Healthy fruits, cereals & vegetables are also becoming difficult to source, finds research
A new research by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) found rural families to be relying on carbohydrates and sugary processed foods rather than protein and micronutrient-rich options.
Many in rural India have been shifting from traditional food systems owing to their dwindling accessibility; difficulties in sourcing the limited protein and micronutrient-rich options further this, noted the study published in journal Elsevier.
The document quoted 74-year-old Alwala Narayya from Telangana’s Aurepalle recalling how his family shifted from a sorghum-based diet.
“We mainly used to eat sorghum which has been replaced by rice because it’s cheaper and easier to find. We also used to collect wild fruits and food from the forest. But now they are also harder to find because there’s less forest,” said Narayya.
The analysis, examining the surge of rural obesity and malnutrition, added that those who migrate to cities from rural pockets also change what they eat as they are exposed to widespread packaged food promotions.
“People are also eating more sugary packaged foods because they are easily available in stores and have a longer shelf life than healthy fruits and vegetables,” ICRISAT noted.
The research called for policy measures to ramp up nutrition-sensitive food supply chains. “There is a need to work closer with the food processing industry to blend heritage with health by making nutritious products such as millet more attractive to consumers,” Jacqueline Hughes, director general of ICRISAT, said in a press statement.
ICRISAT suggested solutions such as spreading awareness about nutrition and informing people about healthy food and the importance of growing local varieties.
“Solutions indicate that traditional farming systems and markets have an important role in making sure people can access more nutritious food in rural areas and close to where they live and ICRISAT looks forward to presenting more solutions in this arena,” said Shalander Kumar, the lead author of the study.
The findings of the study are critical as regional imbalance is an issue in India where stunting is higher in rural areas (37 per cent) compared to urban areas (30 per cent), according to data from the National Family Health Survey-5.
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