FIELDWORK SEGMENT (PRM 2008-10)

THEME PAPER

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERN ACROSS SELECTED INDIAN

VILLAGES

Host Organisation: URAVU, BAIF, CCD, RACHANA

Submitted by:

Ashish Chandra (29041), Ashish Chaturvedi (29042), C A Farzana Najeeb (29043) and C. Sudhir (29044)

INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT ANAND

2008

ABSTRACT

Food is a primary need of a human being. It is the need that drives all

human beings to action. All the productive work and labour on the earth is

associated with the fulfilment of this requirement. The state has the responsibility

for the food security for its people. Only once it is able to provide sufficient food to

its people can it think for other dimensions of development. So a comprehensive

understanding of the determinants of food consumption pattern is a prerequisite to

the initiation of any development plan.

A topic having a sociological dimension was difficult to analyze because of

little scope of quantitative study. Understanding the psychology of people

regarding food was difficult to extract and judge. Asking direct questions regarding

food consumption was something that could have embarrassed the villagers. So,

one of the most important methodologies used by us was unobtrusive observations

where we tried to observe the activities of the people without offending them. This

study dealt with understanding of some personal issues. So, we tried to build a

good rapport with the villagers and then gathered information regarding their past

experiences, present status as well as future aspirations associated with food

security.

The study reveals that there has been a continuous development and change

in the food habits and the ways of production, preparation and consumption of

food. After the study, it is clear that food has a holistic dimension. Although, food

is one of the primary needs, but it is also associated with factors like tradition,

culture, religion, class, and caste. Geographical location influences the culture and

traditions of a place, which in turn influences what one eats. The increased market

accessibility in the most interior villages has led to the dependence on small

grocery stores. The comprehensive understanding of the determinants of food

consumption pattern is a precursor to frame any intervention scheme aiming at

inclusive growth of the rural masses.

Table of Contents

S. No TopicPage No.

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1 Introduction 11.1 Key Findings 22 Objectives 33 Methodology 34 Limitations 55 Literature Survey 66 Society and Food 7

7Agriculture pattern and food consumption 8

7.1 Climate and Topography 87.2 Landholding pattern 98 Food, Nutrition and Health 10

8.1 Milk and Milk products 108.2 Protein Sources 108.3 Fruits and vegetables 118.4 Alcoholism 129 Culture and Food 13

9.1 Festivals and rituals 139.2 Family 1610 Seasonal variations 17

10.1 Preservation of food 1810.2 Cuisines 1811 Social Stratification 1912 Market Linkage 2013 Government Interventions 2014 Conclusion 2215 References 23

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

What is the meaning of food? The meaning goes far beyond the basic

human need to satisfy his / her hunger and hence the survival functions. Food is

used in rituals to guarantee fertility, prosperity, a good marriage and an afterlife. It

is also used to display the power, the wealth of the state, the community and the

family.

Food is one of the ways through which humans beings define their

civilisations. Identity – religious, national, caste wise, are all closely bound with

the food people eat. Every group thinks of itself as special and exceptional and

uses food as one of the mediums to show its uniqueness. For example, in Kerala,

coconut is an integral part of any food preparation. Sometimes this identity through

food also leads to conflicts as that occur due to the distinction among the people

consuming vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items.

Indian society is a multi-faceted one, and every region has a unique culture

of its own and this gets reflected in the food that the people living in the region

consume. The food that we eat has a meaning attached to it. As we go deeper into

the subject, we find that even small details like the kind of utensils, spices, oil

used, and the time of the day when food is eaten reflect a person’s identity. “In

European and American cultures, serving of whole boiled chicken at an important

occasion would be an insult, while in Taiwan; it is the centre piece of a banquet”

(Source: Cuisine and Culture). Food is such an integral part of our culture, that a

huge number of literatures have been devoted for its study. Also, with such a

diversified culture, a lot of festivals, folk songs, idioms, folklores are centred on

food.

The communal interaction of people who eat together is much more than

for those who do not. Even if the family members are engaged in various

agricultural activities, food gives the opportunity to the family members to find a

common time in the day to sit and interact. Food plays an important role in the

Indian society which is known for its family bonding and gregarious character.

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Thus, the holistic role of food, not only as a necessity but, as the means to maintain

the integrity was an interesting part that was observed during the study.

Food is often used as a political weapon not only by the national

government but also by the heads of the village. Many a times, the incumbent

government in our country has been thrown out of power because of the rise in

food prices. The state also plays an important role in affecting agricultural and

food policies, intervening to provide food to the needy with an eye to social

stability and intervening in the eating habits to promote a healthy population. The

significance of food as a survival tool can be gauged from the fact that at the time

of election the people are taken into confidence by the politicians who give them

promises of food security.

We have tried to study the psychology and sociology related to food and

the efforts of human beings made to fulfil this need in the selected villages of our

country. The scarcity of resources in the rural areas, forces the households to

compromise on the other needs in their struggle to satisfy the need for food. So, if

any development plans have to be initiated for this section of the society, the first

step would be to suffice the need of food.

In the latter part, we relate the food consumption pattern of the villages

studied with various determinants like agricultural pattern, farming practises,

resource availability, culture, religion, income and caste. We have also tried to

assess the health and nutrition conditions amongst the various strata of society.

