Econometric and Existential Understanding of Food: Analysing Economic Growth and Nutritional Status in South India

There is much debate on the reasons for the poor nutritional status of the population amidst high economic growth in the country. A profusion of correlations and statistical averages characterizes mainstream nutritional discourses that are based on the notion of food as a thing that could be measured and understood in terms of numerical values. Much as the quantitative approach is necessary to guide public policy and to provide the basic food security to the population, it is a partial view, not adequate to understand the issues surrounding nutrition in all its dimensions. Drawing upon field data on food in rural South India, this article calls for a broader perspective on food that gives scope for people’s concerns about its quality and ecological source. It aims at providing a sociologically informed understanding of the statistical and the existential aspects of the nutrition problem.