Pakistan Daal Consumption Declines Sharply As Meat Consumption Rises

Pakistan's per capita daal (pulse) consumption has sharply declined to about 7 kg/person from about 15 Kg/person in 1960s, according to data released by Food and Agriculture Organization and reported in Pakistani media. Meat has replaced it as the main source of protein with per capita meat consumption rising from 11.7 kg in 2000 to 32 kg in 2016. It is projected to rise to 47 kg by 2020, according to a paper published in the Korean Journal of Food Science of Animal Resources.

USDA Food Chart
Rising Incomes:

FAO report titled "State of Food and Agriculture in Asia and the Pacific Region" said rising incomes in developing nations are causing a shift from plant proteins — such as those found in pulses (daal) and beans — to more expensive animal proteins such as those found in meat and dairy.

According to the Household Integrated Surveys of Pakistan, the average monthly household income in the country jumped 15% from Rs. 30,999 in 2013-14 to Rs. 35,662 in 2015-16.

Food Consumption By Quintiles in Pakistan

Pulses Consumption:

Per capita consumption of pulses in Pakistan has sharply declined from about 15 kg per person a year to about 7 kg per person a year, found a new report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Daal (Pulse) Consumption Trend in South Asia. Source: FAO

In neighboring India, too, the consumption of pulse declined from about 22kg per person per year to about 15kg per person per year. In Sri Lanka, however, pulse consumption seemed to have fluctuated between 5kg and 10kg per person per year since 1960, except for a sharp drop from 1970 to 1985, the report said.

Dairy Consumption: 

Economic Survey of Pakistan reported that Pakistanis consumed over 45 million tons of milk in fiscal year 2016-17, translating to about 220 Kg/person.

FAO's "State of Food and Agriculture in Asia and the Pacific Region" says that Mongolia and Pakistan are the only two among the 26 countries in Asia Pacific region where per capita milk consumption exceeded 370 grams/day.

Meat Consumption:

Pakistan's per capita meat consumption has nearly tripled from 11.7 kg in 2000 to 32 kg in 2016. It is projected to rise to 47 kg by 2020, according to a paper published by the United States National Library of Medicines at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Organization for Economic Development (OECD) explains that meat demand increases with higher incomes and a shift - often due to growing urbanization - to food preferences that favor increased proteins from animal sources in diets.


Meat Production in Pakistan. Source: FAO

The NIH paper authors Mohammad Shoaib and Faraz Jamil point out that Pakistan's meat consumption of 32 Kg per person is only a third of the meat capita meat consumption in rich countries like Australia and the United States.

A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Nature magazine reports that Pakistanis are among the most carnivorous people in the world.  After studying the eating habits of 176 countries, the authors found that average human being is at 2.21 trophic level. It put Pakistanis at 2.4, the same trophic level as Europeans and Americans. China and India are at 2.1 and 2.2 respectively.

Chicken Vs Daal:

IN 2016, Pakistan's then finance minister Ishaq Dar suggested to his countrymen to eat chicken instead of daal (pulses or legumes). To some, the minister sounded like Queen Marie-Antoinette (wife of France's King Louis XVI) who reportedly said to hungry rioters during the French Revolution:  “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche”—“Let them eat cake”?

It was indeed true that some varieties of daal were priced higher than chicken. For example, maash was selling at Rs. 260 per kilo, higher than chicken meat at Rs. 200 per kilo. But other daals such as mung, masur and chana were cheaper than chicken.

The reason for higher daal prices and relatively lower chicken prices can be found in the fact that Pakistan's livestock industry, particularly poultry farming, has seen significant growth that the nation's pulse crop harvests have not.

Summary:

Per capita daal consumption is falling while meat and milk consumption is rising in Pakistan with rising household incomes. According to the Household Integrated Surveys of Pakistan, the average monthly household income in the country jumped from Rs. 30,999 in 2013-14 to Rs. 35,662 in 2015-16.  Pulse consumption has sharply declined to about 7 kg/person from about 15 Kg/person in 2000, according to data released by Food and Agriculture Organization and reported in Pakistani media. Meat has replaced it as the main source of protein with per capita meat consumption rising from 11.7 kg in 2000 to 32 kg in 2016. It is projected to rise to 47 kg by 2020, according to a paper published in the Korean Journal of Food Science of Animal Resources.

Comments

Riaz Haq said…
How big is Pakistan’s meat trade and who’s buying its exports?

https://www.salaamgateway.com/en/story/correctionhow_big_is_pakistans_meat_trade_and_whos_buying_its_exports-SALAAM11092017080303/

*Corrects percentage of Pakistan's 10 biggest meat and edible meat offal (MEMO) export buyers to their overall MEMO imports in 2016, from 2.67 percent of $9.258 billion to 2.58 percent, which is equivalent to $238.99 million

Pakistan’s government is exploring new markets for export of meat and dairy products with a focus on the halal trade, according to local press reports.

How big is Pakistan’s meat and dairy trade now and where are its exports going?