1.1 Key Findings

India has gone from a nation dependant on food imports to feed its

population to a self sufficient behemoth. In 1966, India imported 18000 tonnes of

high yielding variety of wheat seeds. And a green revolution was ushered in. There

was no place to store this sudden burst of food grains. Today, India harvests more

than 70 million tonnes of wheat. India is blessed with a rich diverse climatic and

topographical conditions and therefore, a large variety of crops and food items are

produced here. India is one of the biggest producers of milk, vegetables, and fruits.

In spite of the above mentioned impressive data, many Indian villages still face

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food insecurity and the overall growth in the food production has not been equally

distributed. With this theme, we had the opportunity to gauge into the actual

scenario present in the studied villages regarding the food availability and coping

strategies. The Indian government takes pride in calling India an independent food

state, but the situation is not as rosy as it seems.

In most of the tribal communities, food plays a uniting factor in the sense

that earlier, people used to hunt and share the catch together. This culture is present

even now in the tribal communities wherein the villagers help each other in their

agricultural activities. There have also been instances where the difference in the

consumption of food has resulted in the alienation of two communities. All across

the places, the influence of culture and religion plays a significant role in

determining the consumption pattern. The impact of government food intervention

policies is different in the places of our study. While in the village of Kerala, these

policies are carried out efficiently, in Maharashtra, the foods grains meant for PDS

are sold in the black market.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

The objective of the theme paper was to conduct a study on the following topics:

The food culture, practices and tradition vary from place to place. So, one

of the important objectives was to understand the various determinants of

food consumption pattern.

To conduct a comparative study within the four selected villages.

To have a longitudinal study in each village.

3.0 METHODOLOGY

The choice of the four villages was based on geographical location and cultural

differences among them. The specificity of each village was a major aspect that we

looked forward to for conducting a study of this magnitude. The four places where

the study is focussed are:

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Kanjani, Nandurbar district (Maharasthra)

Lokari (B), Adilabad district (Andhra Pradesh)

Pozuthana, Wayanad district (Kerala)

Raithal, Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand)

Since, the data requirement of our theme paper was qualitative in nature; we

mainly depended on the primary sources such as:

Transect Walk: For the first few days, we did the transect walk and tried

to differentiate the various sections of the village on the basis of castes and

class. We also tried to resource map the village and assess the agricultural

land and irrigation facilities, etc.

Unobtrusive Observation: Asking direct questions regarding food

consumption was something that could have embarrassed the villagers. So,

one of the most important methodologies used by us was unobtrusive

observations, where we tried to observe the activities of the people without

offending them.

Rapport Building: This study dealt with understanding of some personal

issues. Directly questioning people regarding the food availability and

practises would have made them uncomfortable. So, we tried to build a

good rapport with the villagers and then gather information regarding past

experiences, present status as well as future aspirations associated with

food security.

Semi structured interviews: During our observation of the village life and

the food consumption pattern, there were many questions that were there in

our minds. To find the answers to these questions, we used the interview

method. This was a semi-structured method as we had a mix of open ended

and close ended questions. This was a conscious decision, as we wanted to

explore the determinants of food habits and consumption pattern.

Women as an important source of information: The role of women is

important in food production, preparation and consumption and hence, one

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of the key sources for obtaining information for our theme as they had

comprehensive information regarding the food culture, present problems

and changes that have occurred over a period of time.

4.0 LIMITATIONS

How does one find what someone has eaten? That someone has been

denied food? Or that someone has eaten elsewhere? As has long been recognised,

these vitally important questions are extremely difficult to answer.

Since the study was a qualitative one, triangulation of the information

obtained from the methodologies applied was not possible. Also, language being a

major barrier in two of the villages (Kanjani and Lokari (B)), obtaining qualitative

information was a major hurdle. Majority of the times, complexity and secrecy that

are characteristic of consumption arrangements, limited our study.

5.0 LITERATURE SURVEY

There are a number of literatures available on the topic of culture and food

and the ties that bind them together. The paper by Caroline Osella of SOAS

describes how food consumption is related to religion and culture in the state of

Kerala. She describes how a change in region within Kerala itself produces a

change in the dietary pattern of the individuals. This study was limited to the state

of Kerala.

On the other hand, Johan Pottier through his book, Anthropology of food –

the social dynamics of food security, gives an overall view about how changes

have taken place in food consumption across society and time. The also relates

how various forces playing in the society limit the accessibility of food to different

sections of society.

Linda Civitello in her paper on Cuisine and Culture describes how a

community expresses its identity through specific dishes, across the world.

We wanted to explore these ideas through our study in our selected villages

and we wanted to see whether these macro level phenomenons exist in the village.

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6.0 SOCIETY AND FOOD

Society denotes the aggregate of individuals and is determined by the

characteristics of the group the individual forms. Society is dynamic in nature and

hence the individuals constituting it, continuously interact with each other. Due to

the dynamism of the society, the community at the household level needs to be

biological rather than mechanical.

There has been a significant shift in the food consumption pattern of the

villagers of Pozhuthana. The increasing wheat consumption among the villagers

has led to a paradigm shift in their diet. Initially rice was the major food crop

cultivated in this area and hence it contributed to the major portion of their diet.

The decreasing rice cultivation, change in taste preferences and the increased

access to market and PDS has resulted in this transformation. There is also a

mushrooming of large number of bakeries in the village due to the increased

preference of families to the bakery food items, especially for the children. Apart

from the taste preferences of the children to these food items, parents also support

it, as they believe that this shows their economic status in the society

Reasons like change in ecological conditions and implementation of

government policies (rehabilitation scheme and less access to forests) have forced

the tribal in the villages to change their food habits. While at one time, they hunted

wild animals and foraged fruits and tuber crops, now they have to grow their own

food or have to depend on market for food.

