Introduction

Every headline over the past few weeks has been of the staggering rise in prices of not just tomatoes, but also of potatoes, onions, rice, wheat, tur dal and milk. The steep hike in prices is affecting residents across the country, changing the amount of food we can afford to buy, what we cook and what we put on our plates and finally eat. Nutritionists and doctors have long called for healthy diets: combining an adequate amount of carbohydrates, fats, proteins to keep our bodies fit and healthy, to ward away diseases and to prevent non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The cost of fruits, meats and fish, sources of fibre, protein and other nutrients have always been high in our country, but when the price of basic vegetables also shoots up, what happens to our diets? How does an increase in food prices affect how healthy are diets are? Do we eat more unhealthily when foods are more expensive? Why are healthy foods so expensive? And do our food policies need an urgent rethinking to make them more affordable?

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