Every Indian should strongly condemn. There is no truth in the accusation by Mr. Bush that we are robbing food from the mouths of Americans. In fact, we are far behind compared with the developed world in nutrition. We are still hungry because stark poverty lies in 50 percent of our mouths. Besides taking necessary steps making available food to the people living below the poverty line, it is our bounden duty to eat our food in right way towards better health.

In fact, I was proud when Bush said Indian middle class is eating more. Nevertheless, the statement serves as an acknowledgement if not a real indicator of development. I looked into Hyderabad streets to gauge the change over the past 25 years. Those days, I had to search for a fruit shop, and could only get one 6 miles away; a good hotel—7miles away; a cup of curds—a mirage; etc. Unless I was up very early I could not fetch milk from the government dairy. People were in queues to buy milk cards a month in advance—means unless assured of sure buyers no milk was vended. Now milk flows on the roads. (Of course the leaked drainage flows literally on the flanks of the roads, sometimes in the middle). Fruits are aplenty at every nook and corner. Roadside eateries outnumber bus stops. About two ‘curry points’ jot the streets in addition to hotels, bars and restaurants. Curry points make curries for people to take home. One has to merely fix the needed rice or rotis at home. I see few folks cooking at home on a daily basis. Eating out or ordering food home became a trend, as also saves the dishwashing chores.

People eat what their parents ate and stray a little farther to explore outside the family stab(p)le. No one changes usual diet overnight, unless one is married into another family and had to adapt alien taste by compulsion. According to me, it takes at least two generations to get rid of that ‘family menu mindset’. An individual’s ‘taste psyche’ for a particular variety of food is acquired by the ‘eating feedback’ one received in childhood, when he or she was closer home. Appreciation of food is a mere copy, acquired by observing co-eaters at the kitchen table as a child. The inherited likes and dislikes can’t be discarded that easily.

We have been eating the same food for a long time, rice or wheat (which is our staple energy giving cereal). Suppose I have not eaten my morsel today (be it cooked/fried/ baked as a flour or whole grain in my daily pattern). To me this amounts to having no food at all. It also means technically I have completed my fasting or upavas for the half day. This is despite the fact I ate alternatives like cookies, fruits, sweets etc. You see, my real meal was still skipped, in other words I did not eat my morsel of Rice or Wheat. The snacks I ate a while ago were after all made from precooked or derivative stuff, and so were the biscuits and chocolates even though they are based in rice or wheat. This goes to prove food is an idea just like sex.

Our gastronomical mind decides its satisfaction level or satiety. Eating foreign (exotic) stuff like chocolates hardly fills my stomach. To me, real filling is taking something heavy that should make me search for a seat to find my balance. Some neurons must be lining my stomach walls and playing a part of my mind. .So I feel deprived and impoverished until I fall back upon something heavy. This is despite the knowledge of the fact that eating large amounts of polished grain containing simply simple carbohydrates is not good for my health.

Despite glut in food on the streets of modern urban India, the quality is taking a nose dive. Few eaters are conscious of side effects of ready to eat foods. First they are full of cholesterol thanks to the hydrogenated and reheated oils. Eating them may lead to clogged arteries, a precursor for coronary heart disease. Secondly, a lot of fast food is too spicy leading to ulcers. Colon cancer stays on the other end. The colors of foods may appeal to the eye but might not be the ones permitted by the health authorities. At the food counters food has chance of being handled in ways unhygienic, and get contaminated with bacteria. Besides, the ingredients may not be washed thoroughly. There is no guarantee some leftovers from the vegetable markets are not added in the big kitchens or food is rightly inspected by health officials periodically. In the past, hoteliers got shivers in anticipation of raids by food inspectors. Now the things are the other way round. I see 24-hour mobile eateries mushroom and invade the otherwise quiet localities. If India sends a man or woman to the outer space, a mobile restaurant is sure to be taken along; if one is not there already on a satellite I am afraid. 

Finally, one has to be very sure of anything that goes into mouth. The mere fact  hundreds of people are eating at a place will not absolve an eatery and certify it for quality  We still don’t care for Bushes of the world as long as we are health conscious Indians on the other side of the slice. It is also high time we broke our bread with the other half of starving India.