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Chef Jose Martin Ruiz Borja, Renaissance Convention Centre, Mumbai.

Our food chain devoid of fertilisers and chemicals? Sure we want to believe it. Organic food is a noble concept and has a number of takers here, but really, India’s realism must win over Western concepts says Michael Fernandes.

The scenario appears appealing; soon we will regain some of our natural lives. An alternative is emerging to processed and chemically induced food which has come to dominate our modern lives. Organic farming is a growing phenomenon in India, or is it?

We are still an agrarian country with 70% of our population solely dependent on it. Tongue in cheek, the BBC recently reported that India is the best recycler of waste, thereby making us green. For generations our food was grown without pesticides. Its use is a fairly recent phenomenon and a necessity.

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So are restaurants which serve organic food and create this hype self serving or is there more than meets the eye?

Britain’s Lord Northbourne coined the term organic food in 1939 in his push for a holistic approach to farming. The organic phenomenon as we know it dates to the recent ‘90s. In India, it is even younger.

Sure we have organic food today, but at what cost? For us restaurateurs, novelty sells which makes at least the concept of organic food appealing. Yet the issue is much larger than just designer food. It depends on which side of the economic line you stand or perhaps put, how hungry you are.

India is a developing country with all the challenges that come with this tag; poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Putting food on these plates is the priority of our society right now.

The challenge is very real because try as we may to boost production, farming techniques in India are underperforming, even after six decades.

The weather is no help either with its ongoing extremes. The erratic monsoon this year is already threatening to throw the annual crop schedule out of whack and send food prices up 15%.

On the other hand, yield from organic farming is much lower than those from chemically fertilised methods. The lack of volume in this segment increases cost anywhere from 10-60% above regular produce. Which makes the organic lettuce expensive. In a cost sensitive environment, this detail can be a red flag.

The entire food costing system is a factor supply. It might not always be the healthiest but fertilisers keep the supply high and the price manageable. This is important for the average Indian and so by extension, the restaurants and hotels that cater to this segment.