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People shifting to healthier food, says scientist

The per capita foodgrains consumption has come down reflecting a positive shift to healthier food habits, said former Indian Agriculture Research Council director S K Sinha.

In the last 50 years, the per capita foodgrains consumption has dropped from 19 kg per month to a healthy 10 kg in urban areas and about 13 kg in the countryside with increase in average incomes.

He said the per capita foodgrains consumption is likely to reduce further and stabilise at 11 kg per month at the national level.

''With the increase in per capita income, the health conscious people have changed their food habits and now prefer to have vegetables, eggs and milk instead of foodgrains,'' he said.

The direction of agriculture programmes has to be reoriented from merely aiming at doubling foodgrains production to making more nutritious food available to all, he said.

Criticising the measures adopted by scientists to fix targets for foodgrains production, he said, ''They overlook the fact that in western countries, foodgrains have come to be used for feeding cattle. So surplus foodgrains production can give birth to unwanted proplems.''

He stressed the importance of producing more vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs and other such healthy food.

If India has to compete in the international market, it has to increase the production of calorie-based products such as potato, carrot and tomato, the scientist said.

UNI

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