Idli, Rajma top the food list causing harm to biodiversity, reveals study 

According to the scientific study carried out, Indian food items, including Idli, Chana, Rajma, and Chicken Jalfrezi (Kidney Bean Curry), have been recognised among the 151 items in the world that cause harm to biodiversity.

Luis Roman Carrasco, associate professor of biological sciences at the National University of Singapore who leads the study of food, said, “The large impact of legumes and rice in India was a surprise, but when you think about it, it makes sense.”

Amongst the 151 dishes, Laczhano, a roast lamb recipe from Spain, is recognised as the dish causing the most harm to biodiversity, and on the second-ranking list of four beef and lamb preparations in Brazil, Idli ranks sixth, and Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) ranks seven in the list. 

This was recognised after investigating their biodiversity footprints.

The loss of habitat caused by growing agriculture has caused severe damage to biodiversity. Moreover, the breeding of cattle is negatively impacted by non-vegetarian meals. 

Damage to biodiversity and diversity in India is mainly caused by the cultivation of rice and legumes. 

However, because most of the population of India is vegetarian, the country can cohabit without difficulty with its citizens despite rice and legumes being cultivated on a large scale.