CLAIM:

Figs (Anjeer) are non-vegetarian as wasps are involved in the pollination process

FACT: 

Figs come in multiple varieties, many of them don’t require wasps for pollination

A couple of recent social media posts have claimed that figs are non-vegetarian. The claim originated on November 2 with a reel by @shashikant_iyengar, a verified account on Instagram with more than 2,000 subscribers. The reel got 5,260 views.

Subsequently, on November 6, another video making the same claim was posted on "@shenaztreasury," an instagram account with more than 12 lakh subscribers. This video immediately went viral racking up more than 45 million views, over 954,000 likes and 25 lakh shares by the time of publishing this article.

The video by @shenaztreasury unfolds as a dialogue between the influencer and a man.

"Did you know that Anjeer, figs are non-vegetarian? Yes! This fruit what you call figs is a non-vegetarian? Why? Because only the fig flower is inside the fruit so it gets pollinated by a wasp. So, the wasp gets inside from here, losing its wings, legs, antellas. She goes inside the fig. She lays inside the fig. Once the egg hatches, the male and female mate. It (male) wanted to come out. it can't come out. so the parasitic wasp comes to lay egg. She makes the hole. From that hole only the female comes out. Because females have wings, male doesn't have a wing. So the male dies inside and gets mixed with the fruit, when we eat the food we're eating the wasp, correct? (sic)” reads the dialogue between the two.

“A dead body is the crunchy thing we eat when we eat figs. And that's why Jains and Brahmins Don't eat FIGS… (sic)," the video adds.

What are the facts?

First Check found that only specific varieties of figs require pollination by wasps. The Smyrna fig, for example, is one such type that relies on the fig wasp (Blastophaga psenes) for fertilization. 

Coming to India, the commercially available figs in the country predominantly consist of common fig varieties that do not require any form of pollination, as highlighted in this document from Karnataka government on fig cultivation. The varieties mentioned in the document such as Common Fig, Brown Turkey, Black Mission, and Kadota, develop through a process known as parthenocarpy. This means they can form fruit without fertilization or the involvement of pollinators like wasps. As a result, these varieties are deemed vegetarian-friendly and free of any insect content. 

The distinction between wild figs and commercially cultivated figs is crucial in understanding this issue. Wild figs often depend on specific fig wasps for reproduction, which can lead to potential insect remains inside the fruit. In contrast, common figs grown for commercial purposes are self-pollinating and do not engage in this mutualistic relationship with wasps. 

The video is thus misleading as it does not address the fact that there are multiple varieties of figs that do not involve wasps at all.

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