The urban society is moving ahead at a fast pace and the rural society is

also following the trend. Now, the rural people have access to the market and

modern facilities of cooking. This was visible in the changes that have taken place

in the various villages of study. Even at an altitude of 8000 feet, the LPG is

available to the residents of Raithal. This has made the life of women easier since

they earlier had to spend a large part of their labour and time for cooking using

traditional chulhas. There are grocery stores in the village and the children are very

fond of ready to eat snacks. The children of well of families also prefer noodles

(Maggi) as snacks.

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7.0 AGRICULTURE PATTERN AND FOOD CONSUMPTION

Agricultural practices are the main stay of the people in rural India. Hence,

directly, or indirectly, these practices can influence or transform the diet of the

people. This is one of the important findings during our theme paper study. In our

study, it was very vivid that the rural households consume and prefer the crops that

are supported and grown in the specific geographical regions. In the four selected

villages, a majority of the people are engaged with the main occupation of

agriculture, or its allied practices, which is dominated by traditional subsistence

farming. Among these, the main crops are rice, wheat, jowar, maize, pulses, and

oilseeds.

The kind, and sequence, of crops grown over a period of time in a given

area can be described as the cropping system. It may be a pattern of regular

rotation of different crops, grown year after year on the same area. Cropping

pattern also varies with the variations in the climatic conditions, topography, soil

type and cropping seasons. As a result the study on cropping pattern is a scientific

device to understand the agricultural pattern existing in the area and it helps to

understand the consumption pattern.

The four villages included in our study were entirely different in terms of the

altitude, climate, monsoon trend, soil type, and topography, and hence, the

agriculture pattern was quite different in all the villages.

7.1 Climate and Topography

Raithal village is at an altitude of 8000 feet above sea level. It has a

mountainous topography with an alpine climate and the soil is of mountainous

type. As a result, the major crops cultivated are millets including mandua, jawar,

bajra, ramdana, maize, etc. Some of the farmers also practise horticulture. Potato

and rajma are the two main cash crops. Rajma is included in the diet of the people

almost every day. Lokari (B) is situated at 286 metres above sea level, and the soil

type is basically black soil. The climate of the village is semi-arid and hence with

low rainfall, has only one cropping season. The important crops are cotton, soya,

jowar, red gram (tuar), green gram (moong), black gram (urad). Thus, the

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consumption of jowar and red gram is a regular phenomenon in the diet of the

people. On the other hand, Kanjani had a hilly and undulating terrain plateau with

a tropical climate with black loamy soil. The consumption pattern in Kanjani also

reflected the dependence on the crops grown as the villagers practice pure

subsistence farming. The important crops are paddy, bajra, maize, pulses and

morbunti. The inclusion of morbunti and pulses in the diet was regular. Pozhuthana

was different from above mentioned villages in terms of the cropping pattern.

People practice commercial farming in form of tea, coffee and banana, as these

crops are supported by the tropical climate with brown soil present in the hilly

terrain of the village. Apart from these, some of the farmers also cultivate paddy,

spices, and ginger in the low lying areas of the village. So, the majority of the

households are dependent on the market availability of the food grains. (Discussed

in section-7 which is concerned with the study of the market linkages and

availability.)

Thus, we found that subsistence farming is practiced in three villages,

except Pozhuthana of Kerala. Food in a subsistence economy is simple. Its

purpose, to assuage hunger and provide a feeling of well being, is easily

recognised. Available foods are usually few in number and bear a close

relationship to the plants or animals from which they derive the food. This directly

influences the diet of the people, as the main crops grown in all the three villages

are included in the diet of the people. The agricultural practices in Raithal, Kanjani

and Lokari (B) are very traditional and hence the yield is low. So, in order to

complete their food requirements, the people of Kanjani village include the weed,

morbunti, in their diet. The cultivation of cash crops in Pozhuthana has made the

people dependent on market for their daily food requirements.

7.2 Land Holding Pattern

Land holding pattern also has a direct influence on the cropping pattern

followed in all the places of study. The farmers in Kanjani village have

landholdings of average size 8-10 acres as well as their heavy dependence on

monsoons equipped them to harvest a single crop of rice and pulses throughout the

year. This has resulted in the repetitive diet of the villagers of Kanjani. 8

8.0 FOOD, NUTRITION AND HEALTH

Indian villages have a problem of food availability, nutrition and health.

The poor nutritional condition of young children in rural India has received much

attention recently, but Indian adults are also experiencing a variety of nutritional

problems. The importance of optimal nutrition for health and human development

is well understood. The deficiency may be due to low dietary intake because of low

purchasing power and poverty. Under this section we would present our study

where we have tried to relate the food consumption practices with the health and

nutritional levels amongst various age groups present in the studied villages.

