Why are food markets in India so disgusting?

I have never understood. Why is it that food is so essential for everyone and yet it is treated with least respect. Fruit and vegetable markets everywhere in the country are often located in unhygienic places, with dirt and squalor spread around. Most times, consumers have to find their way amidst tightly placed veggie carts, stray dogs, and if it is the rainy season, they have to literally trudge through mud, dung and stagnating water. Whether you like it or not, most of us end up making daily purchases from vegetable vendors sitting by the pavements.

Why is fresh and raw food treated so shabbily? Why are the food markets in India so disgusting?

Sometimes back, I remember having read somewhere that strange are the ways of marketing. The place where the vegetable markets exist often awfully smells, littered with rubbish and in fact appears to be more of a dumping yard. But when it comes to shoes, the shops are trendy, air-conditioned, and located in malls or have special showrooms. Look at the discrimination, shoes are marketed in attractive and trendy showrooms, often located in posh markets whereas fruits and vegetables are sold from some of dirtiest locations in any market space in any city.

No one squirms; no one complains. Life goes on as usual.I wonder whether as a nation, we have got so accustomed to the filth and obnoxious smell emanating from the fruit and vegetable markets that we fail to think of anything better. Even in a modern and planned city like Chandigarh, fruit and vegetable markets are designed to be at the worst of the marketing slots. Or perhaps these markets have now become like that. Not only the district administration, but regular customers are also equally responsible. It calls for a behavioral change to begin with.

For someone who has lived all through with the dirty vegetable markets, it was literally a treat to find my way to the Centenary Farmers Market located in the heart of the capital city, Thimpu, in Bhutan. I had heard a lot about it, but to see it myself during a recent visit, was certainly unbelievable. As they say a picture is better than a thousand words; a visit to the Thimpu Farmers Market was worth a lifetime experience. This sprawling covered market, renovated in 2023, is believed to the Bhutan King’s dream project. This market is a landmark of progress where food is accorded the utmost respect. It serves the livelihood interests of farmers, as well as the health concerns of consumers. While farmers get a better price, consumers get clean, safe and healthy food. This thriving marketplace, embodying tradition, culture and modern infrastructure, is so spec and clean that I found it cheering to spend some time going around.

It offers fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and dairy products. Everything is packed in cleaner packs, and the prices are competitive. I am told over-charging is not permissible, and quality standards have to be maintained, which of course was clearly visible. Small cubicles can be rented, and it was exhilarating to see much of the trading in the hands of women. The only suggestion I have is that there has to be more representation from farmers among those engaged in selling the products. At present, I see domination of fruit and vegetable traders and middlemen.

Nevertheless, I find the King’s initiative to be very innovative. Instead of drilling unwanted highways in the mountain landscape, invest in people’s needs and aspiration. Along with the Farmers Market, I also found quite an extended market space for antiques and handicrafts, again the shops being pucca and affordable, and clean. And as I said earlier, bulk of these shops are managed by womenfolk. Perhaps this may be one of the ways to measure Gross Happiness Index (GHI) that Bhutan is known for. Interestingly, I found Philippe Dresruesse from the German NGO, Welthungerhilfe write in Linkedin: “Bhutan is also planning a new economic hub designed around wellbeing and sustainability – as the home of a regional Food Systems Academy. Co-created with SAARC and other partners, it could serve as a centre for training, action research, and policy dialogue, equipping a new generation of leaders to navigate the complexity of food systems transformation.”

Further, he says: “Bhutan shows that small nations and regions can lead the way in systemic transformation. Its commitment to sustainability resonates strongly with the agroecological vision, highlighting the potential of place-based, interconnected model regions, providing for Living Landscapes where governments, communities, and knowledge institutions co-create pathways for change.”

It is in this connection that my suggestion to the Bhutan government will be to extend this approach of sustainability and resilience to farming systems. Instead of forging research collaboration with India for exotic breeds of cattle, for instance, the emphasis should be on building ties for strengthening native cow breeds along with the traditional knowledge and practices. If the native Gir or Kankrej breeds of cows from Gujarat can register a productivity level of 50 litres of milk, I see no reason for bringing the improved alien breeds that are not environmentally suitable.

Similarly, for Maldives, my suggestion is to build an agroecological paradise where the rich tourists and that include celebs from India to safe and healthy foods sans chemical pesticides. It can be easily done, the only care being instead of inviting chemical pesticide industry from India, even for a short-term requirement, the focus should shift to inviting agro-ecological experts instead. The rich people who throng Maldives are not looking for chemically laden food. Keep Maldives free of chemical pesticides, and market this as its unique selling point, can see tourists crowd soaring in the years to come.

Let’s begin by emulating Bhutan’s Farmers Markets. In India, the dire need is to set upfarmers market that are spic and clean. If we can invest close to Rs 6-lakh crore for five years for laying out highways, the urgent need is to invest adequate financial resources in constructing farmers markets that serve as a lifeline for future. Healthy food and healthy living – fitting into the growing concept of living landscape – should become a national priority.

(The author is a noted food policy analyst and an expert on issues related to the agriculture sector. He writes on food, agriculture and hunger)

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