Rice contributes three times as much as fish, which yields about 10 percent of total income. Other crops, farm equipment rentals, and so on make up the rest. The data show low animal and fish intake at all income levels, probably because animals and fish cost twenty times more than cereals as a source of calories. Thus higher incomes mean that households will spend more on micronutrient-rich foods. A ratio of less than one indicates less than a fair share.
Women get less than a fair share of animal and fish foods and girls get less eggs.
The findings on nutrient deficiency show that the incidence of anemia in preschool children decreases with increased income. The same relationship does not hold for women. Animal and fish consumption are the only part of the diet that have a positive effect on hemoglobin status. An increase of 110 calories per day of meat or fish reduces anemia in preschool children by 13 percent and 220 calories produces the same benefit for women. But households cannot afford expenditures of that magnitude.