THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A trader's body in Kerala on Wednesday announced that it was ready to offer chicken free of cost during the school youth festival if the government decides to give non-vegetarian delicacies food during its annual event from next year.
If the authorities take such a path-breaking decision, good quality chicken in the enormous quantity needed would be provided, said Poultry Farmers and Traders' Samithi, a state-level outfit.
The interesting announcement of the Samithi came days after the absence of non-vegetarian food during the recently concluded Kerala School Arts Festival in northern Kozhikode sparked a raging debate on social media platforms.
"We are ready to supply any quantity of chicken completely free of cost if the government is providing non-vegetarian delicacies in the youth festival from next year and chicken dishes are included in its menu," Samithi's state president Binny Emmatty said.
It doesn't matter how many days the festival will be and how many kilograms of chicken they need, he said.
He said the outfit has taken such a decision as a controversy over the absence of non-vegetarian delicacies during the event erupted in the State.
"We also would like to check fake propaganda regarding poultry. There have been rumours for some time that chickens are getting injected with growth hormones. That is totally fake," Emmatty said.
He alleged that a recent statement by State Animal Husbandry Minister J Chinchu Rani that there is no hormone in the "Kerala Chicken", a brand promoted by the State government, has negatively impacted the other farmers and traders.
"The Minister's statement was widely interpreted that the presence of hormone is there in other poultry farmers' chicken. It was a misleading statement. Even the chicken demand has dropped after that and the price has also dipped," he said.
There is a drop of at least Rs 18 in the price of chicken after the Minister's statement, he further alleged and said, the price of chicken today is Rs 115 per kilogram in the State.
When asked whether it is safe to prepare non-veg dishes, especially chicken delicacies in such a mass event, where food is provided to thousands of children besides teachers and parents, he said chicken is a protein-rich food which is completely safe for anyone belonging to any age.
Quoting figures, he said over one crore kilo gram chicken is sold in Kerala weekly.
In a largely meat-loving Kerala, where official estimates put the non-vegetarians close to 70 per cent, the absence of non-vegetarian delicacies in the food pavilions of state school youth festival sparked a debate early this month.
Adding spice to the controversy, some netizens had even alleged "Brahmanical hegemony" in the kitchen of the art festival of children, billed as Asia's biggest cultural event at the school level, citing eminent culinary expert Pazhayidam Mohanan Namboothiri helming the catering team.
State General Education Minister V Sivankutty had rubbished the charges and said the debate was totally "unwanted", even as he said that both types of delicacies will be included in the menu next year.