Idli, rajma among top 25 dishes causing damage to biodiversity, says study
Carrasco said India has been reasonably successful in coexisting with biodiversity given its large population despite the high scores of rice and legume dishes
After assessing the “biodiversity footprints” of 151 popular dishes from across the world, scientists have identified Indian staples like idli, chana masala, rajma and chicken jalfrezi among the top 25 dishes causing the most damage to biodiversity.
As expected, vegan and vegetarian dishes in general had lower biodiversity footprints as compared to the dishes containing meat. However, the researchers found it surprising that the dishes with rice and legumes as main ingredients also had high biodiversity footprints.
“The large impacts of legumes and rice in India was a surprise, but when you think about it, it makes sense,” Luis Roman Carrasco, associate professor of biological sciences at the National University of Singapore who led the study, told The Telegraph.
Lechazo tops list
The highest biodiversity footprint score was assigned to lechazo, a roast lamb recipe from Spain, followed by four beef or meat preparations from Brazil. Their assessment placed the idli at the sixth rank followed by rajma (kidney beans curry) at the seventh rank.
Carrasco and his colleagues assessed the likely impact of each dish’s ingredient on the species richness and range of wildlife in the cropland used for each ingredient before assigning biodiversity footprint scores to each of the 151 dishes.
Among the top 25 dishes with the largest biodiversity footprints are several Brazilian meat dishes, a Korean meat and vegetable stew, meat and pork dishes from Mexico.
French fries at bottom
The study has assigned the lowest biodiversity footprint to French fries, ranked 151. Baguettes, pureed tomato sauce and popcorn are among other dishes with the lowest biodiversity footprints. India’s aloo paratha was ranked 96, dosa 103, and the bonda — a fried dish of mashed potato coated with chickpea paste — was ranked 109.
According to scientists, while taste, price and health influence the choice of food, understanding the biodiversity impact of dishes could help environmentally conscious people tailor their food choices. Published in the journal PLOS One, their study comes against the backdrop of concerns about biodiversity loss primarily driven by habitat loss resulting from expanding agriculture.
Studies conducted in the past have estimated that food consumption by an average household accounts for 20 per cent to 30 per cent of its environmental impact.
‘India doing well’
“In our analysis, the biodiversity footprint represents the amount of species that have been at least partially impacted to produce that dish. The biodiversity footprint gives us an idea of how many species we’re pushing closer to extinction by eating that dish,” Carrasco said.
Carrasco said India has been reasonably successful in coexisting with biodiversity given its large population despite the high scores of rice and legume dishes. He said India’s large proportion of vegetarians is good for biodiversity conservation. “If Indians were to shift to more meat consumption and production the impact on biodiversity would be much higher,” he said. “This study is a reminder that the pressures on biodiversity in India are very high.”
