiently to attain the long-term growth objective in agriculture development. Buffer stocks are built-up by the FCI as a necessary policy measure in the interest of producers as well as consumers. The maintenance ofbuffer stocks becomes essential to cater for the lean years when the minimum level of consumption in food must be provided and also to give price support to the producers in bumper crops. Thus, buffer stocks ensure availability of foodgrains at reasonable prices to the consumer in bad years and provide the confidence to the farmers in good years so that they continue producing. Up to mid-70s, most of the stocks were built out of import; however, thereafter, domestic production has reached a level where large buffer stocks could be built through domestic procurements only. During the 80s, there was more fluctuation in government stocks. Buffer stock also needs to be managed so that it does not go waste. Large stocks of foodgrains over the years have substantially increased the carrying cost of foodgrains, posing threat to the viability of the entire food management.

Assurance of an Equitable Distribution of Foodgrains at Reasonable Prices through PDS Introduced in the wake ofthe Bengal famine in 1943, the PDS has come out to be the most important constituent of India’s food policy. The need for public distribution as an effective instrument of price stabilisation in the national economy is emphasised time and again in various foodgrain enquiry committee reports. Theodore Gregory’s recommendation of 1943 followed by Foodgrains

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Procurement Committee Report of 1950-51 asserted for a controlled system of procurement and distribution of foodgrains. The Foodgrains Policy Committee 1966 laid emphasis on equitable distribution of foodgrains by making the surplus produces in surplus states available at reasonable prices to non-producing consumers as well as to the deficit states with the prime objective to protect the low-income groups ofpeople from the adverse impact of food shortages. PDS has a vital role in the distribution process. It is the joint responsibility of the central and state governments and union territories administration to ensure the smooth functioning of the PDS. The responsibility of the central government is to procure, store, and transport foodgrains from purchase points to central godowns. The responsibility of the state governments and union territory administrations is to lift these grains from the central godowns and distribute them to consumers through the network of fair price shops. Historically, the PDS has been functioning with the following objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Maintaining price stability. Raising the welfare of the poor by providing them access to basic foods at reasonable prices. Rationing during scarcity situations. Keeping a check on private trades.

For efficient delivery of food to the masses, smooth and successful implementation ofthe food policy through Five-Year Plans are taken into account. Five-Year Plans and Food Policy

The food policy of the first Five-Year Plan (1951-56) was essentially guided by the consideration of price stability for consumers in the urban and food-deficit areas and also meeting additional demands as development proceeds. The second Five-Year Plan (1951) continued with the emphasis on food preserves to moderate fluctuations and to meet emergencies. The third Five-Year Plan (1961-66) recognised some of the factors inhibiting the implementation of the food policy like lack of adequate storage and warehousing facilities and need for zonal arrangements. During the 60s also, supplies through the fair price shops were continued with the help of imports under Public Law-480 with the prime objective of keeping the prices at low levels. However, the problem continued to exist as the production of foodgrains fell in 1962-63 and 1963-64. The demand and supplies through the fair price shops increased rapidly. As the prices showed a rising trend, rationing was introduced in 1965 in all the major cities and industrial towns in an effort to contain the increase in prices. In fact, during 1965-66 and 1966-67, a severe drought was witnessed, resulting in a steep fall in the foodgrain production from 89.36 tonnes during 1964-65 to an average of about 3.0 million tonnes during the subsequent two years. A significant step was taken in 1965 by setting up of the FCI with the objective of building up of abuffer stock for implementing the PDS. The Agricultural Price Commission (now the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices [CACP]) was also set up in the same year to advise the government regarding procurement prices. But, initially, the objective of building up the buffer stock was upset because of the

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consecutive drought years that followed. Nevertheless, efforts were continued to maintain supplies through the addition of more fair price shops. Further, the working group on food policy for the fourth Five-Year Plan stressed the need for establishing a buffer stock of an adequate size. Accordingly, a buffer stock of 5 million tonnes was envisaged. The fourth Five-Year Plan (1969-74) set out the objectives of PDS clearly, which were to be achieved through (i) procurement and buffer stocking (mainly through FCI), (ii) restricting foodgrain movements; (iii) regulation of private trade; (iv) regulation of bank advances against foodgrains; and (v) ban on forward trading. In the fifth Five-Year Plan (1980-85), the question of PDS was discussed at length and certain improvements were suggested. The plan recognised that an efficient PDS requires a nexus between production, procurement, transportation, storage, and distribution of the selected commodities (Ahmed 1979). The seventh Five-Year Plan (1985-90) recognised PDS as a permanent feature of the strategy to control prices, reduce fluctuations, and achieve an equitable distribution of essential goods (Kabra and Ittyerah 1986). The eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-97) clearly emphasised the need for proper targeting sections and exclusion of the non-poor segment of the population. From this point of view, the plan intends to make FCI more efficient. The plan clearly states that ‘through efficient procurement and market intervention operations, it is possible to reduce the required buffer stock of food grains, which would reduce the carrying costs of foodgrains’ (George 1979). Due to the successive good harvests during 1992-93 and 1993-94, the availability of foodgrains increased considerably in several consuming/deficit states (Parikh and Suryanarayana 1990). The revised scheme of distribution known as targeted PDS (TPDS) was launched with effect from 1 June 1997. Under TPDS, the distribution of foodgrains operates under the two-tier system ofdelivery to households, namely Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL), with BPL families receiving foodgrains at heavily subsidised prices. An ‘Area Approach’ was also adopted to target the PDS. Some states, on their own, have also attempted to target the distribution of wheat/rice through fair price shops at a differential price based mainly on the annual criteria schemes implemented by some of the state governments. The agricultural development strategy for the ninth Five-Year Plan (1998-2001) was essentially based on the policy on food security announced by the government to double the food production and make India hunger free in 10 years. Food production not only includes foodgrains, i.e. rice, wheat, coarse cereals, and pulses, but also all major food items including oils, sugar, fruits and vegetables, milk, egg, and meat and fish. The ninth plan accordingly envisages operational strategies and specific programmes/activities to substantially increase the supply ofvarious food items so that the entire domestic demand for

these items is comfortably met and some surplus for exports also become available. The development strategy to be pursued in the medium term has been consciously interwoven with the country’s food security concerns. Food security is to be interpreted to mean adequate availability of basic food items, particularly foodgrains, in the country as a whole and also availability of adequate purchasing power to meet the food requirements at the household level.

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Accelerated agricultural development based on increase in productivity and income would meet both these elements of food security. Hence, a strategy for

food security would encompass the essential components of availability, with a focus on those living below the poverty line as well as those living in the deficit and inaccessible regions of the country. In the 10th Five-Year Plan (2002-07), the challenge was to reduce food stocks to roughly half of the previous one and use it for reducing malnutrition, without adversely affecting the farmers. Licencing controls were removed, and de-reserve of all agri-based and food-processing industries has been done in a time-bound manner. Domestic shortage would be met by imports, but not by imposing export controls. In the mid-term appraisal for the 10th Five-Year Plan, attention was given to the loss of dynamism in agriculture and allied sectors after the mid-1990s. Trends that have raised concerns regarding food security, farmer's income, and poverty are slowdown in growth, widening economic disparities between irrigated and rain-fed areas, degradation of natural resource base, and rapid and widespread decline in groundwater table, with particularly adverse impact on small and marginal farmers and aggravation in social distress as a cumulative impact, reflected in an upsurge in farmers’ suicides. Ensuring food security and providing employment to the labour force have been the essential premise ofthe development policies of the government. Keeping this in view, due priority was accorded to agriculture and allied sectors in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12). The plan mentions that in order to allow for distributional inequity that prevails in any society, calorie availability on an average in the country as a whole should be at least 20 per cent higher than the per capita requirement. Going beyond the conventional calorie and protein consumption scales, the 11th Five-Year Plan recognised the need for overall improvement of purchasing power and several security nets for the poor as the driving force behind ensuring food and nutrition security for the most vulnerable groups in the economy. To achieve the sustainable food and nutrition security, four per cent agricultural growth was targeted through the Second Green Revolution. Decentralised procurement scheme was enhanced in terms of its scope. To stop the massive leakage of fiscal subsidy to the non-poor, on the one hand, and the ineffective targeting of the poor, card holder-based TPDS was encouraged. Introduction of a single Central Issue Price for both BPL and APL families in those states where TPDS is not performing satisfactorily was initiated. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) had twin objectives, to ensure food security and improve the income of farmers. The Government of India notified the National Food Security Act, 2013 on 10 September 2013, with the objective to provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity. The Act provides that every state government shall, by notification, constitute a State Food Commission for the purpose of monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the Act. It has been decided that in case a state decides to set up State Food Commission on an exclusive basis, the central government

non-building

assets

will provide one-time

for that State

Food

financial assistance

Commission.

Accordingly,

for

a new

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component, viz. ‘Assistance to States/UTs for non-building assets for State Food Commissions’ has been in included under the 12th Plan umbrella scheme ofthe department, ‘Strengthening of PDS in Capacity Building Control, Consultancies and Research’. Since then, successive governments have been trying to enhance the level of food grain production in the country by offering MSPs to the farmers. In addition, PDS was evolved to safeguard the interest of the consumers, particularly of the vulnerable section ofthe society. Aimed to curb the speculative price rise, simultaneously evolved price policy contained four major policy instruments, namely input subsidies; MSPs; procurement prices; and issues prices. They were devised to achieve the basic goal of the food security. Essential Constituents of PDS

1.

2.

3.

4.

To collect sufficient quantities of foodgrains so as to distribute it throughout the year at reasonable prices commensurate with the commitment and coverage either through the internal procurement or by imports to the extent of necessity. To arrange for the adequate storage capacity at procurement and distribution centres for operational as well as buffer stocks. To lay down the grains’ specification and quality control at various stages of procurement, storage, and distribution. To determine the issue prices of foodgrains in consultation with the government in the light of the recommendation of the CACP before the commencement of marketing seasons. Thus, fixing of the issue price is of crucial importance both from the point of view of regulating the market prices and of determining the size of the commitment undertaken through the PDS. It is also a vital force for maintaining prices at reasonable levels (Chopra 1988).

