The Right to Food Campaign, a network of activists working on food and nutrition, on Thursday said that it opposed the “unscientific” push to reduce oil consumption in the mid-day meal programme in government and aided schools under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the advisory.

“We need more not less healthy fats and oils for children,” the activists said. “In our experience, there are barriers for poorer communities to meet the recommended intake of fats and oils.”

Children and adolescents may therefore need to be consuming more, not less fats and oils, in most parts of the country, the statement added,

On March 15, the Union Ministry of Education issued an advisory urging state governments to reduce the usage of cooking oil by 10% in the mid-day meal programmes under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme, The Hindu reported.

The centrally-sponsored scheme is aimed at providing nutritious meals to students enrolled in government and aided schools.

The ministry noted that there was a need to raise awareness among teachers, parents, students and community members on reducing the usage of cooking oil by 10% in daily life through innovative ways.

“All cook-cum-helpers in schools must be trained to reduce the usage of cooking oil by 10%,” the advisory said. “We urge all students to be mindful of their oil consumption and adopt healthier cooking methods such as grilling, steaming, or baking instead of deep-frying.”

In its statement opposing the advisory on Thursday, the Right to Food Campaign said that the advisory did not mention ways to improve the nutritional quality or the diversity of items included in the menu of the mid-day meals.

The food activists noted that the advisory came on the “heels of a statement by the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] expressing ‘concern’ that childhood obesity is increasing among school children in India”.

The statement was referring to recent comments made by Modi during a ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 2025’ event and a ‘Mann ki Baat’ episode on the increasing obesity rates among school students in India.

The prime minister mentioned an article in The Lancet, which had reported that 12.5 million children between 5 to 19 years were overweight in 2022 as compared to 0.4 million in 1990.

“It is of note that the government vehemently rejects international reports such as the Global Hunger Index but readily quotes obesity statistics from a Lancet report while ignoring compelling data on malnutrition in national surveys,” the Right to Food Campaign said.

Citing several studies such as the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey and the National Family Health Survey, the food activists claimed that a large number of children were underweight or stunted and were being ignored.

“It appears like obesity is just an excuse to further cut the already abysmal budgets for the mid-day meal scheme,” the statement said. “The cost norms for school meals are inadequate to provide a balanced, nutritious, and fresh meal to children. Moreover, the budgetary allocations by the Union Government have reduced by 40% in real terms, in the last ten years.”

Noting that fats and oils were crucial in a diet, the food activists said that the “sweeping statements” made by Modi and the ministry that dismissed a significant food group from menus in government schools and without evidence were “irresponsible and arbitrary”.

It said that the Union government should have ideally conducted a national survey on the current nutritional intake and status before making any recommendations about what should be eaten.

“There is no data whatsoever on the diversity of the mid-day meals and whether oil is actually being added to the food and if so, how much,” the statement said.

The food activists demanded the immediate withdrawal of the advisory to cut down oils by 10% in mid-day meals, and a circular to state governments to halt any actions undertaken on it.

“A national survey should be conducted on an urgent basis to understand nutritional intake and current nutritional status, especially post pandemic effects,” the statement said.

Policy-level decisions should be made based on the survey findings, in consultation with multiple stakeholders, and referring to updated evidence, it added.

The food activists also said that committees should be established that have the required expertise, adequate representation by marginalised communities and mandate to consult widely before making technical recommendations.

“All efforts are to be made to increase [not decrease] dietary diversity promoting local produce and nutritionally-sound cultural preferences including animal-based sources of food,” the Right to Food Campaign added. “Budgets should be enhanced to allow for increased dietary diversity given the rising costs of fruits, vegetables, pulses, eggs, milk, meat, fish, oils/fats, etc.”