EXPORTS

According to ITC Trade Map data, in 2016, Pakistan exported $313.538 million in three categories: 1. Meat and edible meat offal (internal organs) ($239.74 million), 2. Dairy produce; birds’ eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin ($67.471 million), and 3. Live animals ($6.327 million).

These three categories account for 1.53 percent of Pakistan’s $20.5 billion exports of all products to the world in 2016.

Meat and edible meat offal (MEMO) is the biggest of the three categories, accounting for 76.5 percent of the three’s exports.

Pakistan’s biggest export is textiles and textile articles, which brought in $9.481 billion in nine months from November 2016 to July 2017, according to most recent data from the State Bank of Pakistan.

BIGGEST MEMO BUYERS

Pakistan exported $238.99 million, or 99.69 percent, of all its MEMO in 2016 to 10 countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Vietnam, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Qatar, Thailand, and Malaysia.

However, Pakistan is a small MEMO export player. Its 10 biggest MEMO export markets imported a total of $9.258 billion of MEMO in 2016, out of which only 2.58 percent came from Pakistan.

BEEF, MOSTLY

Fresh or chilled beef is Pakistan’s biggest MEMO export, making up 56.86 percent, or $136.319 million, of its MEMO exports in 2016. This is followed by $44.726 million of chilled or frozen meat of sheep or goats, and $31.554 million of frozen meat of bovines.

Only around $3.06 million, or 1.28 percent, of Pakistan’s MEMO exports are poultry-based.

The nation hopes to change this by targeting an increase in poultry-based MEMO sales to UAE, its biggest MEMO export market, after the GCC country lifted its ban on Pakistan’s poultry and its products in February this year. UAE imposed the ban in 2006 after an outbreak of avian influenza in Pakistan.

UAE imported an estimated $725.247 million of poultry products in 2016, 66.2 percent, or $480.224 million, of which came from Brazil.
Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan #Poultry Sector Thriving With Annual Production Of 1.02b Broilers. making Pakistan the 11th largest producer of poultry meat. Poultry production in Pakistan is providing direct job opportunities to over 1.5 million people. #chicken #meat https://www.urdupoint.com/en/agriculture/pakistan-poultry-sector-thriving-with-annual-482696.html


"Pakistan has become the 11th largest poultry producer in the world with a production of 1.02 billion broilers annually whereas current investment in poultry sector is more than Rs 200 billion," according to official documents.

Today, Poultry has been a balancing force to keep check on the prices of mutton and beef, but also serving as backbone of agriculture sector as it consumes over seven million tons of agro- residues.

Pakistan is an ideal country for investment in poultry sector as its meat contributed 30pc of the total meat production in the country.

Poultry sector has shown around 8 to 10pc growth rate annually, which reflected its inherent potential to grow further besides goal oriented policies of Government to promote livestock and poultry sector in the country.

Poultry has contributed 1.4pc of GDP during 2015-16 while its contribution in agriculture and livestock value-added stood at 6.9 pc and 11.7 pc respectively. Its value added at current factor cost has increased from Rs 140.5 billion in 2014-15 to Rs 151.2 billion in 2015-16, showing a record increase of 7.6pc compare to last year.

Dr Aasal Khan, Director Planning and Economics Development told APP on Friday that poultry sector in KP has grown tremendously during last five years in Khyber Pakthunkhwa.

He said large number of people especially in rural areas was associated with poultry sector and special financial incentives for them would help promote this hard earned business to new heights.

Livestock Department KP has chalked out a comprehensive plan to encourage commercial and domestic poultry farming in the province to cater the needs of meat requirement of ever growing population.

He said strengthening of commercial and domestic poultry services was a major component of the new livestock policy 2018 and solid efforts are being made to increase poultry production in the province.

The KP government has accorded high priority to livestock and poultry sectors by focusing on establishment of model poultry farms to promote this business keeping in view of dependence of a large number of people of rural areas on it.

He said thousands of poultry farms were existed in all districts of KP and technical assistance and necessary training would be provided to farmers to bolster poultry production in the province.

Dr Aasal said KP Govt has allocated Rs 2573 million for uplift agriculture, livestock, poultry, fisheries and cooperatives department for 40 projects including 30 ongoing with allocation of Rs 2217.999 million and 10 new costing Rs 355.001 million in budget 2018-19 to further strengthen this key sector.

The new projects including control of livestock diseases, eco-friendly management of fruit flies, database development through information and communication technology in crop reporting service, solarization of agriculture tubewells, establishment of trout villages in Malakand and Hazara divisions would strengthening of poultry services.

He said most of farmers are unaware from where to get veterinary services and suffer great economic losses in case of viral disease outbreak.

Poor marketing and coordination between institutions and poultry owners besides lack of technical know how challenges if addresses, livestock and poultry sector can achieve many laurels in days to come.

