Indians Prefer Non-Vegetarian Food Over Vegetarian, Yet Consumes Lesser Meat Than The World

Indians are far behind in the world when it comes to eating meat in huge quantities. It is interesting however that most non vegetarians live here.

New Delhi: A proverb comes to mind that is often quoted by the common man "Aap Rupi Bhojan Paraya Rupi Shringar" which translates to, you should eat food according to your own choice and dress up as per choice of others. This is because what we eat gives us energy, but what we wear is seen by others.

You will be surprised to know that 70 percent of people, in a country that sides with vegetarianism, prefer meat.

India likes meat

When it comes to the 2014 nationwide survey, it shows that 70 percent of people like non-vegetarian food. On the other hand, IndiaSpend's analysis shows that about 80 percent of men and about 70 percent of women in India occasionally consume eggs, fish, chicken or meat. 

India lags behind US here too

Considering the figures, meat consumption in India is much lower than in the rest of the world. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a person in India consumes about 5.2 kilograms of meat annually, while in the United States, per person eats about 115 kg of meat. 

A section in India has always believed that vegetarian food is easily digestible and only that it is appropriate for consumption. These people also believe that such food gives strength to people. Vegetarians also strongly argue in favour of it by pointing out references from ancient traditions and religious texts.