Management of PDS A fair price shop covers a population of about 2,000 of a particular village/town or the city. The overall control of the PDS rests with the Food and Civil Supplies department. The number of fair price shops has been increasing continuously over the years in both rural and urban areas. According to the civil supplies department, about 25 per cent of the fair price shops are run by cooperatives. PDS continues to be the major instrument of governments’ economic policy not only for ensuring food security but also for protecting purchasing power of the poor. The distribution of PDS is more effective in states like Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,

and West Bengal. There is a regular operation of PDS, supplying the food at highly subsidised prices to those living in the Integrated Development Project Areas. Different anti-poverty employment programmes also distribute foodgrains as a part payment for wages to help the poor. These operations have caused subsidy on food to increase over the years (Mooij 1999). After the structural adjustment programme in 1991, the government restructured the PDS system as revamped PDS (RPDS) in the year 1992. The government increased the issue prices of foodgrains to curtail its burgeoning

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food subsidy bill. This increase in issue price considerably reduced the gap between open-market price and the prices charged under PDS. The issue prices

of foodgrains within the first four years of structural adjustment had increased by 40 per cent, which resulted in a substantial decline of the off take from PDS. Notwithstanding this, the upward trend in minimum support and procurement

prices continued unabated, which proved very detrimental to the government's effort in cutting down the unviable food subsidy burden. The PDS divided the population into two broad categories: APL and BPL. Under this scheme, foodgrains are allocated to states on the basis of the estimates of BPL population. The identification of the poor under the scheme was done by the respective states as per the guidelines of the Planning Commission. From March 2002, the allocation per family is 35 kg per month for BPL and APL families. However, there is a dual price system. For BPL families, the prices are charged at 40 per cent of the economic cost, and for the APL families, the prices are fixed at 80 per cent of the economic cost. In 2000-01, the entire subsidy for the APL consumer had been withdrawn, whereas the BPL consumers now pay 50 per cent of the economic cost. On the recommendation of the Long-Term Grain Policy Committee Report 2002, the prices for APL consumers have been slashed by 25 per cent from April 2002.

Restructuring of PDS

Radical restructuring of the PDS and withdrawal of food subsidies began in 1992. The RPDS was supposed to target particularly the vulnerable regions and sections besides curtailing the public expenditure. But the scheme not only failed in achieving its stated objective but also ended up aggravating both of them. After that, in 1997, the RPDS was replaced with TDPS, which divided the population into BPL and APL. Those falling in the APL category are subsequently asked to bear 100 per cent of the procurement and distribution costs. Those falling in the BPL category are provided wheat/rice at highly subsidised prices. The withdrawal ofsubsidies for families in the APL category resulted in a rise in food prices substantially. PDS expanded enormously after the establishment of the FCI and the APC now known as CACP. Critique of PDS and Food Subsidies Despite an extensive public distribution programme, the benefits could not reach the deserving people. At the same time, vulnerable producers who are growing crops like jowar and bajra could benefit from the government assurance of remunerative prices. The fixed pricing policy of the government throughout the year for the purpose of procurement and distribution has increased the concentration of the market arrivals in a few month or days ofthe month. High degree of concentration of market arrivals results in disorderly marketing of the produce and makes difficult the handling of the large quantities of grains purchased efficiently in a short harvest period by the FCI; as a result, the difference of the economic cost of the FCI and the issue prices widened. At the same time, the size of the distribution continued increasing year after year, leading to much increase in the burden of the food subsidy on the exchequer.

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Despite the country reaching near self-sufficiency in foodgrains, producers are more interested in selling their produce to the government than to the market; as a result, the market prices of the foodgrains have increased to adversely affect the poor. Second, the stocks position has also gone beyond the desired level, leading to heavy increase in the burden of food subsidy. Government's decision to increase the issue prices of the foodgrains to make up the deficit has sharply reduced the off take, leading to further bulging of the stocks. The burden of inefficiencies in the system of storage and distribution is being passed on to consumers in the form ofhigher prices. Instrument of Agriculture Price Policy There are four instruments of agriculture price policy, namely input subsidies, MSP, procurement price, and issue price.

1.

2.

3.

Input subsidies are provided to enhance the foodgrain production in the country as it encourages the adoption ofspecific technologies and benefits small producers. Fertilisers, electricity, irrigation, and bank credit at nominal charges are the major input subsidies besides HYV seeds and other facilities that help farmers encourage food production. The rationale of MSP lies in assuring the farmers who may suffer from periodical gluts caused by good monsoon or the use ofsuperior technology. The MSP for principal commodities is generally announced at the sowing time, and the government agrees to buy any quantity offered for sale at those prices. Procurement price: Procurement prices are fixed and announced at the start of the marketing season. Till the 1970s, they represented the prices at which the states agencies were ready to procure grains from the producers, millers, and the market. These prices were generally lower than the normal market prices. The quantity to be procured was determined by the government’s need for buffer stocks as well as quantities needed for the disbursements under the PDS. However, the actual quantity of procurement depended upon the prices offered by the government, irrespective of the requirement for buffer stocks or the PDS. Later on, the difference between MSP and procurement prices was abolished. Now, the

4.

government announces only MSP for different commodities. Issue price: Issue prices are the prices at which the government releases foodgrain stocks from the central pool to the PDS. They are lower than the prevailing market prices and slightly higher than the procurement prices. These prices involve a heavy element of subsidy from the government on foodgrains as well as non-food items such as sugar and edible oil.

The CACP chiefly recommends the procurement prices for principal crops. The FCI is another institution which looks after the price support, procurement, storage, interstate movement, and distribution operation of foodgrains. The FCI also provides price support to farmers by purchasing quantities that could not fetch the MSPs in the market, stores the grains scientifically, moves grains from surplus to deficit areas, and makes available grains to states for the purpose of PDS.

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Critical Evaluation of India’s Food Policy The existing food management system has basically evolved in response to severe food shortages and lack of proper distribution. So, the prime objective of the food is to increase the domestic foodgrains production, procurement and

storage, movement and public distribution, and maintenance of the buffer stocks of foodgrains. It is done so that supply chain is maintained in time. Several agencies like FCI, CACP, Commodity Boards, Agricultural Marketing Boards, Seed and Trading Corporations, and Marketing Cooperative are created to implement the objectives of food policy. In addition, a number of other regulations are enacted to control agricultural marketing of foodgrains. These include prevention

of Food

Adulteration

Act 1954, Essential

Commodity

Act 1955,

Regulated Market Acts, and Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act 1980. All these acts and regulations are devised to deal with the situation of food scarcity and inadequate supply of the same. In terms of scarcity of food and supply of food, the food policy did well. During the structural adjustment programme in the early 90s, the purpose to reduce food subsidy bill had serious implications on bulging stocks and reducing beneficiaries. The creation of artificial profitability in the form of rice support to farmers had a far-reaching impact on India’s farm economy. FCI and APC controlled the foodgrain production and distribution. Over the years, the profitability of foodgrain production through centralised subsidy could not be sustained and it became a drain on the government budget. The World Bank demanded the corporatisation of agriculture and a shift from a state-centred to a corporate-centred food system. Structural adjustment policies called for the withdrawal of food subsidies, which necessitated radical restructuring of the PDS. The RPDS is targeted for vulnerable regions and to reduce public expenditure, but hunger increased and the government expenditure also increased. In 1997, the RPDS was again replaced by TPDS, which sought to help the poor from being BPL. APL families are linked to the full economic costs of grains. It resulted in increase in food prices, causing lower off-take from the central pool. Thus, the objective of reducing food subsidy remained elusive as government continued yielding to the pressure exerted by strong farm lobbies to raise the MSPs. The procurement of foodgrains kept growing, whereas narrow targeting kept reducing the off-take. It resulted in the overflowing stocks of foodgrains. There is also a controversy regarding the arbitrary division into BPL and APL. The problem is further compounded when 12 states informed the Supreme Court that they could not identify people in the BPL category. The food distribution of 35 kg a month to a BPL family is also much shorter for the family requirements.

According to the Indian Council

of Medical

Research, annual

cereal requirement of an individual is 135 kg/annum, which comes out to be 11.25 kg a month. For an average five-member family, the new ration scale, of about two kg per person a month, provides less than 18 per cent of the recommended intake.

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The TPDS could also be criticised on the ground that it always had a lower reach in poorer states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa, where the population below poverty is around 45 per cent, whereas TDPS is stronger in

richer states like Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. Burgeoning food subsidy, which is often cited as a reason for the TPDS, is in fact not the amount spent on consumer, rather a large part of it is actually a producer

subsidy, a fact aptly admitted in the Report on Food Subsidy of the Expenditure Reforms Commission. Food policy moved satisfactorily in terms of ensuring food security and restraining the price rise. It helped in increasing the foodgrain production witha view to attaining self-sufficiency and meeting the increasing demand through domestic supply. It also succeeded in safeguarding the interest of consumers by holding adequate stocks of foodgrains for meeting year-to-year fluctuation and to bring about relative stability in foodgrain prices. However, the regulations, policies, acts, and organisations that were created for the need-fulfilment objective continued even after the relative self-sufficiency in foodgrains was achieved. For example, the MSP operation, which was introduced with the sole aim of inducing higher foodgrain production by guaranteeing the farmers minimum price of their produce, continued with much vigour even when not only the country is self-sufficient in food production but also the country’s godowns are bulging with rotten foodstuffs. It is observed that during the post-reform periods, MSP for wheat, rice, cotton, coarse cereals, pulses, and groundnut have increased many fold. Moreover, continuous rise in MSPs have directed the grains from the market to state godowns, which has unduly increased the open-market prices of these grains due to lack of supply. This is in conflict with the government's objective of providing cheap food to consumers. Procurements are undertaken by the FCI in collaboration with numerous state agencies at fixed prices offered by the government on the recommendation of the CACP. With a purpose of increasing the procurement, the commission had a policy of offering remunerative prices to producers so that they keep augmenting their production by adopting new technologies. Initially, the procurement prices were kept higher than the MSPs but below the market prices. The principle behind the procurement prices was to procure enough foodgrains for the buffer stocks as well as for PDS. However, in the 80s, the procurement prices were sharply raised, making the farmers more willing to sell their produce to the government rather than in the market; thus, the availability of foodgrains in the market reduced, leading to rise in the prices of foodgrains, which ultimately hurt the poor. Moreover, the same prices offered during the entire season increased the concentration of the market arrivals within a few weeks of the season. This causes difficulty for the FCI to handle the foodgrains. Over the years, FCI’s economic cost has increased because of the rising procurement and distribution incidentals (Economic cost = procurement price + procurement incidentals + distribution incidentals). Thus, the present high stocks situation has its share in government’s mismanaged price policy. Selective support prices have distorted the incentives across crops as well as states besides having detrimental ecological and environmental effect on the

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overall economy. Food policy is closely linked to the nutrition policy. How they ) are reciprocal to one another, we will discuss below. What is Nutrition Policy?

