The first ever democratically elected communist government in the world was in the state of Kerala in India . This government was however over thrown within a few years before completing their full term of five years due to a popular uprising. One of the lesser known reason for the uprising was introduction of Macaroni from Russia as a substitute for rice. Rice being the staple food for Kerala-ites was in severe shortage due to failed crops and in order to avoid a famine situation, the ruling communist party resorted to imports of macaroni. The opposition party even alleged that eating macaroni may convert one to a communist!!
Every country or culture has certain food habits formed over many years of evolution. It is very difficult to change this over night. However, people who travel widely and across countries in the west or east tend to experiment with new items of cereals, pulses and even variety of cooking. In a recent statement, Dr. M S Swaminathan, the well known scientist suggested that in order to ensure food security for India, people should widen their food basket and try new items like millets etc. in place of rice or wheat so that we have more choices to rely on, should the staple food items go in short supply due to vagaries of weather or natural calamities. Even global warming will deplete cultivable land especially in the coastal area due to damages from tidal waves. While this is not a call for preparation for the Dooms Day, it makes sense to adapt to new food habits when the choices are still there as it will be too late otherwise to acquire such survival mechanisms.