Indians Following Footsteps of America – Processed Food Catching Up Like Hot Fire
Posted: Monday, February 21, 2011
by Drunken Mystic
http://drunkenmystic.wordpress.com
99% Indians or lets say 100% of billion Indians need food for their survival. But I would like to get my statistics right before I use any percentage of Indians living on processed food and how much the western influence has caught on with the Indian lifestyle. More and more people seem to just love the idea of eating outside, or dial a number to place an order with the famous KFC or Pizza Hut, or Mc Donald’s. In an article posted on http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews9.asp?articleid=29019 , it is stated that there has been a steady rise in consumption of processed food in the major metropolitan cities of India.
I, myself living in a city have faced such situations in my daily life. When I have been out for days together for theatre rehearsals, I usually ended up reaching home by around 10:00 p.m.or much later which made me lazy to cook anything for myself. I used to feel so tired that I would just try toasting a few slices of white bread and adding some cheese on to it and that would be enough for the night. Or even better, I would try to stop somewhere and eat a burger on the way.
My friends in the airlines, or even the IT industry often found it hard to remain in a relaxed state of mind when they returned home, and the first thing they wanted was ready food. So the best thing is, call up the nearest fast food and place an order. Major cities like Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkatta and Mumbai are noticing a constant rise in fast food consumption. First, it was the soft drinks boom and people were advised against the consumption and nobody could stop it.
Today Pepsi and Coke are making business by selling their drinks even in the most remote villages. I have even seen an Indian Sadhu drink Pepsi on my way to Yamunotri. Major outlets which have been marketed by American companies have made a major mark in the leading towns and cities. I personally noticed Mysore, a completely laidback town slowly change to a fast paced lifestyle with a steady growth in the real estate – thanks to the software companies, fast food markets and many more businesses which are slowly stepping in.
There was a tradition that all the women would prepare sweets and savouries for festivals and other major religious functions at home. Home cooked food was the fashion and still is in many major households but fading out with time. Indians are slowly but steadily switching over to the western attitude of wanting everything fast and easy. Today, most Indians make it easy by purchasing all the sweets and snacks from the leading stores in their hometowns to save the effort from cooking.
Even when it comes to a simple religious ritual, actually according to tradition, the food must be cooked at home and then offered to the divine before offering them to the guests. There has been a drastic change in this tradition and Indians have now started ordering food from the caterers. This is the dire need of the day because everything is getting monetized and also family gatherings have decreased gradually. When I was a kid, all my uncles and aunts would get together for any religious function and lend a hand in the preparations. But today, nobody can do the same because they have given in to the stress of the fast paced lifestyle.
If processed food is stepping into this country, it is only because more and more people are feeling insecure about the increasing commercialization of food, water and other commodities. Indians need jobs, and entrepreneurs need to stay in business. According to the article link, consumer spending rate on processed foods has been increasing at an average rate of 7.6% annually between the years 2008 to 2010.
Ready to eat food packets are available everywhere. I tried them myself and had a stomach ache. I just couldn’t handle the taste of it. Companies like
The current population of India is around 1.15 billion. The new census is yet to be out. The slum population of India alone is estimated to be around 42,578,150. My research is based upon facts taken from http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/slum-population-in-india.html. Among them, Mumbai alone has a slum population of 6.5 million people which is about 55% of the total census of Mumbai. New Delhi has a population of 1.8 million. Chennai has about another million living in the slum.
The slum population mainly consists of families who have no facilities for drinking water, liquid petroleum gas for cooking and are mostly unemployed. The daily wage of 1.1 billion people is lesser than $1 per day. Their wages come either by washing utensils in households or the husbands working at construction sites and many of them are struggling to even find a job to support their families. Maybe, the slum people can afford to cook rice, store it in a clay pot, bury it under the earth for a couple of days and then remove it and eat the same so they don’t feel the hunger. Certainly, home cooked food is helping them, but it doesn’t mean that I am supporting processed food. That is only for people with “money” who have no "time".
Once, I was waiting to get my affidavit typed in the busy market area in Chennai. A small girl about 7 suddenly appeared from nowhere and asked me, “Can you give me Rs.5? I am very hungry and I want to eat something.” I thought it would be fine as she looked very hungry and I felt pity for her and gave her as she requested. Soon after a few minutes, I saw her standing with her father, holding another girl in his arms and she must have been about 3. The father was counting his coins to see how much he can afford for all three of them and probably, he had to buy some food for his wife too. This is the major slum and homeless population of India which cannot afford processed food or home cooked food. The statistics of 99% seems to face imminent danger.
