A dimension within Decline in Forest Food
This theme examines the connection between traditional food habits, diet, and overall public health and nutrition.
147 voices speak to this
Each dimension splits this theme further — keep drilling to see how it breaks down.
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Overall Community Sentiment
AI-synthesised pieces woven from many community voices on this theme. They may contain errors or interpretation — they're a reflection of the stories, not a record of fact.
The situation we are in now is that the food we used to get to eat in the past has gradually disappeared.
— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
In our area, in very old times, there were Sama, Kodo, Meijri (types of millets) for eating. Diseases were not caused by this. Today, whatever is being eaten as hybrid, all this is on the verge of causing diseases.
— ANIL KUMAR · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We are the people of earlier times who used to eat mahua from the forest, eat chakad shak, eat millet bread, eat corn bread. Now people eat good food, and because they eat good food, they catch so many diseases.
— Sunita Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
In the past, we used to eat various things from the hills, such as Kangu Jona Ganthia, and lived well because of them. Things that grew without fertilizer used to ripen quickly. Now, nothing is ripening from the hills, and they are not cultivating them anymore.
— Prakash ch Pradhani · Karubai, Rayagada, Odisha
Mona Pramoda, in the past, we had traditional food without fertilizer, and people lived for many years by eating that food. But now, by eating food with fertilizer, many types of diseases are staying in our bodies.
— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
The voices in this theme were gathered by these organisations through their community reports.
Our ancestors used to eat sunusunia greens, but these greens have become extinct today.
— upendra sunani
Earlier, we used to eat gethi kanda, nekuwa kanda, sarai mahua lata, and all the mahua lata.
— Sunita Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
The food we used to eat before was good for our body. But the food we eat now, chemical food, is bad for our body.
— Amita Mohanty
Yes, earlier, we used to eat various kinds of wild fruits and food from the forests. But now, nothing like that remains. The government some.
— Rakesh kumar Kumar
Today, resources are wasted just on eating. If good paddy and everything like corn were abundant before and we kept eating, that time cannot be recaptured today.
— Babulal Ayam · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
People are no longer eating Kodo, Gulji, Mandia, Gongei, Pithalu, Kandha, Chhuali Kandha, and other such items.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
In our region, 'Gati Kandha' is available/common. People of the past used to eat all such things, and because of that, their bodies remained healthy. Nowadays, people are consuming foods that contain fertilizers (or are chemically treated), which is causing many types of diseases to arise.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Earlier, a lot of edible items were found in the forests that could be eaten and added to midday meals, but now, due to damage to the forests, many things have become extinct.
— Kekti Tekam · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh
My name is Jogeshwar Nayak. In our area, Ghuruji farming was common, and people used to eat it. Now that farming has completely disappeared, and its seeds are not even found anymore.
— upendra sunani
Our ancestors used to cultivate without fertilizer, and that was delicious and healthy. But now, that taste is not available.
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
In the past, we used to eat mahua, and also made four laddus by frying mahua. We would also cook rice with gulgi and eat it. Now, if Anganwadi...
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
In our ST community, everything has changed for the people of this district. Before, we used to bring tamarind, mahua, and all kinds of forest products to eat and drink.
— Puspanjali Nag
Marna is Sanjaya Suna. Earlier, our ancestors used to eat Ghurji rice, but now that Ghurji rice is not available.
— upendra sunani · Bissamcuttack, Rayagada, Odisha
Before, we used to eat saag roti, kurthi dal, urad dal, and mahua saag. Sometimes we would find amla and bael from the forest, and that's how we used to sustain our lives.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Today, which part of your food, forest, or agricultural life do you feel has been lost the most? Traditional food has been lost.
— Niranjan Bisi · Bissamcuttack, Rayagada, Odisha
Nowadays, forests are being cleared. We used to get food from the forest, but now we are not getting it. Instead, we are consuming food grown with chemical fertilizers.
