Give up junk food and consume millet-based foods, says Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat CEO

Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat CEO Mona Roat has appealed to the public to stop consuming junk food and instead eat food prepared from millets to improve their health.

She inaugurated a ‘Cooking Competition of Forgotten Recipes’ as part of a district-level millet fair organised in Chamarajanagar on December 18 by symbolically pouring ragi from a bamboo basket into a clay pot. The millet fair was organised jointly by the Chamarajanagar district administration, Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat, and Agriculture Department in Chamarajanagar in the run-up to the International Millet Trade Fair 2026, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from January 16 to 18.

Ms. Roat noted with regret that that the consumption of fast food and junk food had increased in recent times while food items prepared from millets were gradually disappearing from dining tables.

Pointing out that there were fewer nutrients in the food that people in general consume today, she noted that junk food, however palatable, has adverse effects on health. “Instead of offering such food to children, it is better to give them home-cooked dishes made from millets,” she said.

Further, she cautioned that the consumption of certain packaged food products can be harmful to health. “Our elders lived long and healthy lives by eating meals and snacks prepared from millets. Mothers should ensure that children are given home-cooked food,” she said, emphasising the need to cultivate millets and pass them on as a legacy to the next generation.

Meanwhile, Sushma, joint director, Department of Agriculture, recalled that participants from Chamarajanagar district had won prizes in earlier State-level competitions. She hoped that participants from the district would take part in the International Millet Trade Fair 2026 and win prizes again.

Judges for the cooking competition included Dr. Dhanyashree and Dr. Manjunath from Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), besides Dr. Deepa from Krish Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Haradanahalli.

Ms. Roat, Ms. Sushma, and the judges sampled and appreciated the variety of dishes prepared from different types of millets during the event.