Front of Package Labelling (#FOPL) you might have noted or discussed, perhaps come out with better suggestions: A K Sharma

Speech of AK SHARMA, Ex-IAS, MLC & VICE PRESIDENT, UP STATE #BJP in  Public Dialogue on Children’s Nutritional rights and Package food Labelling on 2 December,2021 at Diamond Hotel, #Varanasi

Malnutrition in the real sense they are not getting enough nutritional inputs, intakes and on the other because of faulty and misdirected habits, lack of awareness towards the packaging food qualities. On the other side this is making all kind of issues, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and issues connected to obesity. As I understand this is a very serious issue and public dialogue on such issue will definitely help people to understand as to what basically towards spreading public awareness on these issues is the key element of informing the attendees and the habits of the society. Because as you say as you have noted in your paper that these are issues of standardization and also issues of habits. In fact, what is happening in the society on the path of development in India we are into the time frame where the part of the population is seeing many global developments. Few of them having   direct access in the foreign markets or foreign society or others have seen in media. In a society like India, there is double dilemma in the sense, on the one side there are lack of standards and on the other side there are conditions actually to jump on those choices, which you can say are not informed choices, for example I have seen people drinking rudimentary soda water in the streets of small town. Now such kinds of drinks, whether packaged or non-packaged drinks or many other food items, I don’t know how much harm they are doing to the society. But they are definitely harmful. So we as a society now as I was saying, small part of our society has seen the western and global developments and is able to achieve, for example. It may be fashion, fine choices, packaged food, it may be Coca Cola, Maggie or you name any. Then, there is a large middle class is trying to reach that place. Then there is poor class, below middle class which is actually screaming to get into that place. The middle class and the lower middle class are the poor people, they have no fast consideration and no bindings above following the standards of being aware, they just want to be there, just want to achieve those things. It may be rudimentary drink, being sold on the streets of small town, or it may be Coca Cola bottle, Maggie, these are only food items. These are the people who want to cling to either of the case. Our burden therefore, the burden of regulators or regulations, the burden of Government, civil society like you becomes more severe, even more burdensome. How you will prevent those persons on jumping to those choices, whose dream has been to these for example, driving a new motorbike in a rash manner, what you call it. The boy and the girl had made the informed choice. About the parents have made the choice providing the motorbike for the child and he wants to behave like a Hero. A large section of society then, they are not bothered whether the food item is packaged or in the labelling there is proper information mentioned about the packaged item.

