Business of Agriculture March April 2019 Edition | Page 22

UNIQUE WAYS TO BRING
FORTH NEW LIFE
ON THE PLATE BY USING LIVE-MICROGREENS
By: Keya Salot *
T
Traditional
Indian diet
consisted of
vegetables
and pulses
with coarse
grains and
cooking media
like ghee or
mustard oil
hough the increase in India’s agricultural
productivity can be attributed to the green
revolution, India’s tryst with organic farming
is centuries old. In 2012, the global market for
organic food touched $63 billion. It is estimated that
the organic food market will grow at a CAGR of 20
percent right through until 2020. The Indian food
services market is expected to touch INR 52 lakh
crores by 2022. With an up-tick in volumes, Indian
restaurant owners are aspiring to reduce import bills
by exploring local sourcing options. For instance,
domestically produced cherry tomatoes could cost
INR 200 per kilo whereas imported ones could cost
INR 1000 per kilos. Since one is relying on domestic
producers who understand local sensibilities, tastes
and weather conditions, one can expect the quality of
products to be higher than mass-produced products
from the west.
22 Business of Agriculture | March-April 2019 • Vol. V • Issue 2
Increase in Lifestyle-related Diseases
Traditional Indian diet consisted of vegetables and
pulses with coarse grains and cooking media like
ghee or mustard oil. However, over a period of
time, Indians across classes have ended up indulging
in food habits which are high in calories and low in
nutrients. All these have resulted in an exponent rise
of lifestyle-related ailments. As of 2017, a whopping
61 percent of deaths in India occurred due to lifestyle-
related diseases and between 2005 and 2015; the
number of overweight people in India has doubled.
Shockingly, 26 percent of deaths in India were due to
cardiovascular diseases.
To counter this, Indians have been adopting several
diet fads such as: low carb; high fibre-low calories;
liquid diets; and food specific diets. Fasting
intermittently has also become popular, although