He said owing to goal oriented policies of present government, eggs, meat, milk and poultry production had registered substantial increase during last five years in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and people are now easily getting these commodities at their doorsteps.
Riaz Haq said…
PAKISTAN’S red meat consumption tripled from 11.7 kilograms per person in 2000 to over 32kg in 2016. It is set to go further up to 47kg by 2020 because of two main reasons: higher incomes and a changing lifestyle due to growing urbanisation in the last two decades, enabling people to go for protein-rich food.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1432040


No apparent efforts are being made by either public or private sector to meet growing demand for red meat. We are illegally slaughtering female animals at private abattoirs and less-monitored municipal facilities to fill the gap. The practice is depleting our livestock reserves, which currently stand at around 169 million head. Of them, 74m are cows and buffaloes and 95m are sheep and goats. It is feared that if this trend is not checked, the livestock-surplus country may face a shortage of animals in the near future.

In order to maintain a healthy stock of cattle head and sustain the provision of quality meat for domestic consumption and exports, experts and consumer representatives suggest abolishing the official capping of meat prices, which is discouraging investment in the sector.

Farmers say they cannot supply quality meat at the government-notified rates

Consumer Solidarity Forum’s Mohsin Bhatti claims that at least 50 per cent of around 20,000 animals slaughtered in Lahore every day are female. Their illegal slaughter is carried out at homes of butchers, service stations and in villages at night.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

Low meat prices make herd owners sell their 12- to 14-month-old animals, both male and female. They should ideally wait until animals are 22 months old, he says. This deprives consumers of healthy meat.

“The sector holds great investment potential, which may bring prosperity to livestock farmers in the countryside provided the artificial price-setting mechanism that is holding it hostage is done away with,” says Dr M Hayat Jaspal, chairman of the Meat Science and Technology Department at the Lahore Veterinary University (UVAS).

He argues market forces will ensure that quality red meat is available at the cheapest rate to consumers just like in the poultry sector, which is free from the official price mechanism. “Whenever governments intervene in any sector through price regimes, they destroy it.”

However, meat exporters apprehend that if the official price mechanism is abolished, the commodity will become dearer and hurt exports that are already on the decline for the last couple of years. “We’re already facing higher production costs due to various reasons. Uncapping meat prices will lead to a hike in local animal markets, thus making export consignments more expensive and uncompetitive in the world,” says Shehzad Aslam Ghauri, a Lahore-based exporter of red meat.

But Dr Jaspal dispels the price hike fears. “If prices play such a big role, then why is the meat export volume on the decline even at the existing low official rates?” He says the price may go up in the short run, but will stabilise after a year. “That’s because by then new investment will improve the supply side and, like in the poultry industry, market forces will regulate prices and ensure a balance between supply and demand.”

Even if new farms are not set up by that time, meat production will double as farmers will use feedlots to fatten up their cattle, which is not feasible at the present price level.

Endorsing these views, Dr Sher Ali of UVAS says that quality meat from fattened animals will help exporters earn at least 25pc more from their existing consignments, which are sent to low-end foreign markets because of poor meat quality. At the current officially notified rates, he says, it is impossible to produce quality meat. “The university itself, despite enjoying certain subsidies, could produce quality beef at Rs550 per kg in its ongoing pilot project while the official rate of beef is around Rs400.”
Riaz Haq said…
The government has set a target to produce about 4.708 million tons of meat during the fiscal year 2019-20 as against the production of 4.478 million tons of the corresponding period of last year.

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/about-4708-million-tons-of-meat-to-be-produc-660313.html

The meat production in country had witnessed about 1.3% growth during the last fiscal year (2018-19) as the meat production targets were set at 4.420 million tons during the outgoing fiscal year, said an official in the Ministry of National food Security and Research.

Talking to APP here on Wednesday, he said that during the period under review, beef production targets were fixed at 2.303 million tons and mutton production at 748,000 tons to tackle with the domestic consumption as well as to export.

During last fiscal year, he said that production of mutton had witnessed about 0.5% growth where as mutton production was reduced by 1.1%, adding that beef production was recorded at 2.227 million tons and mutton 732,000 tons during 2018-19, he added.

Meanwhile, poultry production targets which was main source of meat provision for a large scale of local population was fixed at 1.

657 million tons during the current financial year, he added.

He said that during the last financial year (2018-19), poultry production in the country grew by 3.6% as about 1.518 million tons of the above mentioned commodity was produced to meet with the local consumption as well as to export, he added.

Besides, he informed that government has set a target to produce 61.690 million tons of milk during current fiscal year and 20.133 million eggs to fulfill the domestic consumption.

Both milk and eggs production during last year had registered about 1.3% and 0.3% growth in their respective production, he added.

The government was also focusing to exploit the potential of aqua culture in coastal areas and rivers across the country, particularly in Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and had set a target to produce about 920,000 tons of fish during the period under review. About 336,000 tons inland fisheries and 584,000 tons of marine fish production targets were fixed for current fiscal year.
Riaz Haq said…
As of 2017, Pakistan is the world's 9th largest meat producing country.

Pakistan produced 1.87 million tons of meat in 2017, accounting for 2.89% of global meat production.

