Forced to eat a dish of boiled masoor dal for want of other gluten-free options in Milan a few years ago, I was surprised by how delicious it was. At home, I do not even buy that variant. Recently, flavourful cherries from the United States beat even the best available in Delhi.
Globophiles may say the world is flat, but inequality is starker than ever. Political or economic, the scales are always tilted. Food is no different. The developed countries enjoy the best of produce and the choicest of ingredients. Emerging countries like India make do with the leftovers of even something they produce in abundance, like tea. While the West enjoys the best of Darjeeling’s first flush, the average Indian home knows nothing better than a CTC blend.
As per the Global Food Security Index 2022, the top performers among 113 nations in terms of food security, encompassing parameters such as availability, affordability, quality and safety, were unsurprisingly all developing countries. Of concern, however, was how the gap between the top and bottom of the list had widened since 2019, a grim indicator of rising inequality of global food systems. The indices that took the worst beating were affordability and quality. India was ranked 68th.
While several factors like climate, agriculture and economy are at play in deciding what and how much a nation gets to eat, the inequality gets interesting when we compare what the same brand offers in developed and emerging nations. For instance, cola giants Coke and Pepsi launched stevia versions of their diet colas in developed nations years back, but never bothered to offer the relatively healthier option in the Global South. With aspartame declared a possible carcinogen, this decision should be reconsidered.
Betting solely on localisation, McDonald’s may have slayed the Indian market with an aloo burger, but there are no apple or carrot slice options in Indian Happy Meals, unlike in developed countries.
KFC has no vegan options in countries like India, but does in the US, Europe and Australia.
Similarly, Pizza Hut or Domino’s have no salads or options like gluten free pizzas in emerging markets, which they offer their customers in developed countries. In contrast, brands like Starbucks were quick to take products from India like the turmeric latte, perceived as healthy, to western markets.
The so-called “third world” countries are no longer home to ignorant or unaware populations. People are well-travelled and in sync with health and lifestyle trends as well as products. Multinational brands attempting to cash in on the huge market opportunity of emerging nations but with a basic product portfolio need a serious rethink.
Here’s why: An Ogilvy Wellness Gap global survey in 2020, conducted across four continents, indicated that 77% respondents wanted wellness in not just food or cosmetics, but airlines, cars, and banking as well. And, brands should remember that India is the world’s fastest-growing health foods market, as per a 2022 report by investment banking services firm Avendus Capital, which predicts that the health-conscious consumer base in the country will rise to 176 million in 2026 from 108 million in 2020.
Even if you ignore the data, foreign brands can just take a look at their domestic competitors for a reality check. Vegan, organic, millet, multigrain, natural are words on almost every menu, and, needless to say, Indian are gulping it all down.
The biggest paradox in this debate is that despite the availability of the best quality foods, some of the western diets are the unhealthiest in the world, dominated by red meat and processed and packaged foods. Data from a paper published in Nature, the Global Dietary Database project, reveals that across 185 countries between 1990 and 2018, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), a validated score (1-100) of diet quality, had a mean of 40.3. Only 10 countries, representing less than 1% of the world’s population, had AHEI scores over 50.
And, countries such as Vietnam, Iran, Indonesia and India had AHEI scores between 54.5 to 48.2, while the US scored among the lowest, in a range of 27.1–33.5.
It is thus food for thought that when compared to a well-to-do American putting together a sandwich from store-bought ingredients or ordering a pepperoni pizza for dinner, a poor person in India eating fresh dal and roti consumes a healthier meal.
ivinder.gill@expressindia.com