Mumbai , India ( CNN ) -- I live in Malabar Hill in Mumbai , an area of the city whose residents are drawn mainly from the Jain and Gujarati communities and where vegetarianism is a big part of their cultural identity . I , however , eat meat . Am I an exception in my neighborhood ? Not anymore . It turns out many more people are abandoning vegetarianism in India , which seems to run counter to what is happening in many other countries where people are turning away from meat . India is now one of the fastest growing markets for chicken in the world . The appetite for chicken here is growing at around 12 % a year , according to India 's National Sample Survey Office -- that 's faster than any other type of meat . This is a big deal because India is still among the lowest meat consumers in the world . `` They are n't just eating it , they are also talking a lot more about it , '' says Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal , a popular Indian food writer and consultant . `` It 's cooler to talk about being a meat lover than a vegetable lover ! '' Economy drives meat appetite . She says Indians are developing new tastes because their incomes have grown -- India 's economy is slowly heading in the right direction again ; people are earning more , they are traveling more and are being exposed to new , international cuisines . There 's also a lot more food available in India these days . When I was growing up in Kolkata , food options were limited to chicken , goat meat and whatever fish was available in the Hooghly River that ran through the city . Today , I have a food delivery service that will drop off everything from tuna and salmon to sea bass . Local grocery stores stock premium quality ham and meats . And chicken -- there are multiple companies selling chicken in all forms and cuts : chicken sausages , chicken nuggets , chicken salami . `` Business has boomed , we are growing larger and larger as the day comes , '' says Perizaad Zorabian , marketing head of Zorabian chicken , a premium niche poultry business . It 's become so busy that Zorabian has put her Bollywood acting career on hold to focus on the family business . Healthy option ? There are many reasons Indians are turning to chicken . Top of the list is the perception that it 's healthy . People are generally more conscious about eating right and eating healthy foods -- especially the younger generation , Zorabian says . Given that 100 grams of chicken gives you more protein than 100 grams of cooked lentils , many people are turning to the white meat . It was a chicken curry that tempted Nikhil Merchant to take his first bite . A vegetarian all his life , he went to a restaurant with his cousin one day . His cousin -- who eats meat -- ordered a plate of butter chicken curry . `` It just looked so tempting , '' Merchant says . `` I took the first bite with a roti and I got used to it . '' He 's finally broken the news to his parents who maintain a strict vegetarian diet . His father tried to talk him out of his chicken eating ways but there 's no going back for Merchant . `` I said it 's part of my life . ''
India is now one of the fastest growing markets for chicken in the world . Indians are developing new tastes because their incomes have grown , says top food writer . But there 's also a lot more food available in India these days .