Here's the top 10 list:

1. US (12 million tons), 2. Brazil (9.5 million tons) , 3. EU (7.87 million tons) , 4. China (7 million tons), 5. India (4.25 million tons) , 6. Argentina (2.6 million tons), 7. Australia (2 million tons) , 8. Mexico (1.91 million tons) , 9. Pakistan (1.78 million tons) , 10. Turkey (1.7 million tons)

http://www.thedailyrecords.com/2018-2019-2020-2021/world-famous-top-10-list/world/largest-meat-producing-countries-world-beef-exporting-10-top/14456/
Riaz Haq said…
World Cattle Inventory:



Pakistan ranks 8th in the world in number of heads of cattle:



World 1,467,548,724
Rank Country Head % Of Total
1 Brazil 211,764,292 14.43%
2 India 189,000,000 12.88%
3 China 113,500,000 7.73%
4 United States 89,299,600 6.08%
5 Ethiopia 54,000,000 3.68%
6 Argentina 51,095,000 3.48%
7 Sudan  41,917,000 2.86%
8 Pakistan 38,299,000 2.61%
9 Mexico 32,402,461 2.21%
10 Australia 29,290,769
2.00%



https://beef2live.com/story-world-cattle-inventory-ranking-209-countries-fao-247-127843
Riaz Haq said…
1.44 million tons annual chicken meat production in Pakistan

https://pakistanpoultry.org/an-overview-of-poultry-industry/


Meat and Egg Production

Broiler Live

GP (325,000 x 4) 1.3 Million Kg
PS (12.5 Million x 4) 50.0 Million Kg
Broiler (1.237 Billion x 1.8) 2,226.0 Million Kg
Layer

PS (800,000 x 1.8) 1.44 Million Kg
Commercial Layer (70,000,000 x 1.8) 126.00 Million Kg
Total Production 2,400.00 Million Kg
Meat (60%) 1,440.00 Million Kg
Meat (per Capita) (1,440/200 Million) 7.20 Kg
Table eggs (per Capita) (17,500/200 Million) 88 Eggs / Capita
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan fat intake 67 g/person/day

India 48 g/person/day

World: 79 g/person/day
Developed countries: 131 g/person/day
Developing World: 66 g/person/day
Sub-Saharan Africa: 46 g/person/day

http://chartsbin.com/view/1156


----------------

Livestock accounts for the biggest contribution to agriculture sector and there has been a quite interesting trend in the livestock products where every single product has witnessed a handsome growth in production except mutton. In case of mutton production, there has been a shift in trend, first increasing production from 2001-2004 followed by a sharp decline in 2005-06 and then increasing again. First look at the data suggest that this sharp decline in the production of mutton is due to the substitution effect as the production of its close substitutes (beef and poultry meat) has experienced a sharp increase for the same year but this notion requires detailed analysis (see, Figure 3). Beef production has seen a growth of 100 percent from 2001-2016 while it’s the poultry products which has seen the sharpest growth with the growth of 245 percent in poultry meat and 116 percent in the production of eggs. Increasing by every year, milk production in the country has observed a growth of 67 percent from 2001-2016.

https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/83522/1/MPRA_paper_83522.pdf
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan's average daily per capita calorific intake was estimated by ADB at 2,440 kcal in 2013. Cereals accounted for 48% of daily calorific intake in 2013. Calorific intake from animal sources comprised 22%, while fruit and vegetables accounted for 2%. The average daily per capita protein consumption was estimated at 65.5 grams, while the average dietary energy supply adequacy was estimated to be 108% in 2015-2017.

https://www.brecorder.com/2020/01/08/559976/political-instability-disasters-hinder-agri-output-adb/

Approximately 46% of agricultural production comes from the cropping sector, compared with 54% from livestock. Buffalo meat was the single most valuable commodity produced in Pakistan in 2016 at around $9.8 billion. Other important commodities produced included buffalo's milk ($9.4 billion), wheat ($7.4 billion), beef ($5.5 billion), cotton ($3.3 billion), and chicken meat ($3.2 billion).

Sugarcane was the largest crop produced with 65 million tons in 2016. Other important products included wheat (26 million tons), rice (10.2 million tons), maize (6.1 million tons), and cotton (5.3 million tons). Around 4.5 million tons of fertilizers were used in Pakistan in 2016, and a further 913,000 tons were imported into the country that year.

Pakistan's livestock sub-sector, on the other hand, has demonstrated steady growth, especially in the face of increasing demand for livestock products due to a growing and rapidly urbanized population.

The country's livestock sub-sector represents approximately 56% of value addition in agriculture and employs roughly 30 million people. Despite the increased production of poultry products, its external trade is low and has not realized the potential experienced in other livestock sub-sectors. In 2016, total poultry exports were valued at $2.7 million.

