"God's own country" some times jocularly referred to as Dog's own country is distinct from other parts of India in many ways. Foremost it is the first state which became 100% literate showing the world that such feats can be achieved even in a developing country if there is a will. Ironically schools in Kerala are being shuttered because of inadequate students! Kerala also occupies the pride of place when it comes to earning foreign exchange for the country, their citizens bringing the largest chunk. Remember Kerala is also the "alcohol" barrel of the country, the liquor consumption being the highest in entire India! Added to this is the latest "feather" in its cap that puts the state in the fore front as far as meat consumption is concerned, if the Animal Husbandry Department of the state is to be believed.
Kerala - which leads the country in several indicators including literacy - is also the highest consumer of meat with a daily requirement of over 5,000 tonnes, according to the state animal husbandry department. Animal husbandry director R. Vijayakumar does not find the figure of 5,034.96 tonnes a day surprising as 80 per cent of the state's residents are non-vegetarians. "The sad part is that the domestic production of meat (beef, mutton and chicken) is just around 264.31 tonnes," Vijaykumar said, adding: "The rest comes from nearby states." The department has collected this data for a national meeting in Gujarat later this month to review the production of meat and allied products. The survey finds chicken to be the most preferred. In fact, from a mere six per cent share in 1990, it now accounts for 45 per cent of the meat consumed in Kerala. "The eating profile of our people has undergone a huge change," Vijayakumar said.
"With a large number of IT professionals working in key centres, the fast food habit has picked up hugely. Hence meat is the most preferred item." In fiscal 2009-10, Keralites spent a staggering Rs. 2,844 crore on chicken, of which Rs. 1,752 crore went to poultry farms outside the state. "There is a golden opportunity here as there is immense potential to rear chicken, pig, goats and even rabbit," Vijaykumar said. "Now all the money is going to neighbouring states," Vijaykumar said. "We are going to give huge emphasis to this sector in our plans." Kottayam, Thrissur and Malappuram lead the state's 14 districts in meat consumption. In fiscal 2009-10, a record 6.1 million cattle came into the state through various check posts; another 1.8 million are estimated to have entered unchecked.
Of the 33 million people in Kerala, according to Vijaykumar, Christians and Muslims together constitute around 47 per cent and most of the meat eaters are from these communities. "If people in our state take to animal husbandry seriously, it would only benefit them," Vijayakumar said.
Of the 33 million people in Kerala, according to Vijaykumar, Christians and Muslims together constitute around 47 per cent and most of the meat eaters are from these communities. "If people in our state take to animal husbandry seriously, it would only benefit them," Vijayakumar said.
What is intriguing about the above figures is that taking them at face value Kerala's consumption works out to almost 27% of the country figure of 6.8 million tons of meat production annually. According to Planning Commission, average meat consumption in India as a whole is 5 kg per capita per year and Keralites seem to be consuming four times this quantity, working out to about 20 kg per capita. World wide the average corresponding figure is 43 kg and as such neither Kerala nor India as a country, is any where near the world average. Probably huge consumption of liquor and prevalence of predominantly non-vegetarian population must be accounting for this phenomenon. There is a point in the assertion of the animal husbandry department that scope for establishing meat based industry in the state is enormous as most of the meat animals are brought from neighboring states. Such meat based projects need to be based on the concept of integrated farms with breeding and rearing facilities and slaughtering infrastructure. In a land starved state like Kerala, is this feasible? Unlikely!
