One of the consequences of Rajiv Gandhi’s decision to
deregulate the Indian economy has been an increase in
the presence of foreign corporations, including U.S. fastfood
restaurant chains. Their arrival set off a storm of protest in
India: from environmentalists concerned that raising grain for
chickens is an inefficient use of land, from religious activists angry
at the killing of animals for food, and from nationalists anxious
to protect the domestic market from foreign competition. The
author of this piece, which appeared in the Hindustan Times,
was Maneka Gandhi, a daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi and a
onetime minister of the environment who has emerged as a prominent
rival of Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi.
WHY INDIA DOESN’T NEED FAST FOOD
India’s decision to allow Pepsi Foods Ltd. to open 60 restaurants
in India—30 each of Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried
Chicken—marks the first entry of multinational, meatbased
junk-food chains into India. If this is allowed to happen,
at least a dozen other similar chains will very quickly arrive,
including the infamous McDonald’s.
The implications of allowing junk-food chains into India
are quite stark. As the name denotes, the foods served at
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) are chicken-based and fried.
This is the worst combination possible for the body and can
create a host of health problems, including obesity, high
cholesterol, heart ailments, and many kinds of cancer. Pizza
Hut products are a combination of white flour, cheese, and
meat—again, a combination likely to cause disease. . . .
Then there is the issue of the environmental impact of
junk-food chains. Modern meat production involves misuse
of crops, water, energy, and grazing areas. In addition, animal
agriculture produces surprisingly large amounts of air and
water pollution.
KFC and Pizza Hut insist that their chickens be fed corn
and soybeans. Consider the diversion of grain for this purpose.
As the outlets of KFC and Pizza Hut increase in number,
the poultry industry will buy up more and more corn to
feed the chickens, which means that the corn will quickly
disappear from the villages, and its increased price will place
it out of reach for the common man. Turning corn into junk
chicken is like turning gold into mud. . . .
It is already shameful that, in a country plagued by famine
and flood, we divert 37 percent of our arable land to
growing animal fodder. Were all of that grain to be consumed
directly by humans, it would nourish five times as
many people as it does after being converted into meat,
milk, and eggs. . . .
Of course, it is not just the KFC and Pizza Hut chains of
Pepsi Foods Ltd. that will cause all of this damage. Once we
open India up by allowing these chains, dozens more will be
eagerly waiting to come in. Each city in America has an average
of 5,000 junk-food restaurants. Is that what we want
for India?
World History