Pakistan imported $7.1 billion worth of agricultural goods in 2016, compared with $3.7 billion in agricultural exports. Pakistan's main agricultural export commodities were rice ($1.7 billion), wheat flour ($173 million), tangerines and mandarins ($158 million), beef ($155 million), sugar ($123 million), and dates ($103 million). Palm oil was Pakistan's main food import at $1.7 billion, followed by cotton lint ($581 million), tea ($490 million), rapeseed ($464 million), soybeans ($383 million), and coffee ($329 million).
Riaz Haq said…
The DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound.

This amounts to:

56 grams per day for the average sedentary man.
46 grams per day for the average sedentary woman.
Though this meager amount may be enough to prevent downright deficiency, studies show that it’s far from sufficient to ensure optimal health and body composition.


https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-per-day
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan Daal Consumption Declines Sharply As Meat Consumption Rises

https://www.riazhaq.com/2018/04/pakistan-daal-consumption-declines.html

Pakistan's per capita daal (pulse) consumption has sharply declined to about 7 kg/person from about 15 Kg/person in 1960s, according to data released by Food and Agriculture Organization and reported in Pakistani media. Meat has replaced it as the main source of protein with per capita meat consumption rising from 11.7 kg in 2000 to 32 kg in 2016. It is projected to rise to 47 kg by 2020, according to a paper published in the Korean Journal of Food Science of Animal Resources.
Riaz Haq said…
Asafoetida (Heeng): The smelly spice #India loves but never grew. It's imported from #Afghanistan, #Iran. Known to battle flatulence, it is often recommended in recipes that involve gassy foods such as lentils (daal) or beans. #Ayurveda #Gas https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54617077

Asafoetida, a smelly, acrid spice beloved by Indians, has been used to lace their food for centuries. But it was never cultivated in the region - until now.

Last week, scientists planted about 800 saplings of the plant in Lahaul and Spiti, a cold desert nestled in the Himalayan mountains, exactly two years after India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) imported six varieties of seeds from Iran.

"We are confident it will work," says Dr Ashok Kumar, one of the scientists who painstakingly germinated the seeds in a lab. He says this was necessary because for every 100 seeds, only two sprout. The plant, it turns out, has a vexing habit of going dormant.

"It goes to sleep to adapt to harsh conditions," Dr Kumar says.

Asafoetida, or hing as it's commonly known in India, is a perennial, flowering plant that largely grows in the wild. It thrives in dry soil in temperatures under 35C. So India's tropical plateaus and plains, humid coast and heavy monsoons rule out much of the country for hing farming.

Instead, Indians rely on imports mostly from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan - worth more than $100m in 2019 - to get their fix.

This is surprising news for many Indians who would argue that hing is inherently Indian. For many Hindus and Jains, who don't eat onion and garlic because of dietary restrictions, hing's pungency makes it an ideal substitute.

"I use it in all my dals, and I don't cook them with onion or garlic," says Marryam Reshii, food writer and author of The Flavour of Spice. "When you have hing in your food, that tiny whiff of it... it just tastes so, so great!"

Ms Reshii calls herself a "hing lover" - she even put out a detailed thread earlier this week clarifying the origins and uses of her favourite spice.

She says hing's unique smell, a strong, bitter odour, makes it "unlike any other spice".

It even derives its name from that scent - asafoetida in Latin means "fetid gum". The smell is so strong that raw hing, a greyish-white sticky resin collected from the roots, is dried and mixed with flour - wheat in India's north, rice in the south - to turn it into an edible spice. Wholesalers who import hing use tiny amounts of it to make graded variations that sell in the form of blocks, coarse granules or a fine powder.

Although the Persians once called it "the food of the gods", hing is now barely found in cuisines outside of India. In other parts of the world it's either used for medicinal reasons or as an insecticide! But In India, which, by some estimates, accounts for 40% of the world's hing consumption, it's hard to overstate its role in the kitchen.

A dash of it while cumin seeds and red chillies splutter in hot ghee can make an everyday dal sing. Across the country, it seasons delicately spiced soups (shorbas) and fresh relishes (koshambirs) and spikes leafy greens and vegetables tossed in ginger, turmeric and tomatoes. In the north, Kashmiri Hindus stir it in with lamb, red chillies, fennel and dried ginger to make their classic rogan josh and southerners use it to temper their sambars, a variety of steaming lentil stew topped with mustard seeds and curry leaves. It's what sets apart Kolkata's famed hing kachoris (pastries fried to a crisp) and the fluffy idlis (steamed rice cakes) of the temple town of Kanchipuram.


-------------

But he says Kabuli hing is a "hot-selling" item, while Hadda hing, which is "sweeter and smells of oranges" is the least popular.
Riaz Haq said…
Meet Hing: The Secret-Weapon Spice Of Indian Cuisine

by Carolyn Beans

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/06/22/482779599/meet-hing-the-secret-weapon-spice-of-indian-cuisine

The moment my boyfriend — now husband — and I got serious about our future together, my father-in-law got serious about teaching me to cook Indian cuisine. My boyfriend was already skilled in the kitchen. But Dr. Jashwant Sharma wanted extra assurance that the dishes from his native country would always have a place in our home. Plus, as he told me recently, he thought I'd like it.



