The government’s free-rice scheme, which has gone a long way in ensuring food security in Tamil Nadu, has had an adverse effect on tribals and villagers settled in core forest areas.
The free rice that is available round the year at government-run fair price shops has prompted tribes to move away from their traditional diet of foodgrain such as millets, sorghum and horse gram.
These nutrient-rich grains with low calories are making their way out of traditional plates but are increasingly finding their way onto urban dining tables because of the organic food craze.
Conservationists and tribal activists fear that such a change in the diet of tribals can lead to lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
The change in food habit among tribes is visible in the core tiger habitats of TN, including Mudumalai, Anamalai and Sathyamangalam tiger reserves.
Millets such as pearl millet (kambu), finger millet (kezhvaragu), kodo millet (varagu), foxtail millet (tinai), barnyard millet (kudraivali), little millet (samai) and bamboo rice were the main foodgrains for the villagers and tribes, but off late they have shifted to the free rice, said Kumaraguru, founder, Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.
The government should include traditional food in the PDS scheme to prevent food instability and should also regulate the entry of companies into organic farming business, he said.
“The erratic rain pattern is also a reason for the villagers to shift to cash crops and this is also resulting in a reduction in millet cultivation over the years”, said forester Sivakumar of Valparai.
Millets are the best food crops because of their low calorie and starch value and the change in food habits will have long term complications, said D. Narasimhan, associate professor, department of plant biology, Madras Christian College.
The free availability of rice in the PDS and the difficulty in processing millets are the main reason for the food habit changes, he said, adding that in Kolli and Javadhu Hills, tapioca cultivation is gaining momentum and replacing millet.