People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), led by thrice nominated for Nobel Peace Prize Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi and Shruti Nagvanshi, has been ensuring basic rights for children, women, Dalits and Adivasis to establish rule of law through participatory activism against extrajudicial killing, police torture, hunger, bonded labour and injustice by hegemonic masculinity of the caste system and patriarchy.
During Covid-19, PVCHR reached the most marginalised who have been relegated to nought in the social ladder, such as Musahar, Nut, Ghasia and others, with dry rations, masks, oxygen concentrators, etc. Having a long-proven ‘track record’ of campaigning on starvation deaths and malnutrition, PVCHR is now leading a campaign for the adoption of evidence-based nutrition standards and consumer-friendly warning labels on processed and packaged foods.
In the interest of a healthier package through Front of Package Labelling (FOPL), PVCHR organised a consultation in Varanasi on October 5 along with its affiliates the Foundation for Sustainable Development India and Savitri Bai Phule Mahila Panchayat, and noted that there is enough research to link childhood obesity, early heart disease, diabetes, and non-communicable diseases spiralling out of control to excessive consumption of ultra-processed food and beverages.
Launching PIPAL (People’s Initiative for Participatory Action on Food Labelling) – a national grassroots initiative to accelerate the adoption of strong food labels – Prof Vishwambhar Nath Mishra of Mahant of Varanasi’s Sankat Mochan Temple and Head of the Department, Electronic Engineering, IIT-BHU, emphatically put forth that there is an urgent need to protect children from becoming obese and being vulnerable to deadly diseases as they grow up:
“What children eat is up to them or their families? The right to know what we eat and what is in the food we give our children is an inalienable right that must be protected. More and more people in our country are consuming junk or processed food and it is well-established that most of these foods contain harmful ingredients or salt and sugar several times higher than the recommended threshold. An easy-to-read FOP label with clearly set limits that warns children and parents should be a priority.”
Noted Islamic thinker Mohammad Arif opined,
“It needs to be ensured a more healthy and equitable food system for all. In order to make healthier choices, consumers, parents and children need an interpretive label on the front of food packets. It is our pleasure to join hands with PIPAL to make this happen for India.”
According to Dr Sangeeta Kansal, Head of Community Medicine at Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, “In India, more than 14 million children are obese or overweight, putting them at risk of developing NCDs as adults. It is important to examine carefully the foods that are being marketed to us since we are what we eat. As doctors, we are gravely concerned about the poor eating habits that have become the norm today. Regulatory steps such as nutrition thresholds that make it mandatory for the industry to reformulate and make their food products healthier, at par with global and scientific standards, will go a long way in preventing an obesity or diabetes epidemic.”
The food and beverage industry in India is one of the world’s largest with a sales volume of 34 million tons. Euro-monitor data forecast that India will be the third-largest market for packaged food in the world by 2020, after China and the United States. Studies have found that in India, in urban and rural households, 53% of children consume salted packaged food such as chips and instant noodles, 56% consume sweet packaged food such as chocolates and ice cream, and 49% of children consumed sugar-sweetened packaged beverages at an average of over twice a week.
India’s winning strategy to ensure a healthier tomorrow for its children could consist of a simple, interpretive and mandatory front-of-pack label. This would be a critical element of a suite of measures to fight NCDs.
Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE said,
“It is significant that most processed and packaged foods contain salt, sugar and fat in quantities several times above the thresholds set forth by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in its draft labelling and display regulations for 2018 or by the WHO SEARO NPM model. This consumption pattern is of further concern since most processed and packaged foods contain salt, sugar and fat in quantity that is several times higher than the thresholds proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in its 2018 draft labelling and display regulations or by the WHO SEARO NPM model. The draft regulations published by FSSAI in 2019 was an important step towards reducing the health harm of these products. As a result of push back from the industry, a decision has been pending for years now.”
Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi, CEO of PVCHR, asserted that PIPAL was an effort to remind the policy makers, nutrition leaders and industry that children have a right to health and nutrition as per Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Good nutrition is a fundamental right as per the UN Convention of Child Rights. It is time to make sure that children are given their rights, and their well-being is taken seriously. PIPAL notes with concern that even during the pandemic, food companies continued to grow their business and spent millions of dollars on advertising ultra-processed food.
