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.

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 Table of Contents
Page
S. No Topic No.
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Key Findings 2
2 Objectives 3
3 Methodology 3
4 Limitations 5
5 Literature Survey 6
6 Society and Food 7
Agriculture pattern and food
7 consumption 8
7.1 Climate and Topography 8
7.2 Landholding pattern 9
8 Food, Nutrition and Health 10
8.1 Milk and Milk products 10
8.2 Protein Sources 10
8.3 Fruits and vegetables 11
8.4 Alcoholism 12
9 Culture and Food 13
9.1 Festivals and rituals 13
9.2 Family 16
10 Seasonal variations 17
10.1 Preservation of food 18
10.2 Cuisines 18
11 Social Stratification 19
12 Market Linkage 20
13 Government Interventions 20
14 Conclusion 22
15 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.

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 • Women as an important source of information: The role of women is
important in food production, preparation and consumption and hence, one
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.

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 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.

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

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fond of ready to eat snacks. The children of well of families also prefer noodles
(Maggi) as snacks.

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

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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
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

8
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.

8.0 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

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 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
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

10
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
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

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cases of resistance on part of the women, the money was spent on alcohol
consumption, leading to tight financial situations.

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

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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
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.

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 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.
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

14
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
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

15
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
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

16
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.

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,

17
coconut plays a very important role. Tribal in the area consume leafy vegetables
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

18
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.

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

19
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
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

All levels of
Income income Low Low-Medium All levels of income
Hindus, Muslims,
Religion Hindu Hindu Hindu. Christians

Deepawali & Dusshera -

Non Veg. Rice is given
Deepawali, importance and
Dusshera and considered sacred.
Celebration of Holi. Community Chicken is made to eat Hindus - Mainly veg.
festivals showing eating during rice before being Tribals and Muslims -
Main Festivals gratitude for food festivals sacrificed Animal sacrifice
Medicinal Herbs - Tulsi
Salt, Bichchu Kaara, Eucalyptus, Tulsi, Neem and
Healthy foods Booti Tulsi kaara Mahua Eucalyptus
Emphasise on
sweets, Non veg Veg - Grooms
in case of non family brings the Non Veg - Grooms Non Veg - Christians,
Marriage brahmins food family brings the food Muslim
Cooking
Frequency 2-3 2 2 2-4
Kitchen area was
Moderate clean, Water Kitchen area was clean,
Hygiene hygiene quality was poor Water quality was poor Hygiene
Cooking Gas, Cooking Gas,
Fuel Wood Wood Wood Kerosene, Wood
Only during Only during Food given to God Only during festival
Offering to God festival time festival time before eating time
In the kitchen
area,the heat
used to help in Kitchen and Dining
Place of eating cold also In the kitchen area In the kitchen area Hall

After the
Handwashing
Campaign the
awareness level Varied. Males and
has increased. Unwashed Hands, children would eat first
First the male Sitting down in majority of the
members would (squatting), habit Hands, Sitting down households and then
How they used eat and then the of eating at one's (squatting), eating at the females would
to eat? females own convinience one's own convinience eat.

iv