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INDIA, April 24, 2019 (Swarajyamag): The food habits of Indians is a topic of much contention and argument in Indian public discourse. There are several questions that usually come up in Indian drawing rooms whenever the topic of food comes up. What do Indians like to eat? What proportion of Indians are vegetarians? Do Indian “non vegetarians” eat meat often? If yes, how often? How do eating habits vary across geographies? Is Southern India indeed more “non vegetarian” than the North, and if yes, to what degree? How do eating habits vary by gender? How does it vary by caste? Are the vegetarians of India predominantly upper caste as often supposed? Does wealth influence Indian eating habits?
While a quarter of the Indian population may be regarded as strictly vegetarian (by no means a small proportion), a much larger proportion eat meat only occasionally. So, while the table (gleaned from the National Family Health Survey 2015-2016 ) suggests that 74 per cent of the Indian population may have consumed meat at some point, only 45.9 percent actually consume “non-vegetarian” food on a weekly/daily basis. A close look at the data suggests that only a little over 4 in 10 Indians are regular meat-eaters, with less than 1 in 10 consuming meat on a daily basis. The percentage of Hindu population that eats meat every week is 41.6 percent – distinctly lower than the national average of 45.9 per cent. For Muslims and Christians, the proportion is over 70 per cent.
HPI adds: To put these number in perspective, not that a 2015 report (https://www.businessinsider.com/where-do-people-eat-the-most-meat-2015-9) says the per capita consumption of meat in India is just 7.2 lbs, compared to 198.5 in the US, 198.9 in Australia and 142.9 in the EU.