Non-vegetarian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Non-vegetarian (non-veg) is an Indian English word that is used to refer to meaty food and also to a person who has a regular, unrestricted diet, as opposed to that of a vegetarian's, i.e. someone who consumes meat, especially as a major source of protein.[1][2] Although the intended meaning is readily understood, these terms are not common parlance in the Anglosphere (English-speaking countries) where meat consumption is the norm, vegetarianism is a rarity, and veganism is a novelty.[citation needed] In an Indian context, the term has been criticized as a misnomer and a casteist pejorative with origins attributed to the caste system in India.[3]

A related word is eggetarian, that refers to a vegetarian who consume egg-based products but not meat.[citation needed]

Demographics[]

Around 80% of Indian men and 70% of women consume eggs, fish, chicken or meat occasionally, if not weekly.[4] New research by US-based anthropologist Balmurli Natrajan and India-based economist Suraj Jacob, points to a heap of evidence that even these are inflated estimations because of "cultural and political pressures". So people under-report eating meat - particularly beef - and over-report eating vegetarian food. Taking all this into account, say the researchers, only about 20% of Indians are actually vegetarian - much lower than common claims and stereotypes suggest.[5]

By gender[]

Overall, 42.8% Indian women and 48.9% men consumed fish, chicken or meat weekly, according to the National Family Health Survey, 2015-16.[4]

More men than women eat non-vegetarian food in India; almost three in ten women do not consume eggs (29.3%) and chicken, fish or meat (29.9%) compared to two in ten men who do not consume eggs (19.6%) and chicken, fish or meat (21.6%).[4]

Among women between 15-45 years of age, 45% have milk and curd, 44.8% have pulses or beans and 47.2% have dark green, leafy vegetables daily while 37.4% eat eggs and 36.6% eat fish, chicken or meat weekly. Almost half--51.8%--of them have fruits occasionally.[4]

By education, religion, and caste[]

Education appears to decide the choice of vegetarian/non-vegetarian foods. Those who have studied up to five years eat the highest amount of eggs and meat--men (54.2% and 57.6%) and women (48.2% and 51.8%).[4]

Among religions, Christians consume eggs and meat the most--men (71.5% and 75.6%) and women (64.7% and 74.2%). This is followed by Muslim men (66.5% and 73.1%) and women (59.7% and 67.3%).[4] Hindus, who make up 80% of the Indian population, are major meat-eaters. Even only a third of the privileged, upper-caste Indians are vegetarian.[5]

The highest consumption of eggs and fish, chicken or meat is among those who said they did not know their caste--men (49.2% and 51.6%). This holds true for women as well for eggs; for fish, chicken and meat it is highest in ‘other’ caste.[4]

By state[]

Data on women show that Kerala (92.8%), Goa (85.7%) and Assam (80.4%) have the highest weekly consumers of fish, chicken or meat while Punjab (4%), Rajasthan (6%) and Haryana (7.8%) rank the lowest.

Figures for men show that Tripura (94.8%), Kerala (90.1%) and Goa (88%) are the highest weekly consumers of fish, chicken or meat while Punjab (10%), Rajasthan (10.2%) and Haryana (13%) are the lowest.[4]

Controversy[]

The term non-vegetarian has been criticized as a misnomer and a casteist pejorative with origins attributed to the caste system in India.[3]

According to US-based anthropologist Balmurli Natrajan and India-based economist Suraj Jacob, "The term non-vegetarian is a good case in point. It signals the social power of vegetarian classes, including their power to classify foods, to create a 'food hierarchy' wherein vegetarian food is the default and is having a higher status than meat. Thus it is akin to the term 'non-whites' coined by 'whites' to capture an incredibly diverse population who they colonised."[5]

In popular usage[]

  • In India, it is mandatory that packaged food products be marked with Vegetarian and non-vegetarian marks, which are green and reddish-brown symbols that clearly indicate whether they are suitable for vegetarians or non-vegetarians respectively.[citation needed]
In India, labeling of packaged food products is mandatory to distinguish between non-vegetarian (reddish-brown) and vegetarian (green) products
  • In India and Pakistan, non-vegetarian cuisine has been heavily influenced by the coastal, trading as well as immigrant cultures including Arabic, Turkic, Mughal, Persian as well as Portuguese, French and British leading to various indigenous forms of cuisine such as Mughlai, Hyderabadi, Awadhi, Kolhapuri, Malvani, Chettinad and Malabari. [6][7].While coming to non-veg, chettinad restaurants plays an important role[8]
  • In India, most restaurants serving meat publicly and explicitly display the title 'non-vegetarian restaurant' or 'non-vegetarian hotel' (In India, the term hotel may colloquially refer to a restaurant or a hotel). This practice is intended to help strict, orthodox vegetarians who may want to avoid eating in such restaurants due to religious and casteist reasons or due to consciousness of the pain and sufferings that are inflicted on animals.[9][10] In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi had mentioned an incident regarding his dilemma, as a vegetarian, whether it is appropriate to eat a vegetarian meal in a non-vegetarian restaurant or not.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Cohesion. Nehru Institute of National Integration. 1970.
  2. ^ Staff, Institute Of Naturopathy; (Bangalore), Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (2002-12-01). Nutrition And Health: The Vegetarian Way. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 9788120724242.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "'Non-vegetarian' is the biggest casteist scam that has ever been pulled on Indians". dailyO. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Most Indians Non Vegetarian; Men More Than Women, South & East Most".
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The myth of the Indian vegetarian nation".
  6. ^ Collingham, Lizzie (2006-02-06). Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199883813.
  7. ^ Mehendale, Āditya (2015). Rare Gems: A Non-vegetarian Gourmet Collection from Maharashtra. Om Books International. ISBN 9789384625214.
  8. ^ "Anjappar Restaurants - Global Ambassadors of Chettinad Cuisine". www.anjappar.com. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  9. ^ Ratheiser, Daniel (2010-12-01). Work in India a Guide by Knowledge Must: A Complete Guide Book for Everybody Who Is Interested Working in India. Knowledge Must. ISBN 9781456354299.
  10. ^ Brien, Charmaine O' (2013-12-15). The Penguin Food Guide to India. Penguin UK. ISBN 9789351185758.
  11. ^ Gandhi, M. K. (2009-01-01). An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth. The Floating Press. ISBN 9781775414056.
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