The population of the homeless in India– those who don’t live under a roof is estimated at 78 million. Begging is forbidden in this country and these people get arrested for it. Many are taken away by the police forcefully because of their incompetence to solve a crime and get falsely implicated. Certainly, these facts don’t reveal to me that 99% of 1.15 billion Indians have access to home cooked food and they are less prone to diseases like Americans. But facts do reveal that developing towns and cities are being flooded with processed food and work pressure is forcing the common man to depend on quick eats. In fact, industries are looking forward to boost up sales of processed foods. Certainly, a very good sign for those frustrated wives who get criticised day and night by their husbands for their “quality cooking”.
India is following the footsteps of America, no doubt. A lot of jobs are getting outsourced to India, and along with this all the KFCs, Baristas, Qwiky’s and Pizza stores and also western ideas of how to sell readymade Indian food is making a great boom in the Indian market. Thanks to one of the first processed outlets – KFC. I loved the KFC when I was a non-vegetarian. I try to practice non-violence to some extent by remaining a vegetarian, even though I have failed many times, and probably an insect or a worm has entered my food pipe when I ate one of those processed foods prepared under “unknown hygienic conditions.”
I love cooking my personal food with fresh vegetables and rice and wheat. That's just yummy for me and I love being a vegetarian. Unfortunately, everybody I know loves to hang out at the Pizza Hut or a La Picasso frequently. They love hamburgers from Marrybrown, French fries from Mc Donald's and the list goes on. It's catching up like hot fire.
Please visit to make a contribution: http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/jun/pov-homeless.htm
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)For me, fast food stores are common in America and India are rare. Fast food outlets means Macdonald or sub-way etc selling processed food products branded,as adequate refrigerators facilities as common in America are rarely available. Dietary habits of 99% of the billion people in India are eating food cooked fresh meat, cereals, legumes and vegetables.
India is liberal democracy, but closed, recent outsourcing techonoly has increased connection with the West and those who are online and some others are trying to imitate influnced and eat fast food as people of west.But , Over 80% of the population lives in India's 600 0000 villages where Macdonald or fast food is not possible as electricity proper are not available. Even in the many city electricity availableis is during limited hours.
Many of those trying to eat more processed foods are to face consequenses then people in America are facing. The infrasture required for processed foods as in the west is not available in India and India is not like the cold country to the west. Law and order in adulteration case is bad, and most processed food products available is more harmful than served in the west. Processed food products become very expensive and as you say, of population in large cities came to work and are poor, they can not pay for it. Other than the above questions, what you say is good informationMr. Gaurav, please first calculate what is 99% of 1.15 billion and calculate the slum population of India, including the ones who are homeless and then present your facts. Your facts have no basis while I present true authentic facts from people are who working to uplift the poor who cannot even afford to cook for themselves, including people living in villages. Do you even know how much you have to pay for a monthly gas cylinder? A man earning less than one dollar per day cannot afford home cooked food. For your information, production of electricity has increased tremendously along with its consumption. At least the major metropolitans don't face any problems of power cuts, and even if they do, they have their ways of meeting up their inadequacies.1.Food cooked at home is about 60% cheaper than processed foods in Chandigarh. Do you mean poor people can eat processed foods or living without food?
2.You say that big cities like Chandigarh, consumption of fast food and soft drinks is the main food.
I live in Chandigarh, here are three SUb-way like stores and two small shops of fast mackdonled. Total population of Chandigarh is greater than 12, ooo, ooo. You mean these fast food stores are enough to serve hamburgers, pizzas etc to its major population?
3 There are more than 1000 hotels that do not serve fast food , but cooked food as per your order. Do you consider here food also fast food?
3Regarding the fast food and soft drings like Coka, burgers,pizzaa etc in Chandigarh . are prohibited by the Chandigarh administration at conteens of all schools, colleges and universities said it is harmful to health .
4.There are many bachelors in IT shops Chadigarh, there are many people who do not like or have time to cook food itself. For them who could not afford food at hotels,there are many homes, that serve standard home cooked food by home delivery like tiffenwals in Bombay. Some of these people live as paying guest. This is the position of Chandigarh, where income average is one of the highest.