"We mix four, five, six different spices in a single dish. These create a taste and aroma that you don't get in any other food. People exposed to it usually like it," he said.

Even before our cooking sessions, I knew that cumin and coriander are common ingredients and that turmeric will turn your fingers yellow. Hing, however, was something entirely new to me.

Europeans gave it the decidedly unflattering moniker "devil's dung." Even its more common English name, asafoetida, is derived from the Latin for fetid. Those unaccustomed to it can respond negatively to its strong aroma, a mix of sulfur and onions.


Hing comes from the resin of giant fennel plants that grow wild in Afghanistan and Iran. The resin can be kept pure, but in the States, you mostly find it ground to a powder and mixed with wheat. In The Book of Spice, author John O'Connell describes how Mughals from the Middle East first brought hing to India in the 16th century.

Many Indians use hing to add umami to an array of savory dishes. But for the uninitiated, hing can be a tough sell. Kate O'Donnell, author of The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook, says that she only included hing as an optional spice. "For a Western palette, hing can be shocking," she says

I first encountered hing in one of our early cooking sessions. My father-in-law whipped its well-sealed white plastic bottle out of the cupboard, added a pinch to the pan, and put it back so quickly that I didn't notice the smell. I was most struck by how it bubbled and then dissolved in the hot ghee (clarified butter). And I was a bit skeptical that a pinch of anything could influence a giant pot of lentils liberally seasoned with three other spices.

Later, while experimenting on my own, I got my first full whiff of the spice. To me, the aroma is far from gag-inducing, but it takes a real leap of faith to add it to food. Once you make that leap, magical things happen.

When cooked, hing's pungent odor mellows to a more mild leek- and garlic-like flavor. Some still smell a hint of sulfur, but for many that quality fades entirely. My father-in-law says that hing has a balancing effect on a dish. "It smooths out the aroma of all the other spices and makes them all very pleasant," he says.

Vikram Sunderam, a James Beard Award winner and chef at the Washington, D.C., Indian restaurants Rasika West End and Rasika Penn Quarter, says that he adds hing to lentil or broccoli dishes. But he uses it judiciously.

"Hing is a very interesting spice, but it has to be used in the right quantity," he cautions. "Even a little bit too much overpowers the whole dish, makes it just taste bitter."

Some believe that hing helps with digestion and can ward off flatulence. Perhaps that's why many — including Sunderam — add it to legumes, broccoli and other potentially gas-inducing vegetables.

Some Indians also use it as a substitute for garlic and onions — ingredients discouraged by certain Eastern religions and Ayurvedic medicine.

That substitution makes sense to Gary Takeoka, a food chemist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Takeoka studied hing's volatiles — the chemical compounds that produce smells. "A major proportion of hing's volatiles are sulfur compounds," he explains. "Some of these are similar to the ones found in onions and garlic."
Riaz Haq said…
Like in other countries, culinary cultures fall along economic and social class lines in Pakistan. While the lower classes go to the cheap Pakistani restaurants and khokhas—roadside eateries, serving oily, spicy dishes, the middle and upper classes dine at more fashionable, pricey and exclusive places. The elite prefers a variety of Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mediterranean and American type high quality grill and steak houses. Major cities in Pakistan have very rapidly embraced a globalized, cosmopolitan food culture, offering a rich variety of cuisines.

https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1805416

We never thought the world would change so quickly with the globalization of markets, technologies, communications and intermixing of world cultures. Theoretically, the whole world is open for competition but what is actually sold and bought in the food industry has followed the familiar patterns of global domination. The power and influence of American popular culture, which besides music, film and sports, is reflected in fast-food chains, symbolizes hegemony. It means consumers have accepted everything of their own free will. There is a very broad body of people from every class and walk of life all over the world that wear jeans, t-shirts, and stand in queues to get a slice of pizza or a burger at outlets replicating American design, American colors and uniforms behind the counters.
Pakistan’s national cuisine is as varied as in any country, representing many regional, local and traditional dishes. However, the effects of commercialization and food chain culture can also be seen in the opening of specific food outlets in different cities. I believe it is one of the positive gains of global food chains opening up here. The other is the employment of young women as waiters and cash-register workers in at least three major cities—Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.