Post the Varanasi Consultation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took cognisance of a petition filed by Shruti Nagvanshi, Convenor Savitri Bai Phule Women Forum (SWF), and Shirin Shabana Khan, Programme Director Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) on September 19, the NHRC sent a notice to the Health Secretary, Government of India, seeking a response within four weeks. The matter would be placed before the full commission of NHRC, something that rarely happens.
The petition pertains to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in India. Be it fresh preparations or pre-packaged food, excess consumption of food that is high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) are often the major risk factors for obesity and NCDs.
The petitioners have asked it to intervene in the implementation of the Nutrient Profile Model and Front of Package Labeling (FOPL) regulations in India that will assist the food processing industry in manufacturing healthy food. The issue brought to the fore by the petitioner is directly related to the right to life and in particular the right to health. Concerns related to human rights are of utmost importance to the NHRC.
Continuing their campaign for urgent policy action on Front of Packet Labelling (FOPL) regulations on packaged products for checking childhood obesity, PVCHR, Department of Social Work and Sociology, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Department of Community Medicine (TBC), Department of Social Work, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), Meghalaya and Childline India organised a joint consultation at Aligarh Muslim University on November 1. It was a step further to the launching of PIPAL, a national grassroots initiative to hasten the adoption of strong food labels at the Stakeholders Consultation held on October 5 2021 in Varanasi.
The Consultation held at Old Boys Lodge, AMU, noted that there is persuasive evidence linking childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and the overall burden of non-communicable diseases spiralling out of control with excess consumption of ultra-processed food and beverages.
The stakeholder pointed out that there is growing evidence linking childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and the overall burden of non-communicable diseases spiralling out of control with excess consumption of ultra-processed food and beverages.
Prof Parvez Qamar Rizvi, Chairman, Department of Plant Protection, AMU was the Chief Guest, while Prof Abdul Matin, (USTM, Meghalaya, and former Chairman, Department of Sociology, AMU) was one of the key panel members.
Speaking at the consultation, Dr Ali Jafar Abedi, Assistant Professor, Community Medicine Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC) said,
“More than 14 million Indian children are obese or overweight, putting them at risk of developing NCDs when they are adults. Regulatory steps such as nutrition thresholds that make it mandatory for the industry to reformulate and make their food products healthier, at par with global and scientific standards, will go a long way in preventing an obesity or diabetes epidemic.”
Dr Raghuvanshi pointed that PIPAL is an effort to remind the policymakers, nutrition leaders and industry: “Children have a right to health and nutrition, as per Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Good nutrition is a fundamental right as per the UN Convention of Child Rights. It is time to make sure that children are given their rights as unhealthy nutrition puts their entire future at stake. This show of support from AMU, following our earlier consultation with BHU, bolsters our cause.”
Describing the ‘high in’ warning food labels as a critical component of a suite of measures to fight NCDs, Satyapal Singh of CUTS International said, “It could be India’s winning strategy to ensure a healthier tomorrow for its children. A warning label on the front of the package helps consumers identify products high in sugar, sodium, saturated fats, trans fats and total fats in a quick, clear and effective way for a healthier life. ”
Participating in the panel discussion, Prof. Abdul Matin, said, “India is rapidly emerging as the world’s diabetic capital. Obesity is on the rise. The entire food system must now act to protect people’s health. The food industry is overkill. Adding sugar and salt tends to make foods more palatable. As a result, we are consuming unnatural levels of these harmful ingredients – recommended thresholds. Much more. Descriptive warning labels that clearly indicate whether foods and beverages contain large amounts of salt, sugar, and fat make consumers healthy, quick, and informed choices.”
According to Dr Simon Jude of Soch -Beyond the Imagination, “Research findings have shown that countries such as Chile which have adopted the warning label system of FOPL have succeeded in reducing consumption of the unhealthiest ultra-processed foods and beverages. With Brazil, Israel, Chile and more recently Colombia adopting ‘high in’ warning labels on their food packets – considered a best practice approach – there is a global momentum to make packaged foods safer and healthier.”
Shruti Nagvanshi, Convenor, Savitri Bai Phule Women’s Forum, said, “With more than 14.4 million obese children, India has the second-highest number of children with childhood obesity in the world. By 2025 this number is expected to reach a staggering 17 million. There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has potentially increased the risk of children becoming obese. Being overweight or obese is directly associated with life-threatening non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.”
The Consultative programmes in Varanasi and Aligarh have accelerated the campaign to make sure that children are given their rights as unhealthy nutrition right puts their entire future at stake.