Impact of globalization on the food consumption of urban India

INTRODUCTION At first sight the link between globalization and food intake appears to be rather remote. However, its influence can be substantially high, although it works mostly through employment, incomes, prices and the market influence on food preferences. Globalization means bringing the domestic economy closer to the international economy in many ways. It is a consequence of liberalization and decontrol. The rationale behind liberalization and globalization was to bring competition and efficiency into the economy. They are part of structural reforms. Change in the existing structure is expected to contribute to efficiency in the long term and lead to absorption of labour, increase in incomes and overall prosperity. One of the expected impacts on dietary patterns relates to higher incomes. The consumption pattern shifts away from cereals and towards more expensive protective foods. The second expected impact is the shift towards more processed foods. Third is the market influence of popular fast foods promoted through advertising by transnational corporations. Changes in the dietary pattern in turn influence the nutritional status of the population. Some effects such as fewer cereals and more protective foods in the diet can improve nutritional status, while a shift towards high-fat, high-sugar snack foods may lead to obesity and chronic diseases. Another adverse impact may be displacement of the poor by structural reforms. This group experiences lower affordability and a reduced calorie intake leading to growth disorders, such as stunting. A more severe impact may be on higher infant mortality rates and lower life expectancies. The impacts of globalization differ from country to country, and between and within communities, depending upon the losers and winners in the process of change. It is difficult to trace these impacts in a sequential manner and to apportion total impacts between globalization and other forces at work in the economy. Reasons for the sedentary lifestyles of middle-class and upper-class urban workers, and deterioration of the lowincome diets of rural migrants can be found elsewhere in the pattern of economic growth, not necessarily related to globalization. This paper attempts to examine urban dietary patterns in India, in the backdrop of globalization and its influence on employment, incomes and market forces. The paper consists of three parts. The first part looks at the extent of globalization and urbanization and their impact on employment, incomes, imports and consumerism. The second part considers the dietary patterns of the urban population and attempts to link them to globalization. Certain aspects of the consumption patterns of the non-poor and the poor