Interestingly, local food businesses have very quickly adapted to the changing tastes of Pakistanis by offering their own brands of pizza, burgers and fried chicken. In small and major cities, there are hundreds of local fast-food outlets that offer cheaper, affordable alternatives to expensive foreign brands. In every market of Pakistan, a one man burger cart will hit you in the face displaying the colorful photograph of an American style burger.
Like in other countries, culinary cultures fall along economic and social class lines in Pakistan. While the lower classes go to the cheap Pakistani restaurants and khokhas—roadside eateries, serving oily, spicy dishes, the middle and upper classes dine at more fashionable, pricey and exclusive places. The elite prefers a variety of Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mediterranean and American type high quality grill and steak houses. Major cities in Pakistan have very rapidly embraced a globalized, cosmopolitan food culture, offering a rich variety of cuisines.
Another remarkable shift is reflected in the opening up of coffee houses in major cities. Pakistan is still largely a tea-drinking country with a special taste for doodh-patti—tea brewed in milk and sugar. Many decades back, only the elite would have coffee on their breakfast tables or academics in the offices. It is now becoming a popular hot drink, thanks to motorways and the common belief that high doses of caffeine keep you awake behind the wheel.
Present day urban elite food culture is transforming itself to exclusive clubs on the front yards of shopping centers, on rooftops, and in the special dining rooms of five-star hotels. It is the prohibitive cost of having a cup of coffee or a piece of pastry on a porcelain plate that keeps the common man away--not unusual in elite cultures and elite-driven economies like that of Pakistan.

Riaz Haq said…
Pulses: More than just a meat alternative
Beans, peas and lentils are often overlooked when it comes to food staples. In a world where the devastating environmental impact of mass meat production is becoming increasingly clear, could pulses provide a solution?

https://www.dw.com/en/pulses-more-than-just-a-meat-alternative/a-56513673

Pulses, a broad category of edible seeds that includes pantry staples like lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas, are one of the world's most important food crops.

This underrated legume has featured heavily in diets around the world for thousands of years. Pulses are the main source of protein for people who don't eat meat — whether by choice or by circumstance — they're good for the environment, nutritious and tasty.

In recent years, the United Nations has recognized their global significance and declared February 10 as World Pulses Day. Read on to learn more about this humble superfood.

Environmentally friendly meat alternative
Changing our diet, and how we produce what we eat, can have a huge and positive impact on the planet.

A recent key report on food and biodiversity loss linked global eating habits to around 30% of human-made emissions in terms of energy and fertilizer, making them a "key driver of climate change." It also highlighted the devastating impact of our food production on nature.

A big part of the problem is meat and other animal products. Though it might be a good source of protein, meat is terrible for the environment. Getting a kilogram of beef to your kitchen emits as much as 60 kilograms (130 pounds) of CO2-equivalent, according to a 2018 study published in Science. And with the world population set to surpass 10 billion in a little over 30 years, increasing demand for food — especially meat and monocrops like wheat, corn and soybeans — will further stress the climate, limited natural resources and biodiversity.

Pulses like peas and lentils, however, produce some 0.9 kg of CO2-equivalent for every kilo grown. And they provide a far higher protein yield per square kilometer than a herd of cattle or flock of chickens, meaning existing farmland can be used more efficiently and untouched forests can be spared.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has promoted pulses as "a good alternative to meat," pointing out that they "can play a key role in future healthy and sustainable diets." In recent years, calls from environmental groups for people in the Western world to drastically reduce their meat consumption, has inspired a growing trend toward vegetarian and vegan diets.

In a September analysis, climate data provider Carbon Brief said "a global switch to veganism would deliver the largest emissions savings out of any dietary shift," preventing some 8 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions annually by 2050. Current food production is responsible for around 13.7 billion tons per year.

"It is now becoming clear that a plant-based diet is not just a crock," said Christina Ledermann, head of the German advocacy group Humans for Animal Rights. "The future of nutrition is plant-based, or there is no future."
Riaz Haq said…
Commercial production of kidney beans to start soon in Pakistan


https://www.dawn.com/news/1670834

ISLAMABAD: The first-ever production of kidney bean varieties at commercial level will commence soon as the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Parc) will release six new varieties of common bean varieties in the country.

According to a Parc report made available to Dawn on Friday, the achievement is part of the promotion of common bean cultivation in Pakistan under the five-year project for the promotion of research for productivity enhancement in pulses launched in 2019. The project has been funded by the Public Sector Development Programme with an amount of Rs1,437 million.

The report says shuttle multiplication has been proposed for the promotion of kidney beans in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the spring season and upper regions in the kharif season.

Scientists engaged in the pulse project say Pakistan has become self-sufficient in moong bean as its production was recorded at 267,000 tonnes against the national requirement of 180,000 tonnes.

The major focus of the project is to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses production by increasing the yield of major pulse crops, including chickpea, lentil, moong, mash and kidney beans, by 30 per cent.

Under the umbrella project, till now 3,792 lines have been tested throughout the country in 25 different locations through national uniform yield trials to evaluate and select promising lines for varieties development.

As the country was facing acute shortage of quality seed of pulses, basic and pre-basic seed production has been carried out on about 1,107 acres through which 6,553 tonnes of seed has been produced and distributed among the farmers.

Parc officials say availability of quality seed of improved cultivars is the prime contributing factor towards achieving self-sufficiency in pulses. To ensure this, varietal trials have been conducted in different agro-climatic zones of the country and the seed of identified best varieties was distributed among the farmers.
Riaz Haq said…
Edible oil: How double whammy of price hike is frying consumers


https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/957838-edible-oil-how-double-whammy-of-price-hike-is-frying-consumers

During 2019, Pakistan imported 2.69 million tonnes of soybean and canola oilseed, valued at $1.10 billion. In addition to this, 2.55 million tonnes of palm oil and other byproducts were also imported during the same year, costing another $1.53 billion in the same year.

