Pandemic Effect: State’s rural folks move away from meat, but urbanites prefer immunity-booster food

Dr Yamini Prakash, dietician, said that many urban households have moved towards consumption of immunity-boosting drinks and foods such as kabasura kudineer, lemon juice, ginger, and turmeric, due to the emphasis on personal immunity amid the pandemic. “Karuppevelli, a local green that is rather difficult to purchase, and other such leafy veggies are being bought by many due to their health benefits in urban Chennai. There is a trend of conscious cooking now. People would earlier rely on parcels or fast food, but now they are very particular about the ingredients they are cooking with,” she said. Interestingly, although there was a dip in meat consumption in urban TN during the early days of the coronavirus, this trend got reversed after the importance of proteins was emphasised by experts.

Rural TN has seen the opposite. Meat consumption has reduced, according to Latha Ramanathan, founder, Economix Consulting Group, who conducted the survey alongside e-commerce company Boonbox. Another trend was that 81% of rural households were brand agnostic. “Due to labourers returning home, rural households found that they have more mouths to feed on reduced or no income. Therefore we saw that many were willing to switch to cheaper brands,” said Ramanathan.

According to Boonbox founder and CEO Ramachandran Ramanathan, rural economy is bouncing back and therefore trends will return to normal once enough employment opportunities are generated, which will take a few years’ time. In urban India, however, these changes might be more permanent, according to Dr Prakash, as the pandemic has driven the need for a more health-conscious and aware consumer.