8.1 Milk and milk products

Raithal is a village that is at a high altitude of around 8000 feet and remains

cold for most part of the year. There is a high requirement of protein and

carbohydrates, as the people have to move up and down the hills. Almost all the

households possess livestock in form of cows and buffalo. Still there is no surplus

which can be sold in the market. It is difficult to obtain the quantity of milk

consumed by individual families as they believe that disclosing the milk produced

by cows will reduce their yield. The consumption of milk products like curd,

butter milk, butter, ghee is high at this place. In Pozhuthana, the consumption of

milk and milk products is done especially by the well off families in form of curd

and milk. The other families do not have surplus money to include milk products

in their diet. In Kanjani and Lokari (B), although some farmers have local breed of

cows that yield low amounts of milk, but event this is sold in the outside market to

obtain money. Hence, it is clear that lack of resources and money forces them to be

deprived of milk and other nutritional products in their diet.

8.2 Protein Sources

Protein availability is one of the important factors affecting the health of

the people. As in other parts of the country, people in the studied villages also

depend on pulses and animal protein as sources of protein. The people of Raithal

do not have to depend on additional source of protein as pulses like rajma and soya

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bean forms a part of their regular diet. Apart from this, they also consume chicken,

eggs and mutton on a weekly basis. On the contrary, the people of Pozhuthana

village have very little pulses in their diet and depend mainly on fish and animal

protein like chicken, mutton and beef for their protein requirements. The

consumption of animal proteins has increased over a period of time among the

villagers. This is indicated by the increase in the number of shops selling animal

meat as well as the number of people consuming chicken among the tribal

population and Hindus. The quantity consumed depends mainly on the purchasing

power of the household. As a result cases of malnutrition are reported among the

low income group, especially among the tribal women. This is mainly due to the

change in the food consumption pattern that has taken place among the tribal

community. From food gatherers, the tribal have now become agriculturists and

consumers. As a result their diet, comprising of forest tubers, fruits, green leaves is

being replaced by rice and contemporary food of general population. This results in

less access to this food supply due to their low purchasing power and family

constraints.

In the villages of Kanjani and Lokari (B), the protein sources are obtained

from the pulses consumed every day. They rarely consume animal protein as they

have little or no cash for external purchase.

8.3 Fruits and Vegetables

The consumption of fruits and vegetables forms a major part of the diet of

the people of Raithal. This is mainly due to the large scale horticulture practised in

the village which has resulted in the easy availability of fruits as well as the

proximity to the apple orchards of Harsil (nearest market) and this leads to cheaper

availability of the fruit. Few of the households also have trees of almond, apricot

and dry fruit. Pozhuthana village is entirely dependent on the market for its fruits

and vegetables, and hence, the consumption of these is limited to the higher

income people. Kanjani and Lokari (B) village have little or no consumption of

fruits and vegetables except that of the common ones like potato, lady finger and

brinjal. Although there is production of mangoes in Kanjani, there is no

10

consumption of this fruit as they dry it and later sell in the nearby market as

aamchur (dried mango powder) to earn money.

The above discussed trends show the stress on the producers to earn

additional income thereby forcing them to sell these products to people with

purchasing power. As a result the producers are deprived off their share of

nutrients.

In all the four regions of our study, the infants derived their nutritional

requirements from breast feeding of mothers. In the Pozhuthana village, the

efficient food supply through the Anganwadis has played an important role in

improving the health condition of children. But due to the indifference shown by

few sections of tribal towards this scheme, there have been cases of malnutrition

among the tribal children. The existing food pattern and the absence of external

interventions in the villages of Kanjani and Lokari (B), has resulted in their diet

being devoid of minerals and vitamins.

8.4 Alcoholism

Alcoholism is considered as one of the problems of the rural Indian society.

Alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of

alcoholic beverages despite the health problems and negative social consequences

it causes. Alcoholism carries with it a host of social problems. Both the drinker and

the family are affected. Alcohol can have devastating effects on the family. This is

very prominent in Pozhuthana village especially among the tribal population, even

among teenagers. A significant part of these people’s earnings are spent on

consumption of alcohol. Similarly in Lokari (B) and Raithal, most of the male

population indulge themselves in alcoholism. In Kanjani, the consumption of

alcohol is done by the male members of the non-bhagat community.

Thus it was found that the male members had the ownership of the family’s

income in all the four villages and they spent this in their desired manner. Even in

cases of resistance on part of the women, the money was spent on alcohol

consumption, leading to tight financial situations.

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9.0 CULTURE AND FOOD

Our knowledge and understanding of the society in terms of products and

processes can be extended only up to a point of approximation. Food is about more

than feeding the body. It is embedded in family life, culture and religious ritual.

Food has always been the most direct, intimate tie to a nurturing earth and a

primary means of bonding with each other. Food has helped us to know where and

who we are. The culture of a place is intrinsically linked to the food consumed in

the region. Cultural materialism or deviations from symbolic structuralism have

been emphasized traditionally by anthropologically based cultural schemes. The

food habits change in response to changing social and ecological conditions.

The tribal villages in our study do not have any caste distinction as such.

But in the case of Maharashtra, food plays a divisive factor. The villagers are

divided into Bhagat, who do not consume meat and alcohol and Non-Bhagat, who

consume meat and alcohol and this dichotomy was because of the food that they

ate.

9.1 Festivals and rituals

Festivals and culture reflect the culture of a village and represent the

identity of the place. In Raithal, the villagers believe that the natural powers

control the sources of food. The villagers said they try to please Him by organizing

rituals and festivals like “Anduri (butter festival)”. The garwahli dishes are very

popular among the tourists and for the purpose of promoting eco-tourism, a 3 day

“Food Festival” is organised by the residents of Raithal. This shows the rich

culture of food in the region. Such rituals and customs might be because right from

the historic age, the villagers were afraid of the natural powers like wind and sun.