The import of oilseed swelled to 3.33 million tonnes in the 2021 calendar year with a price tag of $1.98 billion. Similarly, palm oil and other derivatives' imports during the same year ballooned to 2.98 million tonnes, costing $3.74 billion.

The ordeal of consumers because of the backbreaking inflation seems dying hard as prices are yet to peak, said market insiders. In the last couple of months of political instability alone, rupee has devalued to Rs193.70 or by 8.82 percent against dollar, which may further inflate the edible oil price by about Rs25/litre in the retail market in a fortnight or so.

The impact of recent three upward revisions in edible oil’s retail price is stated to be in addition to such cost escalation, according to market insiders.

Ban imposed by Indonesia on palm oil and other byproducts’ export, Ukraine-Russia war, and prolonged heatwave may also negatively contribute to the cost of edible oil, further straining the livelihoods of people in this part of the word.

In order to tame cooking oil prices, Pakistan needs to convert this crisis into an opportunity by incentivising cultivation of edible oil. Neighbouring India is doing the same and has succeeded in increasing domestic production.

It is a sheer lack of good governance that no specialised department exists in the public sector both at federal as well as provincial levels for the systematic promotion of oilseed crops in the country.

With Pakistan Oilseed Development Board’s (PODB) scope remaining drastically limited at national level and non-establishment of similar institutions at provincial levels following passage of 18th Amendment, all development work on edible oil sector came to a standstill.
Riaz Haq said…
Al-Shaheer Corporation Limited (ASC), a major meat exporter, on Tuesday announced that it has become the first local company to sign a business relationship agreement with McDonald's Pakistan for the supply of beef products.

The company, in a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), said the beef products would be supplied through its frozen food facility located in Lahore.

“It is our great pleasure to announce that ASC is the first-ever Pakistani company to enter into a business relationship agreement with McDonald's Pakistan for the supply of beef products,” it said in the PSX notice.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/amp/40197249
Riaz Haq said…
#Devil's dung or #dinner #delight? The story behind hing, one of #India's most divisive ingredients. 'Asa' means gum in Persian, and 'foetida' means #stinky in Latin. But in India, it's just called hing. It's an Ayurvedic remedy for stomach #gas. #fart https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/hing-indian-food-intl-hnk/index.html

Asafoetida sounds innocent enough -- it's a wild fennel plant native to Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan.
The resin from its roots is used in Indian cooking -- usually after it's ground into powder and mixed with flour. To say it has a powerful smell would be an understatement. In fact, its scent is so pungent it might just be the most divisive ingredient in the country.

'Asa' means gum in Persian, and 'foetida' means stinky in Latin. But in India, it's just called hing.
If you accidentally get hing on your hands, it lingers no matter how many times you wash them. Put an unadulterated pinch on your tongue, and your mouth will start burning.
At the Khari Baoli market in old Delhi, for instance, hing even manages to 'out-smell' all the other spices.

"Hing is the mother of all base notes of Indian cooking," say Siddharth Talwar and Rhea Rosalind Ramji, co-founders of The School of Showbiz Chefs.
"It bridged the gap of flavors of onion and garlic that were prohibited due to religious beliefs in the largely vegetarian Indian communities such as Jain, Marwari and Gujarati. Despite the culinary diversity of India, hing is a constant."

Jains, for example, eschew onion, garlic and ginger in addition to not eating meat.
Ramji admits that the smell can be a challenge: Raw hing has been compared to rotten cabbage. It's even been given the nickname "devil's dung."
But a small amount goes a long way. Talwar advises that you put a miniscule amount of hing into hot oil.
Most people buy a powdered version that is mixed in with rice or wheat flour. However, more adventurous cooks will buy the solid crystal form, which looks like rock salt.

Some scholars credit Alexander the Great for first bringing hing to India.
"The popular theory is that Alexander's army encountered asafoetida in the Hindu Kush mountains and mistook it for the rare silphium plant, which has similar characteristics to asafoetida," explains culinary historian Dr. Ashish Chopra.
"They painstakingly carried the plant with them to India ... only to find out later that it wasn't what they (expected). Nevertheless, Indians have had their encounter with hing now; it came, it saw, and it stayed."
The professor adds that hing was used in some Greco-Roman cooking but didn't last long. These days, it's mostly absent from Western food, with one notable exception: Worcestershire sauce.
But as global food patterns and appetites change, some chefs are trying to remake their recipes by skipping onion and garlic in favor of asafetida.
According to Talwar, "hing can enhance the umami taste sensation essential for stews and stocks."
"The concept of umami was first introduced by Japanese food experts, but is now the fifth base note in gastronomy after sweet, bitter, sour and salty."
American company Burlap & Barrel even sells a Wild Hing blend made with turmeric, marketed toward people with garlic sensitivity or those following a low FODMAP diet.


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