No 'meat'-ing point

If you cite health reasons to go off meat, I'd understand. If you raise global warming as a reason to distance oneself from meat, I'd applaud. Avoiding killing of animals? I'd sympathise. But citing religion to keep people away from meat is simply discriminatory and quite frankly, preposterous. But that's exactly what South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) Mayor Mukesh Suryan wants to be done. In a letter to the SDMC Commissioner, he directed that all meat shops in the area remain shut during Navratri.

Even though no order has been passed and looks highly unlikely now with the controversy that's erupted, one must scoff at even the thought. Firstly, such an instruction impinges on all freedoms and rights conferred to us by the Constitution. These bans also threaten the trade, occupation, and livelihood of people. In cases where courts have upheld meat slaughter or selling on specific days, why has there been no mention of compensation? Similarly, if the SDMC Mayor wants to shut meat shops, then he should also compensate the shopkeepers and the workers for the loss of business and wages.

What we eat or don't should remain a personal matter. But from time to time, food takes on a political colour. Sometimes we are also told which meat we should consume, and now, not to consume at all. Meat is not sold in Gurugram on Tuesdays, non-vegetarian food can't be sold in roadside stalls in Ahmedabad, while food sellers in Rajkot and Vadodara have to cover non-vegetarian food. Is meat-eating a deviant behaviour practised by food perverts? The SDMC Mayor's letter states that seeing meat being sold openly would make them uncomfortable and hurt "religious beliefs and sentiments". Shouldn't our faith (again a personal matter) be strong enough not to be distracted by meat? For those that do practice Navratri or any religious practice that forbids meat and alcohol, staying away from vendors and not partaking in the consumption should suffice. Such bans also propound the belief that ours is no longer a country for all. We can't allow such dictatorial decisions in the nation's capital that has never had such a practice. No administration should be allowed to take away essential freedoms as guaranteed by our Constitution. At a time when the world is also more conscious and aware of individuals' rights, a poor, regressive picture of India as a hegemonic power is being painted.

The demands of a meat ban or putting it in purdah also disregard the fact that India is a largely meat-eating country. We are not mostly vegetarians, and in fact, the latter is a minority when it comes to dietary habits. According to the National Family Health Survey, 78 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women in India are non-vegetarians; i.e., they consume either egg, fish, or meat. While much of India eats some kind of non-vegetarian fare or the other, eastern and southern states (obviously) lead the consumption. With non-veg eaters of over 97 per cent, Bengal is on top followed closely by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana have the lowest with below 40 per cent. A closer look at the data also shows that Indians eat as much egg, fish, and meat as fruits; and almost half the Indian population eats non-veg once a week. I would go so far as to say that the frequency of eating protein would be higher if the economic status of the people improves. Many simply can't afford eggs and meat daily.

As per news reports, we are also eating more meat today than we did in the last few years. The numbers have been steadily rising since 2014 and in 2020, we ate 6 million tonnes of meat! We are also producing more meat today and are currently ranked as the sixth-largest producer of meat accounting for 2.18 per cent of the world's meat production. So, in spite of these staggering numbers, why does the meat industry and its lovers receive the rough end of the stick? It's plain 'ol politics; an attempt to 'vegetarianise' the country and enforce the eating habits of a few on the many. Our meat-eating ways do not suit the narrative of the powers that be and therefore, from time to time, when such ill-conceived ideas surface, they must be chopped off.

The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. Views expressed are personal