The grand organic food opera

Ethical and health concerns are motivating people to eat wisely and well. Some of them share with Michael Patrao simple rules for healthy living.

Like Cliff Richard who sang, ‘Searching for a Green Light’, people in Bangalore, with depleting green cover and increasing stress and pollution, are looking for solutions which will keep their sanity and health intact.

A growing number of Bangaloreans are consciously choosing organic food. They have a wide choice as a number of outlets have sprung up across the City offering organic fruits, vegetables, pulses, spices and other food items. Bakeries and supermarkets stock whole-grain and multi-grain bread, biscuits and even noodles, unheard of a decade ago. Branded and certified organic food products are available in most supermarkets besides exclusive organic outlets.

Green tea, said to have anti-oxidant and anti-cholesterol properties, savoured without
milk or sugar, is slowly replacing conventional tea. It is quite a trend in many corporate offices in the City.

The consumer of organic food is today wiser and understands that organic vegetables and fruits cannot look uniformly similar and evenly coloured like the imported, hybrid and genetically modified fruits and vegetables which have flooded the market. For instance, the informed consumer does not expect a tomato to be perfectly-shaped and have a bright red hue.

There is a marked preference for food that is cooked without additives, preservatives, baking soda, ajinomoto, hydrogenated fats and artificial flavours and colours. The dark green palak paneer, the vivid orange kalmi kabab and the bright blue aerated drink, all made to look appealing with added colours, do not find favour with many consumers.
A major drawback in shopping for organic produce is the price, which is marginally higher. However, the upwardly mobile Bangalorean does not mind shelling out a little extra for quality and good health.