The National Family Health Survey’s (NFHS) latest report on people’s eating habits has riled the Jain community. The findings state that 14.9 per cent men and 4.3 per cent women of the community consume non-vegetarian food, which the members have contested. They have demanded the Centre to scrap it or explain the parameters used to reach this conclusion.

The Centre conducted the NFHS across 707 districts in the county, and 6.10 lakh people in 15-49 years age group participated. According to the survey, only 3.5 per cent men from the Jain community consumed non-vegetarian food in 2015-16, but it increased to 14.9 per cent in 2019-21. There was a drop among the women of the community, to 4.3 per cent in 2019-21 from 8.6 per cent in 2015-16.