During the 1970s and 1980s, nutritionists were intensely engaged in understanding the very nature

of under-nutrition

in India, how to control it, and

debated issues of measurement of poverty. By the mid-1980s, however, with the decline in severe forms of malnutrition such as kwashiorkor, marasmus, pellagra, and beriberi, the direction of nutrition research changed. While the concern with declining pulse production remained, their research focus shifted towards the ascendancy of nutrition-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, micronutrients, and obesity. Supplementation programme rather than nutrition policy debates and social planning engaged them, while earlier, the latter were important areas of interest for most senior nutritionists.

The National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau data had shown a decline in energy consumption as early as 1984. The same data had also provided insights into energy and protein consumption declines across income classes (Gopalan 1985). An associated trend of declining consumption of cereals between 1972-73 and 1993-94 was later picked up in the National Sample Survey by a number of economists and was proclaimed as a ‘sobering thought against mind-boggling projections of demands’ for foodgrains (Rao 2000). Over time, several explanations were offered for this decline, and each of them had a set of assumptions behind it. These explanations were (a) the increasing welfare of people as reflected in the improved infrastructure in rural areas (Rao 2000), (b) self-sufficiency of the nation reflected by the increasing foodgrain production and buffer stocks of over 60 million tonnes along with exports of the same (Government of India 2002), (c) diversification of the food basket (Radhakrishna et al. 2004), and (d) voluntary shift away from cereals due to expanding and diverse food markets, taste, and lifestyle changes, affecting the behaviour of the poor (Dyson and Hanchate 2000). Dyson predicted a further decline of cereal consumption to as low as 11.45 kg per person per month (38 kg per annum per person) with a change in the social situation. This shows that the decline of cereal consumption is improvement in social conditions. Thus, this change in nutrition trend had a serious impact on nutrition policy. Nutrition Policy of 1993

The nutrition policy document of 1993 did talk of intervention programmes but not in isolation. It placed equal emphasis upon increasing foodgrain production, the PDS to ensure security, land reforms, health, and education. Its goal was to reduce further chronic energy deficiency, low birth weight, and anaemia of pregnancy and to achieve production targets of 250MT by 2020 and to have a strategy for horticulture to promote protective foods and evolve an inter-sectoral approach to nutrition planning. By contrast, the 10th Five-Year Plan proposed a paradigm shift, with four basic thrust areas: (i) shift form household food security and freedom from hunger to nutrition security for the family and individuals;

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(ii) shift from untargeted food supplementation to screening of all persons from

vulnerable groups for identification of those with various grades of under-nutrition and appropriate management; (iii) shift from lack of focussed intervention

on the prevention

of over-nutrition

to strategies of prevention,

control, and management of obesity; and (iv) a need for ensuring production of cereals, pulses, and seasonal vegetables to meet the nutritional needs. Trends in Nutritional Policy

During the 1980s, national government, in accordance with initiatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization, started to develop national food policies. There are two main goals: first, to prevent illness and to further public health by informing people about the importance of a ‘prudent diet’. People are advised in numerous ways to eat more fruits, vegetables, and fibre and fewer foodstuffs containing fat. Second, a food policy purports to guarantee the safety of food products, which means issuing and enforcing rules and regulations for food producing, food processing, and food distributing companies. In modern Western countries, complex organisational networks fulfil several functions, the most important of which are public enlightenment and education, research, and control. Several large-scale campaigns, for instance, against the consumption of too many fatty foods, have been undertaken; these are commonly accompanied by a great deal of evaluative research. It will be clear that such policies are found mainly in countries characterised by economic abundance. A vast majority of literature has been published on food policies, their implications, and results. The Norwegian Nutrition and Food Policy, for instance, strives for four goals: to promote healthier eating habits, to help stabilise world food supply, to increase national self-sufficiency in food production, and to strengthen the rural economy (Klepp and Forster 1985). The food production and consumption of the United States today has a great many ecological consequences. In another type of literature, the usefulness of these programmes of food policy in food-rich countries is debated. At another level, the quality of the fruits and vegetables produced by the food system in California is also criticised. The author argues for measures which will lead to the development of an affordable, healthy, and ecologically sustainable food supply. Harper (1988) discussed ‘the misguided drive to improve the American diet’. He stated that recent attempts to modify dietary practices in view of the risks of heart diseases and colon cancer are based on the faulty assumption that diet affects all individuals in the same way. Increased longevity may have increased the public’s fear of diseases ofold age; by dieting and taking supplements, people now try to ward off ills that have never been attributable to food. Public health officials should not make blanket recommendations for an entire population, otherwise it can undermine the confidence in the science ofnutrition. | Food policies, as far as they exist, in developing countries (pre-industrial or partly industrialised) are based on food shortages. Famine and hunger are often caused not by failure of food production but are rather connected with problems

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of inadequate distribution of food (Douglas 1984: 1-7). In Douglas's view, food policies often take no account ofthe ways in which the use of food is embedded in the socio-cultural habits of the people whose diet it is intended to change. Critical Issues of Nutrition Policy Nutritional issues discussed in the nutritional policy based on the explanations for the declines in cereal consumption offered some concerns. They said that planning cannot ignore the majority of the people, especially the underprivileged.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

The focus on ‘families and individuals’ and ‘nutrition security’ rather than on ‘food security’ indicates a belief that food shortages and hunger are no more significant policy issues. Identification of individuals through surveillance and their ‘management’ transforms a major public health problem into a clinical problem that is amenable to institutional management or targeted programmes. The thesis of ‘improved welfare in rural areas’ has already been critiqued by Saha (2000) who not only showed serious methodological flaws in drawing conclusions but also questioned the basic assumption of sufficiency of food and welfare in rural areas. Undermining of rural welfare during the 1990s was evident from the fact that investments in rural development over this period declined from 14.5 per cent to six per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) (Patnaik 2004). The budget for health declined from 1.5 per cent to 0.9 per cent of the GDP (Gol 2002), and the TPDS failed to reach the poor (Swaminathan 2000). Thus, improved welfare does not match with the above-cited evidence. Dyson and Hanchate (2000) found that there is a persistent decline of cereal consumption to levels as low as 138 kg per person annually. After 2000-01, when levels of food availability of as little as 151 kg per person per year were reached, a reversal of the declining trend took place when programmes of food-for-work were introduced over the following two years (Patnaik 2004). This strengthens the argument that while the elasticity of demand of cereals is articulated within complex social conditions and is susceptible to variations, these variations are possible only after a certain minimum level of cereal intake is achieved. According to the principles of nutritional science, 60-70 per cent of the total energy should come from carbohydrates, preferably starch. The tendency to retain minimum levels of cereals - the source of starch - is thus not only economically but also nutritionally rational. Qadeer and Priyadarshi’s (2005) analysis showed that if food security is a priority in the nutrition policy document, then foodgrains should remain at the head of the agenda for policy, especially if the nutritional problems of the marginalised sections are to be addressed. The type of diversification of food baskets that is taking place, apart from being restricted to the better off, is certainly nutritionally unhealthy. Without undermining the urgency of pulse production, given the overlapping nature of calorie,

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protein, and micronutrient deficiencies - which is often ignored when the National Nutritional Monitoring Bureau data are analysed for discrete deficiencies - the importance ofcereals needs to be realised as it supplies not only energy but also substantial amounts of proteins and some amounts of micronutrients.

References

Acharya, S.S. and N.L. Agarwal (1994), Agricultural Prices: Analysis and Polity, New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing Company. Ahmed, R. (1979), Rice Price Fluctuation and an Approach to Price Stabilization in Bangladesh, Research Report 72, Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, pp. 1-79.

Bhalla, G.S. (1994) (ed.), Economic Liberalization and Indian Agriculture, New Delhi: Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.

Chopra, R.N. (1988), Food Policy in India: A Survey, New Delhi: Intellectual Publishing House.

Douglas, M. (1984), Purity and Danger: A Study of the Concept of Pollution and Taboo, London: Routledge.

Dyson, T. and A. Hanchate (2000), ‘India’s Demographic and Food Prospects: State Level Analysis’, Economic and Political Weekly, 35(46): 4021-35.

George, P.S. (1979), Public Distribution of Foodgrains in Kerala Income Distribution Implications and Effectiveness, Washington: International Food Policy Research Institute, p. 6. Gopalan, C. (1985), Combating Under-nutrition: Basic Issues and Practical Approaches, New Delhi: Nutrition Foundation of India. Government of India (2002), Tenth Five-Year Plan, New Delhi: Planning Commission, pp. 34-52, 135. Harper, A.E. (1988), ‘Killer French Fries: Misguided Drive to Improve the American Diet’, Sciences, 28(1): 21-7. Kabra, K.N. and A.C. Ittyerah (1986), Public Distribution System: A Report on Target Group Orientation and the Viability of Retail Outlets, New Delhi: Indian Institute of Public Administration. Klepp, K.-I. and J.L. Forster (1985), ‘The Norwegian Nutrition and Food Policy an Integrated Policy Approach to a Public Health Problem’, Journal of Public Health Policy, 6(4): 447-63. Knight, H. (1954), Food University Press.

Administration

in India

1939-1947,

California:

Stanford

Mooij, J. (1999), Food Policy and the Indian State: The Public Distribution System in South India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Parikh, K.S. and M.H. Suryanarayana (1990), Food and Agricultural Subsidies: Incidence and Welfare under Alternative Schemes, Discussion Paper No. 22, Bombay: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research.

Patnaik, U. (2004), The Republic of Hunger, New Delhi: SAHMAT, pp. 12-19.

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Qadeer, I. and A.P. Priyadarshi (2005), ‘Nutrition Policy: Shifts and Logical Fallacies, Economic and Political Weekly, 40(5S): 358-64. Radhakrishna, R. et al. (2004), ‘Chronic Poverty and Malnutrition in 1990s’, Economic

and Political Weekly, 39(28): 3121-30.