— jitendra khila · kudumulugumma, Malkangiri, Odisha
Food is what is most essential for human survival. But it is observed that today's food is entirely chemical-laden, meaning chemical-rich. While it fills the stomach and tastes good, it fails to meet the body's nutritional requirements. In contrast, the food from earlier times was highly nutritious and disease-resistant.
— KARUKAR MURMU · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
In ancient times, items like plain water, cooked food, liquor, Kakara, Arisa, Bagara Pitha, Ukahara, jackfruit, and root vegetables were available in the market. Now, these are not found anymore.
— Anirudha Marai
People of the past used to cultivate saawa, kodo, menjhari, bajra, and maize, and their bodies were strong. But today, by eating grains grown with fertilizer...
— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Nowadays, people from the tribal community do not prefer to eat tribal food, as a result of which tribal traditions are being lost.
— Arati Khandapatra
Our ancestors used to consume grains like Kuri, Kudra, Humli, and other similar produce. Those grains are now gone. If the government conducts a survey/preservation effort for them, it would be very beneficial for our people in the future, meaning there would be no illnesses or similar problems.
— Mohan AHARI · Udaipur, Rajasthan
In the olden days, our parents and we used to gather and eat a lot of Barada Saga (a type of leafy green) from the forest. But now, due to deforestation, we no longer find Barada Saga. We hope to eat Barada Saga again.
— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Old, traditional foods are not available. As a result, the forest was also destroyed. The food that should be available is not available.
— Keshab Majhi · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Currently, eating food cultivated with chemical substances is harming our health, but our ancestors used to cultivate according to nature using organic methods and were free from diseases.
— Padmalochan Majhi · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
In ancient times, people used to boil and eat Mahua, but it is not seen much nowadays. If people still boil and eat it, their bodies will remain healthy.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha
In the tribal area, in earlier times, there were many herbs and their culture. But today, due to deforestation, many birds could not even disperse, and traditional food practices could also not be preserved, leading to their extinction.
— Mohan AHARI · Sarera, Udaipur, Rajasthan
Earlier, we used to eat mahua until 8 o'clock. But now, by the time we eat it like before, whatever little is produced, we consume it entirely. Meaning, our day somehow ends with this heavenly mahua.
— Anjana Khadia · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
Earlier, a man used to eat mahua and was healthy. Now, the more hybrid grains you eat, the sicker you become.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
My name is Dhiren Badhai from Kiyariya village and Bamani Gaon Panchayat, Dharibari block. Our ancestors used to eat roots, leafy greens, fruits, and tubers from the forest, living a nutritious life, but now all of that has decreased.
— SUBASH SABHASUNDAR · Gajapati, Odisha
Yes, damage has definitely occurred. Previously, people used to obtain two traditional food items by cutting trees from the forest. Now, these are not available. Furthermore, there has been extensive damage to medicinal plants, and those are also not available.
— gobardhan pangi
Here, our ancestors used to cultivate sava, medon, mijhari, and kodo, whose rice and bread were eaten. Today, they are slowly disappearing. Therefore, we should preserve them so that they remain a part of our lives forever. These are very nutritious and powerful food items.
— Ram Kumari
In earlier times, medicinal fruits were found in the forest, but now those things are becoming extinct day by day.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
People of earlier times used to do this kind of farming for subsistence, and without water, without chemical fertilizers, and by eating that grain, there was also strength in the body. But nowadays, this urea and DAP fertilizer is causing a lot of harm.
— Kamleah Kumar · Kota, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We used to eat Mahua before, all kinds of Mahua, Rama Mahua. Because we ate all that, our body used to stay well. If you eat that, you too will stay well again.
— Laxmi Bagh · Sundargarh, Odisha
Which part of your food, forest, or farming life do you miss the most? My name is Baijayanti Dehuri, village Nedrikhol, and Post Khajuripada, and Block Khajuripada, and Panchayat Khajuripada. Earlier, we used to eat good food, but now we eat food grown with fertilizer, so we want to cultivate millet.
— harischandra Dalabehera · Khajuripada, Kandhamal, Odisha