It was customary to pray to these natural powers in times of scarcity and trouble,

and this has become a custom which they follow to this date. In Lokari (B), the

Gond tribe do not eat the first fruits or new food grains or vegetables unless their

first crops are offered to the village deity. This ceremony is known as ‘Nowon’ in

Gondi. The villagers do not know the reason for this tradition and said that they

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had been observing this ritual ever since they could remember. They said that this

custom was passed on through generations

About 3 generations ago, the villagers of Lokari (B) used to sacrifice

human beings on special occasions. Gonds used to worship a representation of the

Sun, to which were offered human sacrifices. Besides the sun, the moon and stars

are worshipped by them. They have stones and wooden artefacts for idols. The

Gond victim was called the merria. They had a supply of victims who knew they

would be sacrificed one day. They had either been bought as children, or had

volunteered, since by such deaths they were made Gods. They were slain while

bound to a cross, but at one such stage they were given a stupefying drug and their

legs were broken, so as to hasten death. Pieces of flesh torn from sacrificed

animals are carefully strewn on fields even today in Lokari (B) and the surrounding

villages of the area, with the expectations of rich harvest.

These tribes for centuries together successfully withstood the onslaught of

civilization and noticeable changes have occurred only during the past few

decades. “The bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of

production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even

the most barbarian nations into civilization. The chief prices of its commodities are

the heavy artilleries with which it batters down all Chinese walls, with which it

forces the barbarians’ intensely obstinate hatred of foreigners to capitulate.” [3]

Presently, in Lokari (B), during festivals like dusshera, an offering is made

to the tribal God in the form of chicken. The chicken is forcefully made to eat

some rice grains and only after it has consumed some grains is it slaughtered. Such

a practise of sacrifices is also followed in the village of Raithal where a goat is

sacrificed during the festival of Dusshera. This sacrifice is made by the Rana

community of the village and is made to please the Nag devta. This sacrifice is

observed only by this particular community and the other villagers do not attend it.

This is because the Rana community had a tradition of sacrificing animals.

It is interesting to note that although Lokari (B) and Raithal are

geographically separated by a large distance, but a few common factors bind them.

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The tradition of sacrifice is present in both the villages, and the reasons behind

sacrificing animals are common too. In both the villages, animal sacrifices are

done to ensure good productivity of land, immunity from diseases for the

community and the continuation of the family lineage.

In the villages of Lokari (B), Kanjani and Raithal, the “jhatka” process of

slaughtering animals is practised. In this, the animal is slaughtered by a single

strike of an axe to severe the head (decapitation). This results in instantaneous

death because the spinal cord is cut off, minimising any pain to the animal.

“Jhatka” is an ancient Vedic Hindu custom. According to ancient Vedic Hindu

tradition, only such meat as is obtained from an animal which is killed with one

stroke causing instantaneous death is fit for human consumption.

In Pozhuthana, majority of the population buy meat from the local

slaughter houses, which are mostly run by Muslims. They are served “halal” meat

in these shops. “Halal” meat is prepared by slowly severing the main blood artery

of the throat of the animal. This shows the effect of intermingling of different

communities. The Hindu population in the area openly accepts “halal” meat,

although their ancient tradition forbids it.

In the Indian context, marriage is a social, religious, spiritual, or legal union

of individuals and families. The tribal communities attach a great deal of

importance to marriage. A boy or a girl is not regarded as a full member of the

tribe unless he or she is married. The relevance of this institution can be gauged

from the importance given to the rituals and ceremonies attached to it. Among the

many traditions a great emphasis is placed on serving of food to the guests. The

type of food served during wedding varies from village to village as well as among

the various communities and classes in a particular village. In all the four villages,

we observed that people spend a sizeable portion of their yearly income on

wedding ceremonies and rituals. The amount of money spent on the food forms a

major chunk of the total money allocated for the occasion. The societal interactions

among the village communities and caste play an important role in deciding what

kind of food would be served during a wedding. It is a matter of great pride for

both the groom’s and bride’s family to serve to the best of their abilities. People go

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to a large extent to demonstrate to the entire village the kind of wealth they are

having. Food is one of the mediums through which a household does this.

In Lokari (B) and Kanjani, the food is provided by the bridegroom’s family

during marriage. According to the villagers, since the groom’s family is getting a

new labour unit in the form of a bride the onus is on the groom’s family to bear the

wedding expense. Such a custom is not seen in the other two villages of Raithal

and Pozhuthana. In Raithal and Pozhuthana, the normal tradition of the bride’s

family bearing all the expense is observed. In Pozhuthana, the village consists of

various religions and a multitude of marriage customs is observed each one of

which is peculiar to the respective religions.

None of us observed any discrimination on the basis of age or sex in our

respective villages. The family gave equal amounts of food to both the girl child

and the elderly.

9.2 Family

In Raithal, eating of food is a time when the family members would sit

together and have discussions and talk about their day. This is an important place

for the parents and the elderly to pass on knowledge and wisdom to their kids. In

Pozhuthana, such a practice is not observed in many of the Muslim families. The

concept of eating food together cannot be seen in Kanjani and Lokari (B). In these

villages, individual members of a family eat food at their own convenience.

Children usually take a roti and eat it while playing and roaming around in the

village. But an observation common to all the four villages was that it is the male

members who decide the time of eating food since they work in the farms.

