Click to play videoNew Delhi: If you thought India is largely a vegetarian country, then think again. An exclusive survey conducted by CNN-IBN and The Hindu have found majority of Indians to be non-vegetarians.
The food habits, however, varied on the basis of region and religion.
The survey reveals, while just 2 per cent of Kerala residents are vegetarian, less than 4 per cent survive on greens in Andhra Pradesh and 8 per cent in Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
The percentage of vegetarian families are higher in northern India, with Rajasthan accounting for 63 per cent vegetarian people, Haryana 62 per cent, Punjab 48 per cent, Gujarat 45 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 35 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 33 per cent. There are 9 per cent others who are vegetarians but they eat eggs.
Overall, only 31 per cent individuals prefer vegetarian food and 60 per cent others have shown a definite preference for non-vegetarian food.
In the overall count, 21 per cent Indian families are pure vegetarians while 44 per cent families prefer having non-vegetarian food.
And 32 per cent families have people who eat both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian foods.
When it comes to beverages, tea and coffee remain the most favoured drinks with as many as 77 per cent people consuming tea or coffee on a daily basis while 44 per cent have milk everyday.
The percentage of people who consume soft drinks on a daily basis is still a low 15 per cent.
The survey, however, found that drinking habits were on the rise in both urban and rural areas in the last decade. As many as 40 per cent people agreed that alcohol consumption has increased considerably while 24 per cent believe that it has increased only a little.
Fourteen per cent people thought drinking has gone down in the last decade.
As many as 73 per cent people said the government should ban consumption of alcohol and while 18 per cent others said it should be left to the individual's choice.
The survey also found 21 per cent people to be regular smokers.
When asked about the quality of food available now as compared to their parents' generation, 45 per cent people said the quality has improved.
However, it was alarming is that almost one-third of the Indians still go without two square meals a day.
As many as 27 per cent Indians said in the survey that they experienced hunger sometimes in the last one year. That means one-third of India has experienced hunger often or sometimes in the last one year.
However, 65 per cent Indians say that they never experienced hunger in the last one year.
Incidence of hunger is higher among the rural poor with 45 per cent having experienced it. Over 40 per cent people in the urban poor category have experienced hunger.
Among dalits, 44 per cent say they have slept on a hungry stomach often during the last one year while 50 per cent Adivasis have experienced hunger at some point or the other during the last one year.
Majority of Indians are non-vegetarians |
||
Persons |
Families | |
| Vegetarians | 31 | 21 |
| Vegetarian who take eggs | 9 | 3 |
| Non-vegetarians | 60 | 44 |
| Mixed | 32 | |
| Note: all figures in per cent of all respondents. Family here includes parents, self and spouse. The figures here are for families where everyone falls in the same category. The remaining 32 per cent families have mixed pattern. | ||
Religion and caste matters in food preferences… |
|
Brahmins |
55 |
Other Upper caste |
28 |
Dalit |
15 |
| Adivasi | 12 |
| Muslims | 3 |
| Christians | 8 |
| Note: all figures in per cent of vegetarian families in the relevant groups | |
But regional location matters much more |
|
Hindi Heartland |
29% |
Southern states |
12% |
Coastal states have very few vegetarian families |
|
| Andhra Pradesh | 4 |
| Kerala | 2 |
| Orissa | 8 |
| Tamil Nadu | 8 |
Inland states in north and west have more vegetarians |
|
| Rajasthan | 63 |
| Haryana | 62 |
| Punjab | 48 |
| Gujarat | 45 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 35 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 33 |
| Note: all figures in per cent of vegetarian families in the relevant groups | |
Regular Consumption of |
|
Tea or coffee (daily) |
77% |
Milk (daily) |
40% |
Cold drink (weekly) |
15% |
| Eating out (occasionally only urban) | 23% |
| Alcohol (occasionally) | 14% |
| Smoking (daily) | 21% |
Last decade has witnessed a rise in drinking, both in rural and urban areas |
|
In your locality drinking has .. |
All |
Increased a lot |
40 |
Increased a little |
24 |
| Remained the same | 13 |
| Decreased | 14 |
| Note: all figures in per cent of the relevant group. | |
Widespread support for prohibition |
|
Government should ban the consumption of alcohol |
73 |
Those who drink should not be stopped |
18 |
No opinion |
9 |
| Note: all figures in per cent of all respondents | |
People feel they eat better now than before
|
|
| The quality of food consumed in the family has.. | Compared to parent’s generation |
Improved |
45% |
Remained same |
30% |
Deteriorated |
23% |
Note: all figures in per cent of all respondents. Rest: don’t know. |
|
About one-third Indian faced hunger during the last one year |
|
Often |
8% |
Sometimes |
27% |
Never |
65% |
Those who experienced hunger |
|
All |
35% |
Rural Poor |
45% |
Urban Poor |
40% |
| Dalit | 44% |
| Adivasi | 50% |
| Note: all figures in per cent of respondents in the relevant categories who responded to the question "In the last one year how often did you or any member of your family had to go without two square meals" | |
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