Non-vegetarian food consumers have increased in India, including in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, as per data released by the recent National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5).
This is significant because right-wing supremacists have been peddling the false narrative that non-vegetarians are a small minority in India. In fact, it is based on this false narrative that state administrations have attempted to remove eggs from mid-day meal plans, and non-veg food vendors from the streets. However, latest health data shows that more people are joining an already significant non-vegetarian population.
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Groups across India were surveyed from 2019 to 2021 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compared to the 10-year gap between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4, the recent report was published only after a gap of five years.
More meat-lovers in Gujarat
As per the data, non-veg eaters in BJP-led Gujarat increased by at least seven percentage points over five years. As many as 39 percent of 33,343 surveyed women and 51 percent of 4,957 surveyed men confirmed eating fish or chicken or similar meat. These percentages are higher than the NFHS-4 data (2015-16) when 30.8 percent of 22,932 surveyed women and 43.5 percent of 5,567 surveyed men said they consumed non-veg.
Moreover, by 2019-21, 2.4 percent women (around 800 people) and 2.1 percent men (104 people) consumed such non-vegetarian food daily. Another 17.8 percent women (5,935 people) and 18.5 percent men (917 people) ate the food weekly, while 18.6 percent women (6,208 people) and 30.3 percent men (1,502 people) ate it occasionally.
In terms of egg consumption, 37.9 percent women (12,637 people) and 52.1 percent men (2,583 people) in 2019-21 said they consumed eggs – be it daily, weekly or occasionally. Again, this is more than the 2015-16 data that said 31.2 percent women (7,155 people) and 46.3 percent men (2,578 people) eat eggs.
In November 2021, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) tried to ban the sale of non-veg food on city streets. Other cities like Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Rajkot also tried to ban the sale of these ready-to-eat items. Officials claimed that non-vegetarian food on streets creates a health hazard because such food is “unhygienic and harmful to the environment”. However, the Gujarat High Court came down heavily upon the AMC for taking such actions against street vendors challenging its authority from curbing people’s right to eat.
Maharashtra’s non-vegetarians continue to grow in number
Maharashtra too showed a gradual increase in the number of non-veg eaters. After surveying 33,755 women and 5,048 men, the NFHS-5 data said that 71.8 percent women and 83.2 percent men confirmed consuming meat by 2019-21. The NFHS-4 data (2015-16) showed around 70 percent of 29,460 surveyed women and 81.9 percent of 4,497 surveyed men consumed non-veg. This shows that in a state where non-veg consumers are already in the majority, popularity for the food only continues to grow.
By 2019-21, 3.7 percent women (1,249 people) and 5.5 percent men (278 people) consumed such non-vegetarian food daily. Another 41.6 percent women (14,042 people) and 53.8 percent men (2,716 people) ate the food weekly, while 26.5 percent women (8,945 people) and 23.9 percent men (1,206 people) ate it occasionally.
Over half of MP eats non-veg food
In Madhya Pradesh, 53.6 percent of 48,410 surveyed women and 66 percent of 6,503 surveyed men confirmed eating fish or chicken or similar meat. Whereas, the NFHS-4 data (2015-16) showed 51.7 percent of 62,803 surveyed women and 68.6 percent of 9,510 surveyed men consumed non-veg. As is apparent, there is a glaring difference in the sample size for the two surveys. Thus, while the latest data may be nominal non-veg eaters account for over half the population.
The NFHS-5 report shows that at least 0.6 percent women (290 people) and 1.6 percent men (104 people) consumed such non-vegetarian food daily. Another 14.3 percent women (6,923 people) and 23.7 percent men (1,541 people) ate the food weekly, while 27.2 percent women (13,168 people) and 35.3 percent men (2,296 people) ate it occasionally.
In terms of egg, 47.7 percent women (23,092 people) and 65.6 percent men (4,266 people) in 2019-21 said they consumed eggs be it daily, weekly or occasionally. This is relatively the same as NFHS-4 data when 47.4 percent women (29,768 people) and 65.9 percent men (6,267 people) consumed eggs in 2015-16.
Egg consumption remains a controversial topic in MP, as the majority claims to have a largely vegetarian cuisine. The issue extends to mid-day meal plans offered to children from families, who struggle to provide food for their off-springs. Many nutritional experts have pushed the inclusion of eggs in the plan for proper-development of children, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.
UP not far behind
Despite a five-year difference, Uttar Pradesh reported relatively static progression in terms of non-vegetarian consumption. As per the report, 53.6 percent of 93,124 surveyed women and 66 percent of 11,157 surveyed men confirmed eating fish or chicken or similar meat. Meanwhile, the NFHS-4 data (2015-16) showed 51.7 percent of 97,661 surveyed women and 68.6 percent of 12,946 surveyed men consumed non-veg.
Latest data said that 0.8 percent women (745 people) and 2.2 percent men (245 people) consumed such non-vegetarian food daily. Another 19 percent women (17,694 people) and 28 percent men (3,124 people) ate the food weekly while 33.8 percent women (31,476 people) and 35.8 percent men (3,994 people) ate it occasionally.
In terms of egg, 59.6 percent women (55,502 people) and 73.8 percent men (8,234 people) in 2019-21 said they consumed eggs be it daily, weekly or occasionally. This is relatively the same as NFHS-4 data when 56.2 percent women (54,885 people) and 74.5 percent men (9,645 people) ate eggs in 2015-16.
Concerns persist in Karnataka
The NFHS-5 data for the southern state accounted for 2019-20 alone. It said that 77.6 percent of 30,455 surveyed women and 85.4 percent of 4,120 surveyed men confirmed eating fish or chicken or similar meat. This is lower than the NFHS-4 data (2015-16) that showed 80.3 percent of 26,291 surveyed women and 86.5 percent of 3,743 surveyed men.
Recently, members of the Lingayat community demanded that the state government serve “pure vegetarian” meals in government schools. However, the children were the first to reject this and said they want the boiled eggs three times a week. Still, around December 2021 the government began to ‘explore’ alternatives to boiled eggs in mid-day meal plans.
In terms of egg-intake, 82.2 percent women (25,034 people) and 89.6 percent men (3,692 people) in 2019-20 said they consumed eggs be it daily, weekly or occasionally. This is relatively the same as NFHS-4 data when 82.9 percent women (21,795 people) and 90.1 percent men (3,372 people) ate eggs in 2015-16.
As for fish, chicken and other non-veg items, 5.5 percent women (1,675 people) and 7.3 percent men (301 people) in 2019-21 said they consumed the food daily. Another 52.2 percent women (15,898 people) and 52.8 percent men (2,175 people) ate the food weekly, while 19.9 percent women (6,061 people) and 25.3 percent men (1,042 people) ate it occasionally.
An Indian Express analysis report recently looked at NFHS-5’s nationwide data and said that there’s a 5-percentage-point drop in the proportion of men aged 15-49 years who have never consumed non-vegetarian food. The data stood at 16.6 percent men in 2019-21 and 21.6 percent men in NFHS-4. However, the proportion of women in the same age group remained relatively stable between 29.4 percent women in 2019-21 and 29.9 percent women of 2015-16.
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