Rao, C.H.H. (2000), ‘Declining Demand of Foodgrains in Rural India: Causes and Implications’, Economic and Political Weekly, 35(4): 201-6. Report of the Foodgrain Policy Committee (1943), New Delhi: Government of India. Saha, A. (2000), ‘Puzzle of Declining Foodgrains Consumption’, Economic and Political Weekly, 35(27): 2453-4. Swaminathan, M. (2000), ‘Consumer Food Subsidies in India: Proposals for Reform’, The Journal of Peasant Studies, 27(3): 92-114.

——

(2000), No Panacea: A Comment on The Report on Food Subsidy of the Expenditure Reforms Commission, Vol. 17, Issue 21, October 14-27.

Tyagi, D.S. (1990), Managing India’s Food Economy: Problems and Alternatives, New Delhi: Sage Publications.

16 Food, Globalisation, and Media

Globalisation, a dominant force in the last decade of the 20th century, is shaping a new area of interaction among nations, economies, and people. It is increasing the contacts between people across national boundaries - in economy, technology, culture, and governance. In this situation, the food habits and nutritional behaviour have been changing. New links are forged between social structure and commodities, between global markets and local governments, and between diverse peoples and conceptions. Thus, the categories of the local and the global which were distinct earlier get mixed, interwoven, and reproduce each other. Many ofthe agricultural products reach the consumers as processed food produced by the food industry. In every tourist country, local and authentic foodways, which emerge from conditions of globalisation, are crafted for tourists looking for diversity and difference. In the last quarter of the 20th century, new nodes in the global traffic in capital and culture joined previous flows of the capitalist world economy from the edges of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Works such as The Globalization of Chinese Food (Wu and Cheung 2004), Asian Food: The Global and the Local (Cwiertka and Walraven 2002), The Globalization of Food (Inglis and Gimlin 2009), and Globalization, Food and Social Identities in the Asia Pacific Region (Farrer 2010) are well-documented work on globalisation and food. In the present chapter, we would look into the possible role of globalisation and media on the food production, food marketing, and food consumption.

The exchange of food across state, regions, and countries has occurred for centuries. The relationship between food and globalisation is relatively a newer

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topic for sociology. Earlier, sociologists confined themselves to food production, consumption, and exchange (Miller 1995; Mintz and Du Bois 2002). Earlier, food issues have largely been examined within the context of relatively closed systems of production at household, community, and ethnic group levels till the 1980s and 1990s. A turning point can be identified with examination of‘sugar’, a book that burst the seams of what anthropologists had until that time considered the ‘field’ (Mintz 1985). In tracing the evolution of rise of sugar through global system of production, consumption, sociality, and identity, Mintz offered a unique analytical framework for exploring the nexus of food and globalisation. Food Production, Trading, Marketing, and Globalisation By the end of the 19th century, mercantilism, colonialism, and industrialisation

had all combined into a new form ofglobal capitalism that spread powerfully, if unevenly, around the earth. The massive increase in commodity production required the liberalisation (deregulation) of markets so that goods and money could flow freely without being hindered by tariffs and trade barriers. Financial and banking systems, communications, transport, society, culture, and language were all swept into the dynamic system ofcapitalist relations. The flow of cheap raw materials from colonies to the centres of imperial power transformed livelihoods, territories, and system of governance as food, land, and labour became global commodities. Globalisation has expanded the market; in turn, it has also affected the production ofagriculture. To reap the benefits of globalisation, the agricultural produce has to be marketed in an appropriate way. The challenge is that there is limited access to market information and a low literacy level among the farmers complicated by multiple channels of distribution that eats away the pockets of both farmers and consumers. In India, the government funding of farmers is still at nascent stage, and most ofthe small farmers still depend on the local moneylenders who charge a high rate of interest. There are too many middlemen that eat away the benefits that farmers are supposed to get. It results in indebtedness among the farming community. Sometimes, it leads to suicide and other pathological conditions. The foremost demand of farmers is waiving of their agricultural loan so that they can be free from bondage of indebtedness. Simultaneously, with the introduction of communication and agricultural technology, big farmers have benefited. Their profit margins have increased due to the direct accessibility to the marketing system. The small-scale land holder farmers are still isolated from the benefits of agricultural produce as they are not yet integrated and informed with the market knowledge like fluctuations and demand and supply concepts, which are the core of the globalised economy. Public sector investment particularly in research and technology transfer along with institutional reforms to make it more accountable towards conservation ofland, water, and biological resources, development of rain-fed agriculture, development of minor irrigation and water use efficiency, and timely and adequate increasing of flow of credit particularly to the small and marginal farmers is still at low levels. The dictate of the World

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Bank to withdraw the subsidies has also left the small farmers vulnerable. The other components in the value chain such as infrastructure supporting agricultural

upstream

and

downstream

activities,

including

transport,

storage,

processing, and marketing facilities, for agricultural products are also under-developed. This becomes a hurdle for the small farmers to avail the benefits of globalisation. Due to the opening up of new opportunities, relatively better off farmers are diversifying their agro-products in view of exporting their produce. All these have their impact on the supply of cereals and pulses, which are dwindling over time. This is detrimental to the bottom 20 per cent of the population who are malnourished, and due to falling supplies and increasing prices, they are further getting impoverished (Chattopadhyay 2019: 350). How food is globally traded and marketed can also be highly variable and culturally framed (Phillips 2006). Arce’s (1993) research with international food traders in Chile reveals how, despite working with a dazzling display of technology, traders still find that ‘it is essential to know the other person well; otherwise you lack the element of trust’ for trade negotiations. Applbaum’s (2004) unique investigation into the cultural logic of global marketing in itself indicates how reference (and at times deference) to cultural contexts is central to the success of food-related transnational corporations (TNCs). These studies help to remind that global corporate power in the food industry is not given, but it is instead a product of activities taken by a whole series of actors, including labourers, growers, traders, professional marketers, investors, financial advisors, and grocers (Phillips 2006).

Food and Mobile Population Global imaginaries are realised, and challenged, as people act and move. Travelling itself involves a way of thinking (Clifford 1997), and migrant labourers, refugees and resettled populations, immigrants, students, business consultants, nutritionists, agronomists, tourists, and other travellers all play a role in the reproduction and expansion of food and food systems, although not all to the same extent or in the same manner. Research points to the significance of migration to the development of international agriculture (Basok 2002; Kearney 1996; Sanderson 1985; Smart 1997) and the production of diasporic food memories (Mankekar 2005). Immigrants, often finding the restaurant business to be their only viable source of revenue, bring their kitchen histories with them but do not impose them exactly as they please (Smart 2003).

Food and Transnational Corporations The hotly contested agrarian question of the 19th and 20th centuries - and the role of small-scale producer in society - has persisted until the present day. Just how, when, or whether small-sale production would or should disappear is still unresolved. This is because, despite widespread agricultural industrialisation and the massive displacement of the peasantry, the world has about as many small-scale and peasant farmers today as it did over a hundred years ago. More than 90 per cent of the world’s food is produced by small family farms on less

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than 25 per cent of the world’s arable land (GRAIN 2014). The 30 per cent ofthe world’s food not produced by small-scale farmers is mostly produced by huge, highly capitalised, industrial agribusiness operations. These farms have tremendous economies ofscale and give them an advantage in the global market place. They constantly upgrade their technologies and spread their farm plot to larger and larger areas to stay competitive in capitalist food markets. This is very good business for the multinational corporations that supply seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation, and farm equipment (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 38). Capitalist agriculture’s large-scale industrial operations have been very effective at producing cheap food that brings down the cost of labour by making the worker's ‘food basket’ less expensive. Cheap food also means that workers can afford to buy more new food products coming from the industry. Of course, large farms and factories produce much more than what the workers eat or buy. This drives market expansion, nationally and globally, as capital seeks out more and more consumers (Holt-Gimenez 2017: 39). The expansion of food-related TNCs into developing countries generally involves negative effects on nutrition as imported food replaces local diets (Beardsworth and Keil 1997; Lentz 1999). Weismantel’s (1988) research highlights how imported foods may culturally introduce ‘bitter gifts’ to indigenous economies. Some evidence shows that developing countries are experiencing increased obesity as a result (Evans et al. 2003; Sobal 2001; WHO 1998). Concerns about globalising the ‘modern’ food systems have become more acute with North America’s increasing obsession about obesity and other health costs of fast food and highly industrialised diets (Brownell 2004; Nestle 2002). Food and Supermarkets

Research is sparse on the role of supermarkets, as corporate retail outlets, in reshaping food production and consumption. Although it appears that the emergence of supermarkets in developing countries supports greater dietary choice for those who can afford it. The significant role of supermarkets in deepening the vertical integration of the production process has implied more vulnerability for street vendors (Guptill and Wilkins 2002; Tinkeer 1999). Phillips (2006) argued that this strategy may in fact ‘weaken the capacity oflocal food flows to empower regular citizens to shape the local economy’. Consumers of Food and Globalisation

Demand side of food also have its impact on people. Globalisation has increased the choices for the rising middle-income groups (Pramanick and Ganguly 2010:

95-113; Sethia 2013). The advent of the mall and big brands are giving the concept of food new dimensions. The boundaries between necessities and luxuries are getting blurred (Chattopadhyay 2013). The new-age consumers are spoilt for choices. India is witnessing a tremendous growth in its fast food and restaurants industries (Pingali and Khwaja 2004). It now accounts for roughly half of all restaurant revenues in the developed countries and continues to expand (Chattopadhyay 2019: 350). Income has become an important means of

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widening the range of consumption options. Income gives people the ability to buy diverse, nutritious foods instead of eating only their own crops. Regmi and Gehlar (2001) in their study on Consumer Preferences and Concerns Shape Global Food Trade found that with globalisation, many developing countries are experiencing large shifts in food imports. Between 1990 and 1998, there were large increases in the trade of processed grain products, while the trade of unprocessed bulk grains has declined. Thus, in many urbanised countries, intakes of processed foods, ready-to-eat meals and snacks, sweet vendors, restaurants, and fast food meals have increased. These eating patterns are associated with higher intakes of fat, sugar, and energy. Food Industry, Corporate, and Globalisation

