By Subzar Ahmad Reshi

I grew up seeing food as a form of love. My grandmother cooked with ingredients that always had a story behind them.

Fresh produce came from nearby farms, grains were ground at home, and fruits and vegetables were dried for winter. Noon chai paired with homemade bread. A simple bowl of millet or maize kept people going through long days.

No one counted calories or talked about nutrition. Health came from the food on our plates.

Today, I feel worried when I look around. Home-cooked food has lost its place in many Kashmiri lives. Lines outside fast food stalls grow longer every month. Even toddlers know the flavour of packaged chips better than the taste of a simple recipe cooked at home.

The change did not arrive overnight. It slipped into our everyday life until we started accepting it as normal.

I teach students who survive on fried snacks, sugary drinks, and restaurant meals from early morning until late evening. Many leave home without breakfast. They rush from school to tutoring centers and grab whatever is sold outside. Their parents try to cook for them, though their efforts often lose to catchy ads and shiny wrappers designed to make junk irresistible.

Health reports from hospitals tell a harsh story.

Obesity, hypertension, and diabetes show up earlier in life now. Doctors speak about teenagers with high cholesterol. Many young adults take daily medicines for issues that once appeared only in old age.

International studies by the FAO and USDA keep reminding us that natural foods protect the heart, brain, bones, immunity, and mood.

More than ninety percent of lifestyle diseases in families stem from how we eat.

There is another side to this picture.

Some households struggle to afford proper nutrition. Work keeps parents away from kitchens for long hours. Fresh vegetables and whole grains often cost more than processed options.

Food choices shrink when the goal is only to stay full enough to get through the day.

I meet children who have access to calories but not nourishment. Two different food crises exist in the same society: overeating without health and under-eating without strength.

Good food costs money, though poor food drains far more through hospitals and pharmacies later in life.

I hear people say they will manage with whatever is available and focus on work first. How long can a person truly work when the body feels tired and inflamed from chemicals and excess oil?

There is also the land that feeds us. Farmers today rely on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers to grow more and earn faster. These substances end up in rivers, lakes, and soil.

A vegetable may look perfect from outside while carrying chemicals that silently damage health.

MENAFN22112025000215011059ID1110381742