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mental basis, at 9 centres, namely at Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Lucknow, Banglore, Hyderabad, Patna and Agra.
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PRODUCTION
The annual value of meat along with edible offals produced in India is estimated to be over 100 crores of rupees The Importance of the industry should not, however, be Judged merely from this figure. Meat is vitally important to the Indian population because their diet is deficient in first class proteins and these could easily be obtained from meat. Therefore from economic, nutritional and public health points of view, the meat industry is of considerable importance to the country and deserves a lot more attention that it has received in the past.
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CONSUMPTION
Meat has not yet received sufficient recognition as an important food item and has hitherto been regarded as a luxurty for the town dwellers. The nutritional importance of meat is also practically unknown. For these reasons, the per capita consumption of meat in the Indian Union is very low, hardly 3.2 Lb. In many foreign countries large sums are annualy spent on "Consumers education" and sustained and successful efforts are made to drive home successfully to the consumers the value of meat and its products. Happily, there is not the same prejudice in India today against meat eating, particularly mutton and goat flesh, as existed before. Efforts to increase production are unlikely to bear fruit if steps are not simultaneously taken to increase consumption.
It is, therefore, recommended that extensive propaganda may be carried out to educate the peoples as regards high nutritive and protective value of meat and on the advisability of its increased consumption in their daily diet.
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