To eat from someone’s plate while s/he is eating is considered offensive in

some parts of India. The food in the plate is referred to as “jhuta” (pollution). It

was found that in the three villages of Lokari (B), Kanjani and Raithal there is a

strong concept of “jhuta”, and it is considered a taboo to eat someone’s leftover

food, or “jhuta”. The food left at the end of the meal is given to the cattle in these

villages. In the two villages of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, there is a scarcity

of fodder and one of the reasons for giving the leftover food to cattle could be

15

attributed to this particular factor. In Pozhuthana, the population is relatively larger

than the other three villages of study. The population consists of different religions

and cultures. In many households, especially in Muslim households, the concept of

“jhuta” does not exist. It can be seen that people share food from each others’

plates during a meal. Such a practice of sharing someone’s “jhuta”, commonly

accepted in villages like Pozhuthana, may come as a cultural shock to the other

three villages.

10.0 SEASONAL VARIATIONS

Food is the need that drives all the human beings to action. All the

productive work and labour on earth is associated with the fulfilment of this need.

The difference in the altitude, topography, climatic condition, environment and

resource availability determines the efforts needed on the part of the people to

fulfil the food requirements. A farmer of a mountain village not only needs to

struggle for raising the crop but also to store and preserve the food for the cold

months since during this time, the availability is scarce due to snowfall. Similarly,

a farmer in a village like Lokari (B) or Kanjani, where a majority of the land is

infertile, needs to put all his effort to ensure food security for his family. In

Pozhuthana, the farmer needs to make a choice between the production of cash

crop and staple cereal to ensure sustenance. Thus, one of the important

observations and learning was that the efforts made by the farmers in all the four

different villages varied according to the resource availability and climate

conditions.

In Raithal, which is located at a high altitude, there is a huge variation in

the temperature of summers and winters. This leads to huge variation in the food

consumption pattern in the two seasons. It is noticed that certain vegetables like

peas, cauliflower, rajma ki falli, etc. are dried and preserved for the winters as

there is scarcity of food during the three months from December to March due to

heavy snowfall. No variation in terms of seasonality was observed in the other

three villages. Villages like Lokari (B) and Kanjani have only one agricultural

season, so the question of variation in seasonality does not arise. Food grains are

stored in the house in bamboo baskets for consumption during the winter months. 16

10.1 Preservation of Food

Preservation of food is a necessity in the villages of Raithal and

Pozhuthana, but the reasons are different. Raithal, being located in the Himalayas,

receives heavy snowfall during winter. Thus, food is a valuable asset during that

time and hence preservation of food, like drying and pickling, are done to ensure

food availability.

In Pozhuthana, food items like mango and lemon pickles are included in the

diet of the people. The preservation of other food items does not have much

significance as the villagers have easy access to the market.

In Raithal, a lot of emphasis is given to fat and protein enriched food as the

people have to perform a lot of physical activities because of the difficult

geographical conditions of the village. People consume fat enriched foods like

butter, ghee and animal flesh. A large number of Hindu populations also consume

non-vegetarian food. Human beings have always had this unique quality of

adapting to their ecology for extracting the food but sometimes the greed of food

and money leads to illegal hunting and poaching of wild animals like cheetal, deer,

etc. in the wild.

10.2 Cuisines

In Raithal, special food include rajma, soybean goat and cheetal meat. In

Kanjani, morbunti and murga phool are the preferred dish. In Lokari (B), on

special occasions, chicken was cooked but without onions. The curry is very

watery because there is no availability of onions in the village.

In the southern state of Kerala, in Pozhuthana, a special dish, sadhya, is

cooked. Rice and different types of vegetables, paysam and papadam are

consumed. These are served on a banana leaf with small servings of each vegetable

and payasam. Muslims make patthiri chicken biryani on special occasions, whereas

Christians prefer non vegetarian dishes comprising of chicken. In all these dishes,

coconut plays a very important role. Tribal in the area consume leafy vegetables

17

and tuber crops collected from the forest and hunted meat during special season of

the year.

11.0 SOCIAL STARATIFICATION

Social stratification is defined by unequal access to desirable resources

(such as money, goods and services) or personal gratification such as prestige and

respect. The sociologist, Max Weber, argued that social class was a function of

differential wealth, political power and status. The various dimensions of social

class have different influences on food consumption and its consequences. Income

and wealth provide access to food or constrain food purchases. Education provides

knowledge, skills and beliefs that shape food desires and places constraints on food

choices by means of information acquisition and food preparation. Occupation not

only represents prestige, but also structures, time and constrains the attention that

can be given to food. Occupation-generated work hours and lifestyle choices affect

what is eaten as well as where and with whom food is eaten.

In all the four villages, women played a significant role in the harvesting and

procurement of food grains. It is they who store the food for future use. It is the

woman’s responsibility to cook the food and also prepare the spices by manual

grinding.

The preparation process varied from village to village. These differences

can be observed from the method of making roti to the cooking utensils. For

example, in Raithal and Pozhuthana, rolling pins are used while in Kanjani and

Lokari (B), the traditional method of flattening the roti by hand is still practiced.

Earthen stoves are used in all the villages except Pozhuthana, in which the cooking

medium varies from wood to microwave. It was also seen that in both Raithal and

Lokari (B), brass utensils are used on special occasions, whereas in Kanjani

earthen wares and stainless steel are used to serve the food. In Pozhuthana, people

use all kinds of utensils which vary from banana leaves to non-stick cookware. A

significant difference can be seen in the case of cooking oil which is different in all

the four places; groundnut oil (although rarely used) in Raithal and coconut and

palm oil in Pozhuthana. Oil was seldom used for cooking in Kanjani.

