The Eat Right India movement is a flagship program initiated by the Government of India and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to transform the country’s food system. The campaign is aimed at ensuring safe, healthy, and sustainable food for all Indians. Here are the key features of the Eat Right India movement and its significance.
Key Features of the Eat Right India Movement
The Eat Right India movement is built on three broad pillars of ‘Eat Healthy’, ‘Eat Safe’, and ‘Eat Sustainably’. The campaign aims to create consumer awareness about eating safe and nutritious food, as foodborne illnesses and various diet-related diseases cut across all age groups and all sections of society. The movement adopts a whole-of-society approach, bringing all stakeholders together on a common platform. It is a flagship program in line with other initiatives including Ayushman Bharat, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anemia Mukt Bharat, and the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Significance of the Eat Right India Movement
The campaign holds importance as it not only aims at good food habits for the people of the country but also promotes food that is good for the planet. It adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity-building, collaborative, and empowerment approaches to ensure that both parameters are followed. The movement also adopts an integrative or ‘whole of the government’s approach since it brings together food-related mandates of the agriculture, health, environment, and other ministries.
The mission of the Eat Right India Campaign
The vision of the Eat Right India campaign for 2050 is about creating a culture of safe, healthy, and sustainable food for all. The campaign aims to make Indian food Trans fat-free by 2022 while reducing salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.
Themes of the Eat Right India Movement
The Eat Right India campaign is based on three key themes:
• Eat Safe: Ensure personal and surroundings hygiene
• Eat Healthy: Promoting diet diversity and balanced diets
• Eat Sustainable: Promote local and seasonal food, prevent food loss
The Eat Right India Logo
The Eat Right India logo represents a healthy ‘Indian thali’ (plate) and signifies the importance of a balanced diet with the right quantity of food groups. The six colors of the logo signify the six tastes as per Ayurveda that are necessary for energetic effects on the mind and body as suggested in Charaksamita. The distribution of food groups as per the logo is as follows:
• Yellow represents pulses and cereals
• Green is for fruits and vegetables
• Brown represents poultry, fish, and meat
• The blue part is for milk and milk products
• Purple is for food and drinks high in fat or sugar
Conclusion
The Eat Right India movement is a significant initiative that aims to transform the country’s food system by ensuring safe, healthy, and sustainable food for all Indians. The campaign is aligned with the National Health Policy 2017 with its focus on preventive and promotive healthcare for all citizens of the country. By adopting a whole of society
approach and promoting a balanced diet and diet diversity, the movement aims to tackle foodborne illnesses and diet-related diseases.