5 Do you know TIFFEN.WALA of Bombay, courier system that pick your cooked food from home and serve in your office within three hours and it serves more than 200,000 people daily. This home cooked food couries is hundred year old industy and world known. Last year Prince Charles of England came to study, How unbeliveable is their work and it become big news of media. Thereafter Students of Harvard University USa came to study, how they carry their work with so big numbers of tiffen 100% accuracy without use of computers and by illetrate person.Greg answered it right and I need not say more. Present these facts to the Association Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The above facts are presented by them. :-)
I must be lucky, I actually prefer home-cooked, and simple food. I could never live off fast food. Every now and then I have a burger or something but I'm always disappointed, it never matches the marketing! But the world is addicted to fast food, you're right. It's a shame.I have also noticed a steady decline in the quality of the processed food over the time. I simply hate it these days, except if I feel hungry for pizza I go out, but that too once a year. :D
Great article, DM. It caught my attention because here in our house, we've been researching a more vegetarian style of eating because we want a healthier lifestyle. I'm sorry we're exporting such bad habits. We've not gotten completely vegetarian but we've cut out almost all red meat and are eating a lot more vegetables (edamame!), pasta, rice, lots of fish. I think we'll probably end up pescatarian. In completely unrelated benefits, these types of foods have a much lower calorie content and are less expensive to buy.
It is sad that the poor suffer so much and that we seem unable to find solutions for the inequities. I remember a few summers ago being in a food store here in Houston and seeing Indian families buying 100 lb sacks of rice to send back to families in India where it probably came from in the first place.Thank you Jean. First, don't be sorry for it because everything is a two-way process. The east is trying to ape the west, while the west is also trying to ape the east in many ways. It is human nature to first learn the bad habits instead of seeing what's good in each other. It is great that you guys have decided to go vegetarian. This is completely healthy for the body, mind and soul. My gf as you remember she is German, in fact encouraged me to even stop with onions and garlic. She stopped eating non-vegetarian food by the age of 16.
Even she told me that eggs have a lot of bacteria in them which can cause diseases. Even it is known that the fear and shock animals and birds go through when they are killed for making processed meat, somehow the energy stays in it and it affects us (it is a metaphysical theory), but don't know how many will believe it. But meat is known to be anti-spiritual and scientifically too, it does have harmful effects on the body, as you would have studied it. :-)
I find it strange that Indian families were sending rice back to families in India. Any idea why they did that? Rice is not expensive in India.
Many of us here in America, don't realize how well off we are. Nobody starves here there are soup kitchens for those who live on the streets.good article DM with a good message.Thank you David. The government even now refuses to distribute free grains to the poor when they have much stashed in getting rotten and eaten by rats.
Very good article DM. I tried to express my concern about this occurrence in India in an article written by our friend Mr. Virk, who extolled the virtues of India's denial of processed foods over America's lack of discipline in this area. I suggested to him this may change in India as their economy expanded and lifestyles became more hectic, but he assured me that it is a frame of mind and could never happen there as it has here. I know he loves and is proud of his country as he should be, but human behavior is human behavior regardless of your geographic location, and often times circumstances have a way of changing ones habits, of course self discipline like you Yogis have helps.:-)Mr. David, thank you for commenting. It is not a shame to live on processed food or it isn't even a shame to talk of reality. Social issues are social issues, no matter what is happening anywhere. Certainly, Mr..... got offended by my questions because of his "misunderstood ideas of patriotism", which tells him that one must not portray anything negative about their culture to the world. I am don't accept that. You must be proud to be honest about everything so everybody is aware that a "problem" persists. If there is poverty and talking about it doesn't mean people are meek, timid and inferior to the rich. After all, it's the richness of the heart which matters.
More and more people even in India are beginning to stress on Yoga and aerobics, and other ways to fight stress because things are changing quick and fast. I live in a very busy city unlike Mr.... so I know what's happening with the corporates in Chennai. Thank you again.
You are a vegeterian DM. Me also for 30 years, with the possible exception of the odd fly when I yawn. You describe a sad story. Only I know that India increases in a financial sense, but does this also mean a dumbing down of lifestyle and centuries old diets? Not very encouraging news really.
I personally often eat a lentil and rice based meal, both healthy and cheap.Definitely, there has been a great diaspora since the Mughal invasion and afterwards the British and now the global invasion, especially western values replacing good old Indian habits of hygienic living. Lentil and rice is a very good choice and I love it too. I love lentil and phulka as well. :-) Thank you.
hi
i am wanting for help.actually i feel am frustrated in life ,but i now you can help me out of these type of problems.if you can help me as soon as tomorrow than i shall be the most contented person
i am waiting to write from you bye
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