18

12.0 MARKET LINKAGE

Market is defined as a place where goods can be bought or sold and a price

can be established. There was a marked difference which we noticed in all the four

villages. Market acts as a major source of food items which cannot be grown in the

village and of processed food items. Market plays an important role in deciding the

food consumption pattern in Pozhuthana and Raithal, whereas in the villages of

Lokari (B) and Kanjani, there is little influence of the market as majority of the

food items are domestically produced. The relation between the market and the

villagers is different for different villages. While, the market is a place to purchase

food items for daily consumption in the village of Pozhuthana, in Kanjani and

Lokari (B), only a few essential items are bought from the market.

Since, the major food items of consumption are grown in Kanjani, only

essential items like salt, cooking oil and tea were purchased from the market. There

is a Sunday market in Lokari (K) from where people of Lokari (B) would buy

chicken, tea, spices, oil, and other such items. The market is organized in Lokari

(K) because it is the nearest village to Adhilabad town with good road

connectivity. Since, there is rarely any surplus of food available in both these

villages; the villagers do not sell any produce in the market.

On the other hand, the villagers of Pozhuthana are heavily dependent on the

market for their source of food grains. The people have cash available with them

since they practise commercial farming of tea, coffee and spices. In Raithal, the

villagers used to go to Bhatwari for purchase of food items like oil, vegetables,

sweets, and meat.

13.0 GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS

In all the four villages, mid day meals are provided in the government

schools. The low variety of food crops in Kanjani and Lokari (B) is the major

reason why on all five days of the week, the students are served rice and dal. In

Lokari (B), on one day of the week, the students are given egg as an extra. Due to

surplus food availability in all households in Raithal, the villagers were more

19

concerned with the education that the child would receive at school rather than the

mid day meals provided. In Pozhuthana, a variety of dishes like rice, upma and

green grams are served in the mid day meal. The mid day meal was a major

attraction to the students belonging to the poorer families and played and

contributed greatly to their diet. Such a variety is also present in Raithal where

rajma, rice, dal and halwa are served in the mid day meals.

All BPL and few APL families in the Pozhuthana are heavily depended on

the PDS for their requirements of food grains. Rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene are

supplied through this network for the people. At present there are 3 ration shops in

the entire village. In the village of Kanjani there is a PDS system which provides

rice, oil, wheat at subsidised rate, but they rarely buy from it as their basic demand

of food is met through agriculture. This results in the leakage of PDS commodities

into the black market.In Raithal village only BPL families are dependent on PDS.

There is a Public Distribution System outlet in the village Lokari B which

provides ration to the people of the village. The outlet provides commodities like

rice, wheat, kerosene, sugar, etc. The rice sells for Rs 2/kg and most of the

villagers buy rice from the PDS outlet. The outlet is open only on one day of the

week.

Former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N.T. Rama

Rao first introduced the Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme after coming to power in 1983. He

had reduced the price of rice at fair price (FP) shops from Rs 3.25 to Rs 2 per kg. It

was later modified by the Chandrababu Naidu government in the mid-1990s. The

present Congress government had increased the price to Rs 5.25 per kg after it

came to power. The government has decreased the price of rice at fair price shops

again to Rs 2 per kg.

20

14.0 CONCLUSION

A topic having a sociological dimension was difficult to analyze because of

little scope of quantitative study. Understanding the psychology of people

regarding food was difficult to extract and judge. After the study, it is clear that

food has a holistic dimension. Although, food is one of the primary needs, but it is

also associated with factors like tradition, culture, religion, class, and caste. The

study reveals that there has been a continuous development and change in the food

habits and the ways of production, preparation and consumption of food.

Geographical location influences the culture and traditions of a place, which in turn

influences what we eat, how we prepare the food, and things we prefer to eat. On

the other hand, many practices are particularly modified to promote health;

providing women rich and nutritious food during pregnancy and even first month

of child birth is an example.

The change in food habits are not accidental and are modified over a period

of time or even can be deliberately initiated. The exposure of the village to the

urban society because of enhanced communication and technology is also a factor

that leads to change in aspirations of villagers. Market accessibility in the most

interior villages has led to the dependence on small grocery stores. Community,

family, village, tradition, and culture can be an important factor for change.

At times, there had been a lot of apprehension regarding the food security

in the country. In our study, we found that in all the villages, except Pozhuthana,

most of the population is involved in subsistence farming, and most of them are

self dependant. The lower strata of the village are generally backed up by the

interventions provided by the government in the form of supply of rice and other

staple food items through the PDS scheme.

Dangerous gaps often exist between the everyday struggles of farmers and

the actions of the policy makers, due to lack of proper understanding regarding the

methods used to produce, distribute and acquire food keeping in view the

historical, cultural and geographical contexts. Hence, many of policies, concerning

21

food availability and security, initiated at the macro level, do not benefit the

vulnerable section of the society.

The comprehensive understanding of the determinants of food consumption

pattern is a precursor to frame any intervention scheme aiming at inclusive growth

of the rural masses. The various classes of the rural society have different

aspirations and needs that can only be understood by taking a holistic view of the

issue of food.

