Pakistanis are eating less. What they are eating instead is even more alarming

Pakistanis are eating less, and increasingly, they are eating worse. Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows that over the past six years, food consumption has declined across both urban and rural Pakistan, with average consumption falling in almost every major food category. Families are making fewer cups of rice, serving smaller rotis, cooking meat less frequently, giving their children less milk, and even drinking fewer cups of tea each day. The one major exception is vanaspati ghee, consumption of which has surged by 81%, from 690 grams a month to 1.25 kilograms.

The shift is more than a change in eating habits. It is a warning about the quality of life and nutrition of millions of Pakistanis. The social indicators are particularly painful. The percentage of households classified as ‘moderate to severely food insecure’ has risen from 15.92 per cent in 2019 to 24.35 per cent in 2025. Over the same period, severe food insecurity increased from 2.37% of households to 5.04%. In other words, nearly a quarter of Pakistani households are now experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity, while a growing share are facing severe hunger and deprivation.

For a country that has long taken pride in being an agrarian economy, these numbers are difficult to reconcile with the national narrative. Pakistan Studies textbooks have drilled the image of a fertile, self-sufficient Pakistan into generations of students: lush green fields, abundant crops and a country capable of feeding itself. Fertiliser advertisements have reinforced that image with unusually cheerful farmers throwing urea around at sunset. The promise has been repeated for decades. When Pakistan conducted its nuclear tests, citizens were told that whatever happened, the country would not go hungry because it could produce enough food for itself. A similar reassurance surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when global supply chains were disrupted and food security became a concern around the world.

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But that ability to feed ourselves has been under serious strain for years. Pakistan has been a net importer of food since at least 2021. At the same time, rising food prices have steadily altered what households can afford to put on the table. This is not simply a story about people eating fewer meals or buying less food. It is about the composition of the Pakistani diet changing under economic pressure. When families cannot afford enough meat, milk, rice and other staples, they do not simply stop eating. They substitute, reduce portions and prioritise the cheapest available calories. The result can be a diet that fills the stomach without providing the nutrition required for healthy growth.

That makes the rise in vanaspati ghee particularly significant. While households are cutting back on several food categories, consumption of a cheaper source of fat has increased sharply. The numbers suggest that affordability, rather than nutritional value, is increasingly determining what ends up on the Pakistani dinner table. The consequences could extend far beyond today's household budgets. Children who receive less milk and fewer nutritious foods are at greater risk of inadequate growth and development. Adults who consume poorer-quality diets may have less energy and greater vulnerability to illness. Over time, widespread dietary deterioration can translate into lower productivity, weaker human capital and greater pressure on an already strained healthcare system.

The danger is that food insecurity can become self-reinforcing. Poor nutrition affects health and productivity; lower productivity limits household income; and lower incomes make nutritious food even harder to afford. That is why these consumption figures should not be dismissed as merely another indicator of inflation or household spending. They provide a window into how economic stress is changing everyday life. The macroeconomic picture may be bleak, but the most important story is often found at the household level: the smaller roti, the fewer glasses of milk, the less frequent meat curry and the extra spoonful of ghee. Pakistan's food problem is therefore not simply about producing enough food.

It is increasingly about whether ordinary families can afford to buy and consume enough of the right food. If the trend continues, the country could end up confronting a generation that is not only poorer, but also less healthy and less well nourished than the one before it. That would be a recipe for a much deeper social and economic crisis.