Globalisation in the present world is entirely different from the age-old process of globally integrated world economy. In today’s world, globalisation integrates markets and cultures at a tremendous speed. It acts as media, production units, and market forces which influence in turn food production, consumption, and

distribution in society. Hawkes (2005) in her paper The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in the Nutrition Investment has highlighted the foreign direct investment (FDI) into food processing, service, and retail. It has risen rapidly since the 1980s, mainly from transnational food companies (TFCs) in developed countries. As FDI has risen, so has the proportion invested in highly processed foods for sale in the host market. FDI has proved more effective than trade in generating sales of highly processed foods and enables TFCs to cut costs, gain market power, and obtain efficiencies in distribution and marketing. The amount of FDI targeted at developing countries is increasing; while a disproportionate share enters the larger developing economies, foreign affiliates of TFCs are among the largest companies in low and low- to middle-income countries. The objective of FDI is to make more highly processed foods available to more people. FDI has made it possible to lower prices, open up new purchasing channels, optimise the effectiveness of marketing and advertising, and increase sales. FDI has been a key mechanism in shaping the global market for highly processed foods. Notwithstanding the role of demand-side factors, it has played a role in the nutrition transition by enabling and promoting the consumption of these foods in developing countries. Since FDI is a long-term investment vehicle, it is reasonable to assume that availability and consumption of highly processed foods will continue to increase. FDI can, however, bring considerable benefit as well as risks. Through its position ‘upstream’, FDI would therefore be an appropriate entry-point to implement a range of public health policies to ‘redirect’ the nutrition transition. Popkin (2009) in his study on Prospective Study on Nutrition Transition in China proposed that globalisation is generally blamed for changes in food consumption pattern that includes the food processing technique, marketing of food items, and the distribution system ofthe TFCs. There are other factors that play a crucial role in decline in energy expenditure. They include rapid

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expansion ofglobal mass media, leisure, work, and modes of transportation. All these factors have directly contributed to opening of the world economy. Traill (2006) in his article on The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets had charted the rapid rise of supermarkets almost everywhere in the developing world and forecast their continued rapid spread. The line of argument is that supermarkets are no longer places where only rich people shop; over the past 10 years or so, they have spread from the wealthy suburbs of major cities to poorer areas and much smaller towns. This has happened in response to a number of forces, many of them interconnected: rising incomes (also associated with higher ownership of consumer durables like fridges and cars which facilitate supermarket shopping), urbanisation, more female participation in the labour force (increased opportunity cost of time), and the desire to emulate Western culture, spurred on by globalisation of the media and advertising (linked in turn to the globalisation of food manufacturing and the promotion ofits products as well as of fast foods and soft drinks). There has also been a movement in most developing countries towards liberalisation of trade and investment which has brought the global supermarket chains into the scene. The spread of super-

markets in developing countries is an issue of topical interest because of their potential important impact on farming, food business, other retailers, and trade in processed food products and diets. Today’s corporate food regime - thus named to reflect the rise of the global corporations controlling our food supply from farm to fork - was built on the food regimes that preceded it. The Vietnam War and the 192 oil-producing Arab nations formed a cartel, restricting production and raising the price of petroleum. Banks filled up with ‘petrodollars’ at the same time that money was printed by the United States. Treasury to pay for the Vietnam War began to make its way into the international banking system (Russi 2013). Because they had to pay interest on all this cash, private banks were eager to invest and loaned this money generously with favourable terms to developing countries in the Global South. The United States and European governments encouraged heavy borrowing in large part so that Third World countries would buy Northern technology and hire Northern expertise for their economic development. The modernisation of agriculture was a big part of this development strategy. The Green Revolution pushed high-yielding hybrid seeds, synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, irrigation, and farm machinery with the help of the international agricultural research centres. It has succeeded in flooding the global market with food (Holt-Gimenez: 2017: 52). Nutrition Transition and Globalisation

Hawkes (2006) found that the consumption of foods high in fats and sweeteners is increasing throughout the developing world. The transition implicated in the rapid rise of obesity, and diet-related chronic diseases worldwide are rooted in the processes of globalisation. Globalisation affects the nature of agri-food systems, thereby altering the quantity, type, cost, and desirability of foods available for consumption. Understanding the links between globalisation and nutrition transition is, therefore, necessary to help policymakers develop

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policies, including food policies, for addressing the global burden of chronic diseases. Agricultural production and trade policies have enabled more vegetable oil consumption. Policies on FDI have facilitated higher consumption of highly processed foods as it has global food marketing. These dietary

outcomes also reflect the socio-economic and cultural context in which these policies are operating. An important finding is that the dynamic, competitive forces unleashed as a result of global market integration facilitate not only convergence in consumption habits (as is commonly assumed in the ‘Coca-Colonization’ hypothesis), but adaptation to products targeted at different niche markets. This convergence-divergence duality raises the policy concern that globalisation will exacerbate uneven dietary development between rich and poor. High-income groups in developing countries accrue the benefits of amore dynamic market place, and lower-income groups may well experience convergence towards poor-quality obesogeneic diets, as observed in the Western countries. Global economic policies concerning agriculture, trade, investment, and marketing affect what the world eats. They are therefore also considered

global food and health policies. Rise of Agribusiness and Other Global Food Networks Internationalisation of food companies and food markets began through the need of raw materials, for instance, vegetables oils and fats for the production of margarine. However, whereas earlier methods of food processing and manufacture started from primary agricultural products, the growth of the food industry has increasingly come to be driven by the demands of industrial processes and world markets. Agriculture has become dependent on industry; this has led to the rise of giant agribusiness firms which frequently have taken over plantations and factories in primary producing tropical and sub-tropical countries. Critics of these trends point to the unintended effects of the existence of these TNCs, most of them established in the 1970s, which often amount to the driving out of small farmers and the disruption of national food supply systems (Clutterbuck and Lang 1982; Dinham and Hines 1984; Rama 1985). Simultaneously both a condition for and an important consequence of these developments is the merging of chemical and food industries as in the case of Unilever (Sorj and Wilkinson 1987). Vepa (2004) in his study on I/mpact of Globalization on the Food Consumption of Urban India found that imports of food such as cereals and cereal products, cashew nuts, and edible oils have increased since globalisation began. The imports of many food items were liberalised by putting them on ‘open general licensing’, which does not require permission from the government. Import duties were reduced to negligible or zero levels on many food items. As a result, the food-related imports of cereals and products surged from 3,08,000 tonnes in 1990 to 16,20,000 tonnes in 1999-2000. Edible oil imports increased from 5,26,000 tonnes in 1990 to 41,90,000 tonnes in 2002 (Planning Commission ofIndia 2002). The expected impact on the higher-income groups is a shift to more expensive foods and imported processed foods and the spread of popular brands offast foods, both Indian and foreign. For urban India as a whole

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from 1987 to 1988 and 1999 to 2000, consumption pattern has changed. Consumption of rice and wheat has decreased marginally. Milk and egg consumption record an increase. Substantial increase over the various time periods are seen in the consumption of tea, biscuits, sated snacks, prepared sweets, edible oils, sugar, and jaggary. There is a decline in the intake offruit and vegetables. Thus, it seems that diets have shifted towards more sugar and fats, less fruit, and fewer vegetables. There is no evidence of a substantial shift in average diet towards nutritive and protective foods. The phenomenal growth in biscuit consumption and tea is more a result of prosperity and changing preferences. Therefore, the impact of globalisation on those two items appears to be at best indirect. Food and Globalisation in India

Globalisation and urbanisation have greatly affected one’s eating habits and forced many people to consume fancy and high-calorie fast foods, popularly known as ‘junk food’. Urbanisation is taking place at a faster rate in India. Population residing in urban area in India, according to 1901 Census, was 11.4 per cent. This count increased to 28.53 per cent according to 2001 Census, crossing 30 per cent as per 2011 Census, standing at 31.16 per cent (Datta 2006). The phenomenon of globalisation is having a major impact on food systems around the world. Undoubtedly, globalisation has facilitated the entry of branded products and outlets into the Indian market, such as Coca cola, Pepsi-cola, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, McDonald, Star buck, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, primarily for the more affluent consumers. Other local products of a cheaper variety, both by branded and unbranded producers, flooded the market. Globalisation is the main cause of the expanding market for ready-to-eat food (Vepa 2004). Apart from the FDI into food processing, service and retail had become particularly significant since the mid-1980s, enabling many of the recent developments in the production, distribution, and, subsequently, consumption of highly processed foods. FDI is the financial mechanism by which developed nations, many of which have shared their commitment to combating the ill effects of poor diets at home, spread some of the products associated with those poor diets to developing countries. Being a long-term investment vehicle, FDI also indicates where TFCs intend to be in the future and what products they intend to produce, sell, and promote. FDI is a key mechanism shaping the market for highly processed food in developing countries. FDI makes more processed food available to more people. It enables lower prices and opens up new purchasing channels. It also has repercussions for the food chain (Hawkes 2005). Ethnic Food and Globalisation

In this tirade against mechanisation and corporatisation of food, the ethnic communities and their food gets a Shagnri-La-esque imagery; somehow these cultures seem to be untouched by processing and mechanisation. This penchant for consuming the ethnic order is increasingly manifest by consuming ethnic

