[nukkad] US eats 5 times more than India per capita

[Amir'AliMackwani <>]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/US_eats_5_times_more_than_India_per_capita/rssarticleshow/3008449.cms

Even as the world spins into a global food crisis, a popular theory — 
voiced by the likes of US President George W Bush and secretary of state 
Condoleezza Rice — is that the Chinese and Indians are responsible. The 
'logic': due to zooming incomes, they are eating more, causing worldwide 
shortages. But is that true?

Due to their huge populations, countries like India and China may appear 
to consume gigantic amounts of food. But the real elephant in the room 
that nobody is willing to talk about is how much each person gets to 
eat. And the answer will shock many.

Total foodgrain consumption — wheat, rice, and all coarse grains like 
rye, barley etc — by each person in the US is over five times that of an 
Indian, according to figures released by the US Department of 
Agriculture for 2007.

Each Indian gets to eat about 178 kg of grain in a year, while a US 
citizen consumes 1,046 kg.

In per capita terms, US grain consumption is twice that of the European 
Union and thrice that of China. Grain consumption includes flour and by 
conversion to alcohol.

In fact, per capita grain consumption has increased in the US — so 
actually the Americans are eating more. In 2003, US per capita grain 
consumption was 946 kg per year which increased to 1046 kg last year.

By way of comparison, India's per capita grain consumption has remained 
static over the same period. It's not just grains. Milk consumption, in 
fluid form, is 78 kg per year for each person in the US, compared to 36 
kg in India and 11 kg in China.

Vegetable oils consumption per person is 41 kg per year in US, while 
Indians are making do with just 11 kg per year. These are figures for 
liquid milk, not for cheese, butter, yogurt and milk powders which are 
consumed in huge proportion in the more advanced countries.

A significant proportion of India's population is vegetarian, and so, 
this is all the food that they get, apart from vegetables and pulses. 
But the source of carbohydrates and fats is mainly derived from food 
grains and oils.

As far as meat consumption is concerned, the US leads the world in per 
capita consumption by a wide margin. Beef consumption, for example, is 
42.6 kg per person per year, compared to a mere 1.6 kg in India and 5.9 
kg in China. In case you are thinking that perhaps Indians might be 
going in for chicken, think again. In the US, 45.4 kg poultry meat is 
consumed every year by each person, compared to just 1.9 kg in India.

Pork consumption is negligible in India, while it is a major item 
elsewhere. In the European Union, 42.6 kg pork is consumed per person 
every year, while in the US, 29.7 kgs are consumed. Pork is a staple for 
Chinese, and so over 35 kg are consumed per person per year. And, we are 
not talking about various other types of meat, like turkey.
All these comparisons are for powerful economies, whether of the west or 
the east.

But the story would not be complete without mentioning the plight of 
Africa, where foodgrain consumption in 2007 was a mere 162 kg per year 
for each person, or about 445 grams per day. Don't forget they are not 
getting any meat or milk products out there.

Perhaps, it is time to include the lifestyle choices of the West in the 
whole feverish debate on how to tackle the global food crisis.

These figures are collated by the US Department of Agriculture. US per 
capita grain consumption rose from 946 kg in 2003 to 1046 kg last year. 
India's per capita consumption remained static in this period.
-- 
Amir'Ali Mackwani
c if u like this; response welcome
myNoteBook 
<http://www.google.com/notebook/public/00716003903690146150/BDQeVSwoQ1rWgxroi?hl=en>
 


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