15.0 REFERENCES

1) Johan Pottier (1999), Anthropology of food: social dynamics of food

security. USA: Polity Press

2) Bharat Dogra (1987), Empty Stomachs and packed godowns – Aspects of

the food system in India. New Delhi: Ravi Sharma Publishing House

3) V K R V Rao (1982), Food, Nutrition and Poverty in India. Ghaziabad:

Vikas Publishing House

4) V M Rao (1975), Second India Studies – FOOD. New Delhi: MacMillan

Company of India Limited

5) Caroline Osella. 2008. School of Oriental and African Studies

6) (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/lifestyle/rs-2-per-kg-rice-scheme-to-

be-launched-in-andhra-pradesh-today_10035907.html).

22

ANNEXURE-1

Case study on anti mid-day meal scheme ideology in village Raithal.

The major problems of the rural India are health issues of children and their drop-

out rates from the schools. To address these two issues Indian government started

the Mid-day meal scheme. This scheme ensures one time diet for all the school

going children. In most part of the country a substantial improvement in the

nutrition status and education level of the children has been recorded after the

implementation of this scheme.

Raithal is a mountain village with fertile land. Agriculture is the main stay of

people. Most of the people do sustainable farming and have sufficient food grains

for their family. People possess livestock and consume milk and milk products. So

the general health condition of the people especially children is good.

The literacy rate of the village is 84 percent and people understand the need of

proper education. Never do they compromise the education of their children. The

primary school in the village provides the mid-day meal scheme for the students.

For this the children have to carry firewood along with them for cooking the meal.

While the food is prepared the children are free to play. The villagers feel that this

reduces the time that could have been utilised for imparting education.

As, almost all the households have food availability they do not feel the need of

mid-day meal scheme. Moreover they believe that the scheme results in wasting

both time and resources that could otherwise be used for productive purposes.

They believe that the scheme is adversely affecting the food habits of the children

as they tend to over-eat. People said that the amount of money being used for mid-

day meal scheme should rather be used for purposes like providing the uniforms

and books.

This is a unique phenomenon of the village that can be made a part of a research

study to judge the overall viability of government expenditures on schemes like

this.

i

ANNEXURE-2

Food as a divisive factor

Food is generally considered as a uniting factor in the community.

Communities have been known to come together when the question of food as a

survival tool comes up, be it during the food shortage in India during the last

century or during the flood in Bihar in 2008.

In the tribal village of Kanjani, about three generations back, the villagers

used to hunt and gather food using collective action. The decreasing natural

resources forced them to shift over to agriculture. But even then, during communal

gatherings, meat was cooked and consumed by all of the villagers.

About twenty five years ago, a guru came to the village and preached about

the virtues of a vegetarian diet and abstinence from alcohol. A majority of the

villagers heeded his advice and gave up consumption of alcohol and meat. But

many of them did not.

The people who changed their dietary pattern called themselves bhagats (Pure of

the heart). The erstwhile united village got polarized into two sections. Suddenly,

issues of who eats what and who consumes alcohol became the focal point of

socialization. Due to this dichotomy, there occurred many disputes in the village.

People have stopped going to houses of the other community and even the

interaction among the two communities has lessened to a great extent.

The non-bhagats do not visit the village temple since they feel that they are

somewhat lower in strata to the bhagats. Even during the preparation of non-

vegetarian food items, like chicken, the non-bhagats prepare the dish outside their

house and use different utensils for the preparation. This is because in a household,

different family members may be bhagats or non-bhagats.

Thus, we see how food, instead of being a uniting factor, can play a divisive role in

a united community. It can create an identity for a villagers based on his

preference. It can create sections in a community similar to what is created by

unequal access to resources.ii

ANNEXURE-3

Area of the Study

iii

ANNEXURE 4

A comparative table of the 4 villages

  Raithal Kanjani Lokari B Pozhuthana

IncomeAll levels of income Low Low-Medium All levels of income

Religion Hindu Hindu Hindu.Hindus, Muslims, Christians

Main Festivals

Celebration of festivals showing gratitude for food

Deepawali, Dusshera and Holi. Community eating during festivals

Deepawali & Dusshera - Non Veg. Rice is given importance and considered sacred. Chicken is made to eat rice before being sacrificed

Hindus - Mainly veg. Tribals and Muslims - Animal sacrifice

Healthy foodsSalt, Bichchu Booti Tulsi kaara

Medicinal Herbs - Tulsi Kaara, Eucalyptus, Mahua

Tulsi, Neem and Eucalyptus

Marriage

Emphasise on sweets, Non veg in case of non brahmins

Veg - Grooms family brings the food

Non Veg - Grooms family brings the food

Non Veg - Christians, Muslim

Cooking Frequency 2-3 2 2 2-4

HygieneModerate hygiene

Kitchen area was clean, Water quality was poor

Kitchen area was clean, Water quality was poor Hygiene

FuelCooking Gas, Wood Wood Wood

Cooking Gas, Kerosene, Wood

Offering to GodOnly during festival time

Only during festival time

Food given to God before eating

Only during festival time

Place of eating

In the kitchen area,the heat used to help in cold also In the kitchen area In the kitchen area

Kitchen and Dining Hall

How they used to eat?

After the Handwashing Campaign the awareness level has increased. First the male members would eat and then the females

Unwashed Hands, Sitting down (squatting), habit of eating at one's own convinience

Hands, Sitting down (squatting), eating at one's own convinience

Varied. Males and children would eat first in majority of the households and then the females would eat.

iv