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good and services, and at the same time, these commodities assist in negotiating and enforcing differences (Halter 2007: 7). In multicultural and global contexts, this difference is all the more visible. And embracing the differences seems to be an ideal not only advocated and propagated by nation-states but by groups and individuals who convey cosmopolitan sensibilities by appreciating difference and seeking alternatives that question dominant modes. Consumers are in search of that magical potion that mixes the security of the old and the excitement of the new, and this is what ethnicity has to offer a ‘broad-based’ romantic search for the ethnic (Halter 2007). Corporations are quick to cash on this desire for the ethnic, especially in the food industry. As immigrant communities move to spaces away from home, their nostalgia for home is heightened. And food becomes a centre ofthis affinitive desire where nostalgia is captured in somatic sense. Looking into the nostalgia of home or ethnic food, the multinational food brands like Pillsbury are selling paranthas (stuffed flatbread) that evoke the memory of home through the invocation of a mother’s home-made delicacies. It is not just Pillsbury which is eyeing the expanding ethnic communities as potential customers, but Indian companies such as Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) and Priya, Miraj have also launched their own ready-to-eat packaged foods that not only aim for the Indian population but also for the global cosmopolitan consumer who likes to taste a bit of every culture. Ethnic representation at the global level deterritorialised ‘ethnosites’ in which the foreign is made familiar and the global miniaturised. They provide the opportunity to ‘taste’ the difference and to ‘eat’ exotic cultures from faraway places without leaving home (Turgeon and Pastinelli 2002: 247). Ethnic enclaves, with their eateries, are a huge attraction for those in quest for a taste for the other. Though ethnic restaurants are generally perceived as projecting an essentialised notion of the community involved, by its performative and staged projection of ethnicity - seen in its visual arrangements such as artefacts, cutlery, difficulty to pronounce local words for dishes, and waiters who belong to the ethnic group - it nevertheless has to make the ‘otherness’ a palatable factor ‘as a place in which consumers can encounter the other, while not straying too far from their own tastes’ (Lu and Fine 1995: 548). William Foote Whyte (1948) mentions interaction and states relations among restaurants and customers in an expanding, increasingly complex food service industry. Restaurant behaviour connects dining out with false conception and false presentation of self (Goffman 1959). With the effect of globalisation, the countries offer ample opportunities for consuming the products of foreign culinary traditions. Schematically, it seems likely that the process was one whereby particular and specific local culinary practices, which were specialised regionally even within nation-states until the mid-20th century, are been systematised and adopted to suit a diverse capitalist globalise market supporting food trade services. Interestingly, the spread of knowledge has not remained exclusively specialist, a property of migrant chefs who cook in the style of their place of origin, but has fed into most other areas of food and

eating. The cookery books intended for domestic use that offer recopies from

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particular foreign cuisine are among the most popular. The celebrated chefs are very likely to be versed in the techniques, flavours, and composition of several ethnic cuisines, adopting them to create inventive dishes which may, or may not in their descriptions, specifically identify their foreign culinary origin. There has also been some movement of skilled personnel, though often it would appear that the proprietor of the small ethnic restaurant is not adopted local dishes through use of herbs, spices, and combinations of flavourings that have their origin in culinary traditions. Thus, other ethnic cuisines are deployed to enrich the local repertoire of dishes. There is a considerable improvisation on the themes from culinary traditions, thereby establishing a certain hybridity across cuisines that have become almost the norm for professional cooking. According to Warde (2000), preservation, naturalisation, improvisation, and authentication emanate from and reproduce the disjunctive order of global cultural flows. Potentially, they offer opportunities and rewards to organise operating on both Fordist and Post-Fordist principles. The local industries in the United Kingdom comprise enterprises of all sizes, from giant and powerful mass manufacturers and mass retailers down to family-owned and operated business, together representing a complexly organised combination of mass and niche producers. Commercial provision generates a complex process of diffusion of foreign cuisines in the countries. In some instances, it encourages the global homogenisation of products associated with the multinational corporations. But it also indicates a process of increasing appreciation of world cuisines and borrowing by those acclaimed as the most creative and talented chefs of the age, from many, though not all, of the culinary traditions of the world (Warde 2000). Food, Media, and Globalisation

How advertisement entices the incongruity between the result of a sequence of events and the normal expected result is ironic. Traditionally, within a given culture, the affluent have had better general health and greater longevity than the poor. So, affluence has long been popularly associated with good health, but now the affluence is also creating a problem. Affluence removes food cost, a limiting factor affecting basic food consumption. People are encouraged to eat food that requires more steps to consume. Advertising also supports this and focuses on following: 1. 2. 3.

Awareness ofthe social value of high consumption Aneed or desire for it that encourages impulse buying Aclimate of permissiveness in regard to excess consumption.

Computer, smartphone, and internet are the modes through which recipes are uploaded and reviews of restaurants are written. One can also host a site about the food in the form of text or video. There is ample publicity through website traffic to lay with one’s hobby, and it can also provide an opportunity for livelihood. Social media highlight some positive as well as negative reviews in the food world. New media platforms like Blogs, Webzines, Facebook, and Twitter have opened up new spaces to talk about food, and virtual communities have online presence, including a Facebook page, a YouTube Channel, Twitter and Foursquare counts, and a Gourmet Live app.

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Aggressive advertising is another key factor which is one of the manifesta-

tions of globalisation. According to Peter Drucker (1954), ‘there is one valid definition of business purpose to create a customer’. Customers created from the web will be global players with their advertisement creating demand and soaring consumption. Information is the key to raising awareness ofthe range of consumption options available and enabling the consumers to decide which choices are best. Without information, there is no way of knowing what goods and services are available in the market and what services are being provided by the state and are by right available to all. Advertising and public information campaigns play an important role in this respect. Facebook and Whatsapp as social media have introduced new spaces where recipes of food, sharing of food preparation, displaying of food, etc. have given a new awareness about food preparation and its related ideas. Holmberg et al. (2016) aimed to explore how adolescents communicate food images in a widely used social media image-sharing application. They examined how and in what context food was presented and the type of food items that are frequently portrayed by following a youth-related hashtag on Instagram. The study found that most of the adolescent users shared images containing food items. A majority of the images depicted foods high in calories

but low in nutrients. Almost half of these images are arranged as a still life with food brand names clearly exposed. Many of these images are influenced by major food marketing campaigns. Fruits and vegetables occurred in around 20 per cent of all images. The group is frequently portrayed zoomed in with focus solely on the food, with a hashtag or caption expressing palatability. These images are often presented in the style of a cook book. Food is thus presented in varied ways. Adolescents themselves produced images copying food advertisements. This has clear health promotion implications since it becomes more challenging to monitor and tackle people’s exposure to marketing of unhealthy foods in these popular online networks because images are part of a lifestyle that the young people want to promote. Shared images contain personal recommendations, which mean that they may have a more powerful effect than commercial advertising. Amazon.com and Flipkart.com are providing availability and convenience, providing products at the doorsteps. Social media outlets are no longer just a venue to connect with friends but are increasingly a mechanism for consumers to learn about food. The web is populated with an abundance of blogs all talking about food in one form or another. Food is the main topic of conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Advertising special offers or coupons via the web is becoming more popular. It is now commonplace to find coupons on Facebook that can be downloaded. The

expansion and rise of food networking sites like Zomato stand testimony to the fact that Indians love eating and then telling their friends what they ate. Most urban consumers ‘Zomato’ new places prior to culinary visits. They use online reviews as a guide to visit outlets. The social media platforms definitely provide a win-win situation. They give feedback to the restaurant owners and help gain popularity because of mass word of mouth.

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The proliferation of social media applications such as online communities, social networking sites, or blogs gives the public new means for receiving and, importantly, providing information. Many opportunities are opening up for food risk communicators by the wide variety of social media applications and the digital environment and enormous abilities for storing, retrieving, and reusing information. The global nature of today’s food chains asks for a global approach in communicating food-related risk and benefit issues. However, the evolution of social media also presents a number of pitfalls related to information accuracy, trust, and source credibility. The paper by Rutsaert et al. (2013) portrays and comments on the structural changes in communication and discusses the current state of social media as a possible tool for communicating food risks and benefits. With tourism, communication, and spatial mobility, people have also started putting their comments about eateries on the social sites for reviews of the restaurants. The reviews posted are about feel, taste, and services, which include the personal touch and warmth ofserving the food and the level ofsatisfaction from the food which they ate. The narratives are also exchanged between the customers and chefs in their interaction, very much like the narratives in cookbooks and blogs which take the reader to a place of origin, a family hearth, and a culinary peculiarity of the family. The study of Andreyeva et al. (2011) analyses the effect of advertising on consumption. The data suggests that soft drinks and fast food television advertising are associated with increased consumption of soft drinks and fast food among elementary school children. Exposure to 100 incremental television advertisements for sugar-sweetened carbonated soft drinks during 2002-2004 was associated with a 9.4 per cent rise in children’s consumption of soft drinks in 2004. The same increase in exposure to fast food advertising was associated with a 1.1 per cent rise in children’s consumption of fast food. There was no detectable link between advertising exposure and average body weight, but fast food advertising was significantly associated with body mass index for overweight and obese children, revealing detectable effects for a vulnerable group of children. Exposure to advertising for calorie-dense nutrient-poor foods may increase overall consumption of unhealthy food categories. Gaber and Wright (2014) explored the factors that affect young Egyptian consumers’ attitudes towards fast food advertising on Facebook which is considered the most widely used social media network. With the increasing popularity of social media websites among the young generation, fast food marketers find it a more effective medium for advertising for their chains among the youths. Rousseau (2012) finds that the industry of celebrity chefs and of food media more generally points to an apparently insatiable popular appetite for all

things food-related. But things become more complicated once the business of food media has become far too diverse to be described with broad brushstrokes, which also means that its consumers are far from a homogenous group: food media as it exists today cater to everyone from complete beginners in the kitchen to accomplished cooks; from ‘foodies’ or self-confused ‘food porn’ addicts to those who enjoy watchdog humiliations and victories in competitive

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settings; from food activists (including ‘healthy’, ‘local’, ‘sustainable’, or ‘organic’ eaters) to those who delight in thumbing their noses at the so-called food police. The term food police could today equally describe the agendas of growing number of celebrity chefs and other food media personalities; though from the perspective of the consumer, it remains debatable whether they occupy the role of ‘good cop’ or bad cop’. Celebrity chefs do not (yet) yield the authority to improve structural changes on the way people eat, but they have more and more influence over those who hold that power, and they certainly have a significant

impact on a growing number of individual consumers. Nagla (2006) in her study found that health education is necessary to understand the predicaments of health. Health education is also disseminated through various channels of mass media, that is, television, radio, newspapers, etc. It is found that only 14.7 per cent urban people listen to health and food-related programmes daily on television channels. Only (2.7%) rural people are daily listening to health and food-related programmes on radio/television. Very surprisingly, more than 75 per cent of the rural respondents never watch

any health and food-related programmes on television, whereas 45.3 per cent do not watch television programme regarding health and food. In all, 40 per cent of the urban respondents watch health and food programmes on television whenever there is some epidemic problem in the country, for example, nowadays, it is dengue (mosquito bite disease) and asthma (respiratory disease). Thus, mass media do not seem to carry importance either in rural or urban communities for health programmes. Media representation of food and eating has negative and positive consequences for rational and critical thinking. Media as a powerful weapon across the globe make more authorities and more information available to complete for our limited attention.

