Green and/or brown: Governing food production in India
In 2011, the Indian state made it mandatory to label all packaged food products to indicate whether they are vegetarian (green/veg) or non-vegetarian (brown/non-veg). Given the rise of a consumer culture relying on super/hypermarkets, these labels are now ubiquitous on packaging throughout India. Wh...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Research in Globalization |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590051X2030006X |
| _version_ | 1818610678193192960 |
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| author | Johan Fischer |
| author_facet | Johan Fischer |
| author_sort | Johan Fischer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2011, the Indian state made it mandatory to label all packaged food products to indicate whether they are vegetarian (green/veg) or non-vegetarian (brown/non-veg). Given the rise of a consumer culture relying on super/hypermarkets, these labels are now ubiquitous on packaging throughout India. While the concept of ahimsa (non-injury to all living creatures) is central to Hinduism, and Hindu vegetarianism has been thoroughly explored in the literature, there is no corresponding exploration of how labelling “green” and “brown” conditions food and food ingredient production in India. Moreover, India is a major producer of meat, in particular water buffalo beef. Based on fieldwork in India, this article explores how manufacturing companies understand and practice “green” and “brown” as nationalized standards. I argue that while existing studies of vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism overwhelmingly explore micro-social aspects, such as everyday consumption among social groups, the nationalized overlapping technologies and techniques of production and regulation, which combined determine whether a product is veg or non-veg and thereby help to format the market, are not well understood. This paper addresses the research question: what are the consequences of the nationalized green/brown regulation for food production in contemporary India? Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the paper explores the green/brown regulation and the management thereof in manufacturing companies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T15:18:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e82678802184c22a4883b68d9425267 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-051X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T15:18:15Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research in Globalization |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e82678802184c22a4883b68d94252672022-12-21T22:26:44ZengElsevierResearch in Globalization2590-051X2020-12-012100017Green and/or brown: Governing food production in IndiaJohan Fischer0Roskilde University, Department of Social Sciences and Business, House 23.2, Postbox 260, 4000 Roskilde, DenmarkIn 2011, the Indian state made it mandatory to label all packaged food products to indicate whether they are vegetarian (green/veg) or non-vegetarian (brown/non-veg). Given the rise of a consumer culture relying on super/hypermarkets, these labels are now ubiquitous on packaging throughout India. While the concept of ahimsa (non-injury to all living creatures) is central to Hinduism, and Hindu vegetarianism has been thoroughly explored in the literature, there is no corresponding exploration of how labelling “green” and “brown” conditions food and food ingredient production in India. Moreover, India is a major producer of meat, in particular water buffalo beef. Based on fieldwork in India, this article explores how manufacturing companies understand and practice “green” and “brown” as nationalized standards. I argue that while existing studies of vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism overwhelmingly explore micro-social aspects, such as everyday consumption among social groups, the nationalized overlapping technologies and techniques of production and regulation, which combined determine whether a product is veg or non-veg and thereby help to format the market, are not well understood. This paper addresses the research question: what are the consequences of the nationalized green/brown regulation for food production in contemporary India? Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the paper explores the green/brown regulation and the management thereof in manufacturing companies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590051X2030006XIndiaVegetarian/non-vegetarianProductionRegulationNationalization |
| spellingShingle | Johan Fischer Green and/or brown: Governing food production in India Research in Globalization India Vegetarian/non-vegetarian Production Regulation Nationalization |
| title | Green and/or brown: Governing food production in India |
| title_full | Green and/or brown: Governing food production in India |
| title_fullStr | Green and/or brown: Governing food production in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Green and/or brown: Governing food production in India |
| title_short | Green and/or brown: Governing food production in India |
| title_sort | green and or brown governing food production in india |
| topic | India Vegetarian/non-vegetarian Production Regulation Nationalization |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590051X2030006X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT johanfischer greenandorbrowngoverningfoodproductioninindia |