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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | The alarming rise of food shares -Nidhi Kaicker, Aashi Gupta, and Raghav Gaiha

The alarming rise of food shares -Nidhi Kaicker, Aashi Gupta, and Raghav Gaiha

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published Published on Mar 3, 2022   modified Modified on Mar 3, 2022

-The Hindu

Spells of impoverishment during the pandemic were not infrequent, and lower castes and minorities bore the brunt of it

Few observations survive the test of time. Fewer gain significance over time. Engel’s Law is a case in point. A version is that the poorer a family, “the greater the proportion of the total outgo which must be used for food. The proportion of the outgo used for food, other things being equal, is the best measure of the material standard of living of a population.” Based on this law, our objective is to examine spells of impoverishment during the pandemic in India. Our analysis is based on the CMIE Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (January 2019-August 2021).

It is not just food expenditures that differ but also diets. The caste-based hierarchy is deep-seated in India, with the Brahmins and other upper castes at the top, and the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) at the bottom. Traditionally, Brahmins are vegetarian, while SCs and STs are not. Hindus in India are better-off than Muslims on average. While many Hindus are vegetarian, many also eat meat with the exception of beef. Muslims are non-vegetarian and are allowed to eat all kinds of meat except pork.

Rise in food shares

The shock of the pandemic caused breakdowns in food supply chains and a fall in food demand, a consequence of loss of income. Yet, subsistence food requirements had to be met. Amidst the misery, food prices spiked as there was speculative hoarding by food sellers and ‘panic buying’ by consumers. The lockdowns resulted in a sharp rise in food share across rural and urban India and among all socioeconomic groups comprising various castes and religions, but at different rates.

Among SC households in rural areas, the food share ranged from 46% to 54% before March 2020. However, it surged to about 64% in April 2020 coinciding with the first national lockdown. Similar trends were observed among STs, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Others. In urban areas, it was the OBCs and Others who saw a sharp rise. One reason for the opposing results in rural and urban India could be the shift of expenditure in urban areas by the upper castes to home-cooked food — a change in lifestyle forced by the lockdown and fear of the pandemic.

Once restrictions were lifted, there was a sharp decline in food share across all groups. While this decline continued in August 2021, food shares were still higher than pre-pandemic levels. However, the extent of contraction differed between rural and urban areas and among different castes. To illustrate, the food share of SCs recorded the sharpest contraction, followed by Others, STs and OBCs. In urban areas, the fall was steepest among the STs, followed by Others, SCs and OBCs. 

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The Hindu, 3 March, 2022, https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-alarming-rise-of-food-shares/article65184438.ece?homepage=true


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