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Mintz, S.W. and Du Bois C.M. (2002), ‘The Anthropology of Food and Eating’, Annual Review of Anthropology, 31: 99-119. Nagla, M. (2006), ‘Culture and Healthcare: An Interface’, Man in India, Vol. 86, No.1 and 2.

Nestle, M. (2002), Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Berkeley: University of California Press. Phillips, L. (2006), ‘Food and Globalization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, 35: 3-57. Pingali, P. and Y. Khwaja (2004), ‘Globalization of Indian Diets and the Transformation of Food Supply Systems’, Working Papers 04-05, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

(FAO-ESA) No. 854-2016-56199. Planning Commission (2002), Tenth Five-Year Plan 2002-2007, New Delhi: Government of India. Popkin, B.M. (2009), ‘Prospective Study on Nutrition in China’, Nutrition Review, 67(1): 56-61. Pramanick, S.K. and R. Ganguly (2010), Globalization Emerging Challenges, New Delhi: PHI Learning.

in India: New

Frontiers and

Rama, Ruth (1985), ‘Do transnational agribusiness firms encourage the agriculture for developing countries? The Mexican Experience’, Food Systems, 37(3): 331-43. Regmi, A. and M. Gehlar (2001), ‘Consumer Preferences and Concerns Shape Global Food Trade’, Food Review, 24: 2268-71. Rousseau, S. (2012), Food Media: Celebrity Chefs and the Politics of Everyday Interface, London: Berg. Rousseau, S. (2012), Food and Social Media: You are What You Tweet, New York: Rowman Altamira.

Russi, L. (2013), Hungry Capital: The Financialization of Food, Washington, DC: Zero Books.

Rutsaert, P. et al. (2013), ‘The Use of Social Media in Food Risk and Benefit Communication’, Trends in Food Science and Technology, 30(1): 84-91. Sanderson, S. (1985) (ed.), The American in the New International Division of Labour, New York: Holmes and Meier. Sethia, S. (2013), ‘India’s Changing Consumption Journal of Management, 5(2): 1-12.

Pattern’,

GYANPRATHA-ACCMAN

Smart, J. (1997), ‘Borrowed Men on Borrowed Time: Globalization, Labour Migration,

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and Local Economies in Alberta’, Canadian Journal of Region Science, 20(1-2): 141-56. (2003), ‘Ethnic Entrepreneurship, Transmigration, and Social Integration: On Ethnographic Study of Chinese Owners in Rural Western Canada’, Urban Anthro; pology, 32(3-4): 311-42.

Sobal, J. (2001), ‘Community: Globalization and the Epidemiology of Obesity’, /nternational Journal of Epidemiology, 30: 1136-37. Sorj, B. and J. Wilkinson (1987), From Farming to Biotechnology: A Theory of Agro-Industrial Development, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publications.

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Tinker, I. (1999), ‘Streets Foods in the 21st Century’, Agricultural Human 327-33.

Value, 16:

Traill, W.B. (2006), ‘The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets’, Development Policy Review, 24: 163-74. Turgeon, L. and M. Pastinelli (2002), ‘Eat the World: Postcolonial Encounters in Quebec City’s Ethnic Restaurants’, The Journal of American Folklore, 115(456): 247-8.

Vepa, S.S. (2004), ‘Impact of Globalization on the Food Consumption of Urban India’, Food and Nutrition Paper, 83: 215-30. Warde, A. (2000), ‘Eating Globally: Cultural Flows and the Spread of Ethnic Restaurants’, in D. Kalb et al. (eds), The Ends of Globalization: Bring Society Back in, New York: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 299-316. Weismantel, M. (1988), Food, Gender and Poverty in the Ecuadoran Andes, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. WHO (1998), Obesity: Preventing Managing the Global Epidemic, Geneva: WHO. Whyte, W.F. (1948), ‘Human Relations in the Restaurant Industry’. Wu, D.Y.H. and S.C.H. Cheung (eds) (2004), The Globalization of Chinese Food, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Index

aboriginal tribes 64

Anand, D. 102

absorption levels 229, 231

ancient food regulations

absorption per capita 230

Anderson, E.N. 150

Acharya, S.S. 61, 228-29

animal-based food share 66

Achaya, B.N. 115

Annapurana Scheme

Achaya, K.T. 66, 108

Anon

Adams, C. 91

Antle, J.M. 198

adulterated food 209, 214, 216-17

Antyodaya Anna Yojna 233

adulteration in food items 157, 209

APL consumers

Agarwal, B. 117, 238 Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority

APL families 244, 246, 248 Arabic medicine 101 armed conflicts 223

(APEDA) 174

agricultural development planners 227

103,

Agricultural Development Policy 103

213

234

65, 100

246

Arnold, D. 58

Aroma of Meats 35

artificial intelligence 189 Ashworth, A. 79, 146

Agricultural Price Commission 239, 242 agricultural production 96, 136, 185, 226-27, 240, 261

Asian food 255

agricultural productivity 232 Agriculture Price Commission (APC) 240 agro-biodiversity 173

Awadhi cuisine 68 Axonhe vegetables 69 Ayurveda system of medicine 164

Asian cultures

109

Ajzen, |. 98 Allison, A. 92

Banerjee, S.M. 35

Alordo, R. 95

Barker, M.E. et al. 77

Amiraian, D. 91-92

Barolosius, E. 54

272

| Index

beef-eating

37

consumer awareness

83

Belasco, W.J. 54, 162

consumer markets

below poverty line (BPL) 22, 233

consumer preferences

Bengal Famine

Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 218

58, 237, 238, 241

76

201, 259

Bengali food 69

Contemporary Food Consumers

Bernard, C. 35

Cosminsky, S. 150

biodegradable products

46

crop performance

biodiversity conservation

95

crop rotation

biodiversity management

94, 226

culinary poisons

bio-preservatives

191

241

178 214

culinary techniques

biotechnological process

204

culinary traditions

Biswas, G. etal. 203

53

124 57, 68, 131, 263-64

Currier, R. 151

Blaxter, M. 77

Bodenstedt, A.A. 72

Dabbawala System

Bollgard technology Bond, S. 51

180

189

dairy products 37, 61, 74, 111, 137, 174, 176, 187, 192

Borlaug’s breeding techniques 225 Bourdieu, P. 2, 16, 30, 33, 78, 108

Deivanai, P. 43 Dettwyler, K.A. 77

Brahmanism

developmentalism approach

61

brand advertisements 210 brand-conscious consumers

48

British food 151 Bryant, C.A. 79

36

dialectical approach 27 diet and disease 139 diet and nutrition in Harappan Civilisation 58

dietary adaptation of diets 74 Caldwell, M.L. 73

dietary advice

Calnan, M. 77

dietary pattern

canning 46, 59, 185-87

dietary practices and health

cereal consumption

dietary supplement market 80

250, 252

152 83,110, 112, 159

20

Chandragupta’s period 215

disease control and prevention

changing lifestyle 44, 76

diversification of food 250, 252

Chapman, M. 77-78 Chattopadhyay, P. 257-58 child nutrition 102 childhood food and nutrition

44

domestic products 198 domesticating imperialism 35 Douglas, M. 32-34, 108, 124, 252 146

Du Bois, A.A.

126, 256

Chopra, R.N. 245 chronic malnutrition

224

eating disorders

Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)

53, 196, 213

16, 73, 78, 81-82

eating habits 19, 26, 33, 42,72 eating practices

72, 108, 129

colouring agents 186-87

ecological balance

Colwell, R.R. 185

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

common-food connotation

compost ingredients

178

100

(ESCRs)

174

221-22

energy demands

163

Index

energy economy

163

food crisis 229-30 food distribution and technology 184, 188

Essential Commodity Act 248 ethnic food and globalisation

262

ethnic food outlet 72

food distribution chain

food grain production

197

245

food management system

family planning

145

242

food pattern 72

famine and food shortages

135

food policy in India 238-39, 241, 248

farm economy in India 248

food preservation level 191

farming community

food preservation methods

farming systems

| 273

256

192

food processing and technology

170, 182

fast food facilities 43, 53

food product labelling 207

fast food in India 44

food products

184, 186

selection of 152

fast food meals 43, 259 fast food, emerging trends of 42

food recipe access to 190

Finch, J. 78

Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 202,218

Fine, B. 73

Fink, A.E. 79

food safety 195 challenges in 204

Fischler, C. 32-33, 75, 79 Fishbein, M. 98

food sovereignty 220

food activists 267 food adulteration

21, 203, 214, 216

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 53, 66,171

food and bad health 155 food and beverage market in India 207 food and diet 16, 63 food and dietary practices food and diet

17 see also

food trade in India 219

food utilization 225 food wastage

189

foods classification of 41-54 functional food and consumer

Functional Food Centre (FFC) 49

Gangulee, N. 114-15

food and eating sociological relevance of 16

garbage disposal 53

food and nutritional stress

gendered foodways 92-93

139

50

food and technology 183-85

genetically modified (GM) 169, 179, 207

food and women

genetically modified organisms (GMOs) 155, 169, 193, 198

food avoidance

18, 90-102 36

global homogenisation

food belief systems 75 food bioterrorism

204

food chain 42,51-52 food consumption pattern

72-74

food contaminants in India surveillance of 205 food control services

214

Food Corporation ofIndia (FCI) 234, 239

264

Global Hunger Index (GHI) 143, 228, 234n1 global market integration 261 globalisation 16, 22-23, 42-43, 47, 72, 159-60 GM food crops 180 GM foods 157, 179, 181-82, 208 critical analysis of 181

274

| Index

GMO products

hygienic practices

180

HYV seeds

Godbole, A. 98

53,191

247

Goldey, P. 98 Goody, J. 33, 35-38, 107

ideology 103, 152-53

Grant Thornton

IFOAM guidelines

76

Green Revolution 244, 260

23, 59, 185, 225, 232,

Igun, U.A. 79 immunization

145, 154-55

e E

Grignon, C. 75, 77 Gujarati cuisines

171

improved scientific literacy 202 68

Indian consumer market

83

Indian Consumer Protection Act 218 habitual decisions

17, 63

Indian consumers

43, 48, 80, 204, 208

Hanks, J.R. 101

Indian cuisine

Harinarayan, C.etal. 138

Indian diet 52, 66-67, 115, 137

Harper, A.E. 251 Harris, M.B. 17, 36, 78

Indian dietaries 67 regional characteristics of 67

Hawkes, C. 187

Indian food basket 72

hazard analysis 53, 199, 206

Indian food 18, 35, 42, 57-58, 72

health claims 49-50, 149

Indo-Aryans

health consciousness

infant feeding practice 79

health education

48, 83, 152

267

infant mortality 110,145

health problems, nutrition-related

76

healthier living 148 Herzfeld, M. 18 high-pressure pressuring (HPP)

high-yielding varieties (HYVs)

