Revista de Nutrição e Dietética

Abstrato

Factors Influencing Poultry Food Choices-An Empirical Study

Subashree Anantaraman*

The research was undertaken to evaluate the poultry products consumption habits and practices of Indians. The objective of the study was to gain an insight into the fact that given that poultry meat is globally more popular than other forms of meat complimented with the high nutrient quality of poultry products over other forms of animal food, what are the factors that influence consumption of such food, and what strategies are needed to promote the consumption of such food that would contribute to enhancing the nutrient quality of general food habits of Indians. The overall macro context of this study was the huge disparity in the production and consumption of poultry products. Due to innovations and developments in poultry breeding techniques, there has been a huge increase in the production of eggs and broiler chicken. However since such output is not matched with increase in poultry food consumption, there has been a glut in the supply of poultry products. This has led to unremunerated pricing for poultry farmers affecting the livelihood of poultry producers who are a vital part of a nation's agrarian economy. This research paper examines this disparity from a consumption point of view and analysis the prevalent poultry food choices and the factors that influence such practices. For this purpose, a total of 12,339 valid responses were collected spread across diverse demographic, geographic and cultural patterns of the population. The fundamental finding of the research was that poultry products predominately as eggs and chicken were the most preferred non-vegetarian food over other forms of animal food. The study did not find much evidence of other poultry products such as ducks, geese, turkey, etc. The study revealed that the largest consumers of poultry food were the young population in the 15-25 age brackets coming from urban areas from middleclass family backgrounds. It revealed that at least 70% of consumers preferred home-cooked egg and chicken dishes over dining them at restaurants. The different forms of egg and chicken dishes were also analyzed to find out the most preferred menu of such food. The study revealed that while egg and chicken were not part of the staple diet of any segment of the population, consumption levels were skewed in favor of preferring such food at least 2-3 times a week. The respondents predominantly preferred poultry food for their taste, affordable costs, ease of cooking and, high nutritive value, in that order. Other than some minor cultural/religious factors there were no major inhibitions against the consumption of eggs and chicken. Interestingly it was also found that respondents who claimed they to be vegetarians were also egg eaters, if not chicken.