It’s like smoking, irrespective of the fact that smoking is injurious to the health is written on the cigarette packet. The smokers are not bothered about it and many people know that the warning is written on the cigarette packet. So as a society stand in a peculiar space where people are dreaming to have a packaged food. In our homes also the housewife cooking nutritious and tasty foods, which is better than the food sold in the market. But the young generation and many of us prefer those packaged items. These are the issues. My own views are very clear on these issues. My own view is that any kind of misdirection, and kind of guidance on the packaging, on labelling purity of food items is necessary, if not then it would be  huge criminal neglect. I have been saying to my home as well as professional groups, particularly in India and unfortunately there are many poor people wanting to have their means and there are people who are wanting to make money out of adulteration, ground levelling out of just hiding labels and packaging selling that is possible so this obligations towards the society need to be dealt with. This is my firm belief as   an individual, as an officer, as a politician I believe that we need to regulate, we need to control in any kind of neglect on this front. Because particularly in a society, arranging two meals even today is a very challenging issue, fairly for a large section of society. If a person is buying something it has been adulterated or not only adulterated but done with such dangerous elements like injecting chemicals in the vegetables like pumpkin or putting urea in the milk which poor man feed their children. Even without smoking or drinking any kind of toxic the child is injected with chemicals day and night. So nothing could be more criminal then habit of adulteration, their kind of hiding of information, this has been my own views. Unfortunately we have long way to go. We have lot to do in this front. No adulteration is possible on the food items. Front of Package Labelling (FOPL) you might have noted or discussed, perhaps come out with better suggestions. But my own views is that it is necessary to have proper labelling so that consumers, parents, users are informed and there is no doubt that we all need to work in the directions of ensuring and creating a society, this methods should become a matter of habit. In many western countries, it’s not possible to adulterate, is it possible to hide the labelling, the penalty is so huge that nobody dares to adulterate any kind of food items.  In our society in India we do need to do a lot more on this front and I am very happy that many organisations, NGOs have come forward to create this awareness, I would also suggest on this occasion that you please catch on the fundamental issues of those children who are malnourished in the real sense, in the sense that they are not getting enough to eat, their nutrition, basically the regulation are not important. But it’s important to create awareness in the society and that I remember our Prime Minister when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat he used to talk in the public meetings I heard him saying that several times, he used to say from public platforms, that we should not leave anything in our thalis when we eat he used to say झूठा छोड़ना पाप है because we could see lot of malnutrition in place called Gujarat, normally so well off that is why I have come across the issue which you have tried to raise. In Gujarat, malnutrition used to be a huge problem, all the politicians used to worry about it, worked hard to achieve the standards where malnutrition can be dealt with. But irony was that actually it was happening due to lack of money or lack of food. We discovered that it was lack of protein or nutritional items which was related to malnutrition in Gujarat.  He used to say in the public meetings that while arranging marriages they should invite women Self Help Groups (SHGs). Those SHGs should be invited to do catering in the marriages, apart from catering the members of the SHG can take back something to their home. The good practices in the society where person works and takes back something to home. If women SHG given the job of catering then the person first they would get job and secondly they would take something for the family. This is how sensitivity has to be brought into the society to help people, who can get nutritional food. We also need to focus on better standardization or shape to schemes like Mid-Day Meals and many other programmes like that. One more issue I want to appeal to the participants is that during corona crisis that many people lost their livelihood they have been suffering. Now we are better off out of that danger and livelihood are getting restored. There were time when shops were closed. Vegetable vendors had nowhere to go. All kinds of vendors arranged food on their daily basis. We are coming out of that situation. But still we have to look around such a situation if any family or person is still need help and we have to be watchful to their situation. If the third wave of corona strike inspite of not desiring of that situation. But we are struck by corona third wave we have learnt some lessons to support such people who are surviving on their daily basis through their activities of income. In India I understand the challenges are more complex more complicated than as in the western countries. We have all aspects of possibilities of malnutrition arising from the fact that society which is not actually getting enough for that so we need to remove malnutrition. We just don’t know what to consume or what not. Actually we might be having good income level as it happened in Gujarat but they didn’t know what they were consuming, what they were eating. The third set of people who have money and understanding but lack of learning and existing standards is also stopping them what they should consume or should not consume we are in much complex situation then many parts of the world but a beginning has to be made in addressing these issues. It cannot be overlooked for any longer as I said I had been advocating for very strong action, strong regulatory mechanism to deal with adulterators’, those who are hoarding food items as it affects thousands and thousands of people by their mistakes, particularly it affects those who had earned their livelihood through hard work or toil.

Thank you very much for arranging this public dialogue on nutritional rights and package for labelling. I think we need to continue with such awareness generation in fact what we should perhaps create a chain of volunteers at district level, tehsil level, panchayat level and state level, who perhaps be invited, who can participate in policy making activities at various levels also, regulatory activities at various level. You need to educate people, Government, bureaucracy also. I am very happy also that you have invited members of media also on this occasion because it’s only through media we can make quick intervention on this important issue. Because reaching out to all those selling, consuming and those who are chain in the entire demand and supply, media can play a major role, very positive role in awareness. They need to be very firm, very clear on this issue. It is something about creating awareness about cleanliness. Today I remember when I was at Prime Minister’s Office when we made the call for Swachh Bharat    people were not taking seriously. Today we all know that awareness has been generated so well that we sitting in our cars also, we feel shy in throwing a small wrapper out of our cars. Normally we keep it in our pocket so that we can discard at a right place. So this is the awareness which brought in our mind set of all of us and something similar can be done about the issues of adulteration issues of package food labelling. I think beginning has to be made somewhere. You have made a good beginning I wish all the best. I hope it will create such awareness. It will perhaps lead to good mechanism, good thinking and good policies. Thank You all for inviting me for useful dialogue, very useful deliberation.