187

239

Hindu caste 116

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) 170 internationalisation

64

Japanese culture 92-93

37, 124, 128-29

Jejeebhoy, S.J. 110

HMR terminology 52 household food consumption

18, 107 97

household food requirements

93, 233

hunger and malnutrition, eradication of 22, 82,90, 223, 223, 238

Jewish scripture

124

Johnson, R. 19 Jones, D.A. 79

junk food 19, 43-44, 79-80, 119, 262

hunger free India 243

Kalhang pork 69

hunger status of India 225

Kapferer, J.N. 54

hybridisation

Kapil, U. 109

hydrogenated fats 135

225

lyenagar, P.T.S. 63

Hindu food practices 46

180

261

intra-family allocation

Hindu ethos 63

household food production

Information Technology Companies (ITC) 172,188

Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) 226

healthy food 91, 118, 134, 149

Hinduism

100

infant mortality rate 232, 234n1

health food freaks 82

Hindu meal

69

Kashmiri cuisines

67

Index

Kashyap, M.et al. 44, 76

microbiological element

Kautilya’s Arthasastra

Midday Meal Scheme

215

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) 42, 262 Kerala cuisine

195

233

migrants and food consumption pattern

68

| are

80

Khare, R.S. 61, 63

milk and milk products order 203, 218

Khasi Pulao 69

milk consumption 137 milk products 60-62, 64-65, 67, 112, 149, 229

Khwaja, Y. 258 Kittler, F. 125

Konyak women of Northern Nagaland 98 Kosher diet 124

143

minimum support price (MSPs) 234, 240 Mitchell, P.C. 184 modern consumers

Lacey, R. 54

lactic acid bacteria (LAB)

54

modern food processing technology

191

modern individualism

Leach, E. 15, 124, 134 legal entitlements

mineral deficiencies

modern vegetarianisms

233

Levi-Strauss structuralism

32

28 151

Nagla, M. 93, 152, 233, 267

Lewis, O. 61

livestock management

186

Nandy, A. 59

80

naturalistic feeding 29

livestock rearing 176

Nestle, M. 204, 258

Long-Term Grain Policy 234, 246

non-clinical studies 49

MacDonald’s Happy Meal packaging 207 Mahias, M.C. 61-62 Malhotra, A. 43

43

non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) 161 non-vegetarian foods 128-29

Malinowski, B. 15, 134

nutraceuticals

market food industry 43 Marx’s key concepts

non-home food market

nutrition and dietetics

29

material individualism

maternal mortality rate (MMR) Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR)

16

nutrition policy 22, 109, 139, 250, 252

29

McDonald’s restaurants

49

232

263

nutrition security 16, 83, 99, 226, 244, 250, 252 nutrition transition 259-60

44

76, 84, 135, 187,

McKenzie, J.C. 32

nutritional behaviour

meal patterns 74,115

nutritional support 41, 63

meal suppliers 189

nutritionism

meal-eating mammal

163

72,255

140

nutritious food supply 183

meat food products order 203, 218 medieval oscillation 35

nutritious food 19-21, 53, 99, 110, 143, 183, 221, 224, 233, 259

Mennell, S. 35-36 obese people 161

Mennell’s work 37 metabolic exhaustion

192

Mexican wheat 225 microbiological contaminations

218

obesity, development of 146 old age pension 234 old age, diseases of 163, 251

276

| Index

online food shopping oral rehydration

procurement prices 240, 242, 245-47, 249

190-91

producer-product-consumer

145

181

Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSF) 204

product differentiation strategy 207

organic agriculture

profit repatriation 46

organic eaters

170-73

public health problem

267

organic farming in India 172

213, 252

Punjabi dishes 67

170-76, 178

Punjabi food 67

organic food market

175, 177-78

organic food product

pure foods 46

173,175

Pyke, M. 184

Organic Foods Production Act see OFPA orthorexia nervosa disorder

82 see also eating

Qadeer, I. 252

QUAC Stick 102 quality control 205-6, 218, 245

packaged foods 80, 175, 190, 197, 208, 263 parental education

137

Patwardhan, S. 115

PDS management Pelto, R.H. 79,151

175, 210

Ramaswamy, N.S. 60 Rao, A.R. 102 Ratnagar, S. 58

people’s food 30 per capita foodgrain absorption

229

66, 110, 229-30, 239

Pingali, P. 258 policies, food and nutrition

238

post-Fordist principles 264 post-harvest losses 98

ready-to-drink foods 48 ready-to-eat foods

16,92

ready-to-serve foods 48 ready-to-use foods 47 225

regional food safety issues in India 203

Regulated Market Acts 248

Prabhavathi, Y. etal. 42, 44

183

preservatives 139, 141, 162, 174, 186-87, 192, 217-18 94

pre-sociological baseline 67

prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) 203, 216-17, 248 pricing policy 173, 246

restaurant and street food classification of foods restaurant chains

famous Indian internal 17

52 see also

17, 23

17

retail supply chain 203 rice procurement

241

rice-eating people 64 Richards, A. 15, 31, 134

Right to Food and Beneficiaries

primordial people 28

Right to Food and United Nations

Priyadarshi, A.P. 252 processed-food markets

ready-made foods 129

regional food habits 131

poverty line families 244 above 243-44 below 22, 233, 243 precision agriculture

Ray, P.et al. 58

Red-revolutions

post-reform periods 249

preservers

quality product

Radhakrishna, R.et al. 250

245

PDS see public distribution system

per capitaincome

quality food 244

42

right to food 22, 143, 220-24

223 221

Index

Roy, P. 59

Toomey, P.M. 35

rural development policies 103, 227

totemistic symbols 64

Russian Revolution

tracking waste food 189-90

31

traditional cuisine

131-32

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) 197

traditional food habit 130

Sasson, A. 185

traditional food preserves

Savithri, R. 58

traditional food 42,48

self-service restaurants

44

| 277

131

Traill, W.B. 260

Sengupta, J. 35

transnational food companies (TFCs) 42, 259

Shiva, V. 59, 96

tropical rainforest 201

Simons, F.J. 36

Tyler, S.A. 129

Sen, A.K. 78

Singh, V.P. 191 Sinha, S.K. 227-28

Udupi restaurants

Siro, |. etal. 49

undernutrition 139, 146, 150, 158-59, 162-63, 250-51

Sloan, A.E. 51

17

unsafe food 152, 202

Sobol,J. 91-92

untargeted food supplementation

social structure and food consumption pattern 76

Uphoff, N. 228

socio-economic scale

US Department ofAgriculture (USDA) 170

161

socio-economic strata

138

251

sociology of food and eating 16, 32 soilerosion

van Otterloo, A.H. 74,151

172-73

soil fertility 170, 172-73, 178

Varjonen, J. 83

solvent extracted oil 203

Vasantha, S.et al. 76

structural anthropology

108

Vedic instructions 99, 130

subsistence rights 22, 233

Vedic literature 64

substitutionism

Vedic texts 62

73

sumptuary laws 27

vegetable by-products

Supakara, S. 215

vegetable oil products 203

supermarket chains 159, 260

vegetable oil 47, 62, 66, 100, 165, 261

supplement food intake 138

vegetable products 75, 192, 209

Swaminathan, M.S. 59, 228, 252

vegetarianism

Swantz, M.L. 77

vegetarians proportion of 66, 111-12

symbolism

31,37, 124

Symons, M. 27-28, 75, 124 Talwar, J.P. 42

Tandoori food 67 see also Punjabi dishes

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement 197 Thow, A.M.

187

178

54, 64, 66, 75, 102,137,151

Venkat, V. 180 Verma, S.K. 98

virtual cookbook

190

Viscusi, W.K.et al. 198

Vishnu-Mittre

58

vitamin and mineral deficiencies

Vogel, D. 201

143

278

|

Index

women and food provision

von Grember, K.et al. 143

98

women and food security 98 Walsh, J.E. 35

women and natural resources

Wansink, B.et al. 92

women and production of food 95

Warde, A. 264

women’s empowerment

water-irrigation canals 232

Worboys, M. 58

Welch, R.W.

world cuisines

184

264

Wellin, E. 151 western breakfast food 46

Young, M.E. etal. 92

western culture

Yudkin, J. 32

91, 260

western franchised fast foods 83

Wheat-based Nutrition Programme

234

Zero Hunger

234n1

Whitaker, A. 126

Zimmermann, F. 35

Whyte, W.F. 263

Zlotnick, S. 35

women and child development women and economic access

234, 237

Zomato

189, 265

93

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NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY NAGARBHAVI, BENGALURU - 560 072 This book must be returned by the date stamped below

zi hen

Madhu Nagla is former Professor and Head, Department of Sociology,

M.D. University, Rohtak. She served as the President of Research Committee |3 ‘Sociology of Leisure’ of the International Sociological Association (2016-18). Her core areas of interest are gender, health, leisure and food studies. She has travelled widely for national and international conferences and has also published numerous articles in journals of national and international repute. Her earlier published works include Sociology of Health and Medicine, Sociology of Health, Gender and Health and Sociology of Medical Profession.

BD. l209G]

AU, 1.2094)

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DZS 22|

Cover design: Mercury

ISBN 978-81 -316-1122-7

T1195

in this book ... *

Introduction

*

Sociology of Food: Theoretical Orientations

*

Classification of Foods: Emerging Trends

¢

Food and Dietary Practices in India

*

Food Consumption Pattern: An Indian Basket

*

Food and Women

*

Feeding the Family in India: An Approach to

Household Food Consumption

—

*

Food, Food Habits, and Culture

8

*

Food, Health, and Nutrition: TheIncerface

¢

Food, Health, and Disease: An Emp i al

Fe c dinIndia :

¢ Organic and Genetically — * Food and Technology

.

* Food Safety and Food Labeling ° Food Protection aus: Internationaland _ National Scenario

o

.

Right to Food and Food Securing

*

Food and Nutrition Policy: A Critical al Analysis

*

Food, Globalisation, and Media

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