
The myth of the Indian vegetarian nation - sridca
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122
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belltaco
A thing to note is that "non-vegetarian" for Indians and say, the US is very
different. Being non-vegetarian in the US means eating meat every day, pretty
much every meal. In India, there are a lot of people that only occasionally
eat meat, say about once a week, or a few meals a week. There are a ton of
vegetarian only eating places which are very very popular with the so called
non-vegetarians.

Another difference is that meat based meals in restaurants are more expensive
than their vegetarian counterparts(like it should be), not subsidized like in
the US(through the form of animal meal subsidies like corn).

It would be nice to see per capita consumption of meat products among non-
vegetarians of different countries.

~~~
Mikeb85
> Another difference is that meat based meals in restaurants are more
> expensive than their vegetarian counterparts(like it should be), not
> subsidized like in the US(through the form of animal meal subsidies like
> corn).

It's not just subsidies, it's the fact that in the US, 'vegetarian' (or vegan)
happens to usually overlap other fad diets like gluten-free, low-carb, etc...
Plus different cultural tastes. A typical vegetarian meal in India is made
from some preparation of legumes, rice and wheat, plus a few vegetables. A
typical vegetarian meal in the US is made from quinoa, avocado, cauliflower,
almonds, etc... Not to mention, there's massive differences in the economics
of restaurants between the US and India. In India, a 'restaurant' can be a
stall on the side of the road with a few plastic chairs. Having an open fire
on the side of the street is seemingly acceptable. In the US, you need a
business license, commercial kitchen, the overhead is simply much, much higher
and you need a certain amount of revenue per guest, so even if the vegetarian
meal may cost less, you need to maintain your gross profit.

~~~
belltaco
Outside restaurants, at the grocery stores, meat is often as cheap if not
cheaper than vegetables, fruits etc.

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diffeomorphism
The article does not include any context or reference at which level it would
include a region to be "vegetarian" and not a "myth" and is quite ...
optimistic... in its conclusions.

For instance, it lists the percentage of vegetarians as

\- Indore: 49% \- Meerut: 36% \- Delhi: 30%

To me this would indicate that the "myth" is true. Similarly, they report that
about 15% of people eat beef instead of the official estimate of about 7%.
While the factor is interesting, this is still very far from high and does not
support their summary that "the extent of beef eating is much higher than
claims and stereotypes suggest".

~~~
sridca
You forgot the cities of South India (which, incidentally, is the more
literate part of the country):

Hyderabad: 11%

Chennai: 6%

Kolkata: 4%

Your comment on beef is not very interesting as we mostly eat goat if not
chicken and seafood.

And of course eggs and dairy are part of daily staple.

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gwbas1c
Wait... I never thought that India was considered vegetarian? I know
vegetarianism is more popular in India than in other countries, but I've
always just assumed that it's easier to get a vegetarian meal at an Indian
restaurant.

The beef thing, though, came as a surprise. (I always thought beef was so
taboo that no one would ever touch it.) I felt so weird the time I ate a steak
at a steakhouse in India.

~~~
sridca
Some people actually believe it be so. Here's a recent example from HN:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19927745](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19927745)

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amriksohata
Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist BJP promotes vegetarianism and
believes that the cow should be protected, because the country's majority
Hindu population considers them holy. More than a dozen states have already
banned the slaughter of cattle. And during Mr Modi's rule, vigilante cow
protection groups, operating with impunity, have killed people transporting
cattle.

\- This is a bit of a weird article, almost like its a point proving/scoring
to prove India isn't vegetarian which a lot of people know that there are meat
eaters in India. Forget politics, for anyone who is half educated about
climate change, stopping cow slaughter for meat is one of the best ways to
reduce our footprint, both in methane output as well as reducing the insane
amount of crops used to fatten cattle.

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rudiv
This reminds me of how I always associated South Indian food with vegetarian
food growing up in Delhi, where the majority of South Indian restaurants are
run by Brahmins. (As I now know) fish and meat are essential to southern
cuisines, but my less adventurous or less informed friends still persist in
that misconception to some extent.

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sfifs
I'm actually a bit surprised the number is estimated as high as 20%. I'd have
expected much lower. The stereotype exists because a majority of the people
who have emigrated West in the past have come from historically "upper castes"
which have a much higher proportion of vegetarians.

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dharmach
Isn't India more vegetarian than any other country in the world?

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Maybe? At 20%, it depends on how accurate Mexico’s numbers are. By absolute
numbers, surely.

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baybal2
Reminds me of the last time I saw pork sausages in Islamabad

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Beef curry is great in Goa (which, anyways, is more Christian than Hindu).

~~~
rudiv
Maybe in the more tourist-y areas. AFAIK Goa state is 70% Hindu.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Oh ya, this was a seaside resort that we were sequestered at for a workshop.

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sridca
I'm surprised that this rather uncontroversial article got flagged. Anyone
have any theories as to why?

