Open letter raises concern about ‘irrational attacks on food habits and nutrition rights of citizens’

A group of 112 like-minded citizens, including doctors, nutritionists, advocates, researchers apart from six organisations, have written an open letter raising concerns about the recent ‘irrational attacks on the food habits and nutrition rights of citizens’

A group of 112 like-minded citizens, including doctors, nutritionists, advocates, researchers apart from six organisations, have written an open letter raising concerns about the recent ‘irrational attacks on the food habits and nutrition rights of citizens’. The group is planning to submit the letter to Union Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Welfare as well as the Prime Minister’s Office.

Asserting that various laws, bans and calls to boycott the sale and consumption of meat are affecting the nutrition and well-being of people, the group has said that research has shown that consuming animal source foods is an important means of addressing India’s glaring nutritional deficiencies.

“The current government at the Centre, its right-wing foot soldier brigade, complicit judiciary and police have gone on a spree of ousting all animal source foods other than dairy from the plate of the average Indian.  This can have far-reaching, often irreversible adverse outcomes,” the letter stated.

“Calls to ban meat shops are spreading across the country.  On April 1, 2022, a demand was made to close all meat shops for nine days during Navratri in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), with those refusing to comply being threatened that their shops would be bulldozed. There have been earlier instances of targeting meat shops in U.P., and also in other States such as Jharkhand and Karnataka, but the harassment has dramatically intensified in recent weeks,” the letter stated.

“Stringent cattle slaughter bans in several States have turned a legitimate trade that sustained the livelihood of thousands into an illegal activity, making these groups vulnerable to police heavy-handedness, legal quagmires and economic destitution. Cattle slaughter bans have also adversely affected all those who depend on the cattle trade and dealt a debilitating blow to the livestock, leather and meat economy,” the letter stated.

Pointing out that the recent events in Karnataka have taken this harassment to new heights, the letter said: “It comes at a time when Muslims across Karnataka have been at the receiving end of various bans called for by right-wing groups, adding to the growing polarisation in the southern State under the BJP government.

“Since March 2022, there have been campaigns by a Hindu right-wing group in Karnataka against the purchase of halal meat, fuelling the already growing communal tensions in the State. The same group has demanded that non-Hindus should not be allowed to set up shops near temples that come under the Muzrai department. Residents of districts like Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, and even Bengaluru, witnessed communally charged incidents as right-wing groups continue to impose restrictions on Muslim traders, adding to tensions in the State.”