It's an irony of sorts. One of the most popular food chains in India is arguably one of the worst when it comes to food safety. Haldiram's has been rated Red in Greenpeace's Safe Food Guide version 2.0 that ranks 25 of the most popular food companies which hold a major share of the market in the country. Based on their responsibility towards Indian consumer on the GM food issue, the Guide categorises companies as Green, Yellow and Red.
Apart from Haldiram's, other major companies that have made it to the Red list include Nestlé, Pepsico, Cargill, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Britannia, Godrej Hersheys Ltd, MTR, Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd, Agrotech, Surya Foods, Amul, GSK, FieldFresh (Bharathi Enterprises] and Kelloggs. These companies have not taken any concrete steps to provide Indian consumers with GM free food for now or in future thereby being irresponsible, says Greenpeace. Now, that kind of blacklists half of one's favourites in the market that sees little or no regulation.
The Green list companies include Dabur India, KRBL Ltd whose flagship product is India Gate rice, and Vippy Industries .These companies have not only taken necessary steps to ensure that they remain GM-free now and in future but also are ready to engage with the government and relevant industry associations to keep the Indian food market free from GM food, says Greenpeace.
The Yellow list companies include popular brands like Cadbury’s, ITC, Ruchi Soya, LT Foods, Heinz India, Bambino Agro and Kohinoor Foods Ltd, which have said that that they are committed to sourcing ingredients that are GMO-free but are yet to take a long-term position on being GM free or share their position with the consumers.
“Even though Bt brinjal, the first GM food crop reaching commercialiation stage has been put on a hold owing to public opposition across the country earlier this year, there are field trials for over 11 crops across the country, and imports of raw materials such as corn, canola and soya all of which threaten to contaminate the food supply chains,” says Shivani Shah, Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner, Greenpeace India.
The brands in the guide have been listed after a three-month long process of direct communication with them. The final categorisation of companies into Green, Yellow and Red has been based on the response of these brands to this detailed process. It is obvious that some companies see that it is in their best interest to be transarent, others are either callous or hide behind the veil of corporate secrecy.
The Safe Food Guide is the only tool available in India for the consumers to know how responsible is their favourite food brands in providing them GM free food. The guide is also available for consumers in handy pocket size versions at Mother Earth Stores across the country. Buyers in Karnataka can get the smaller version also at Fab India stores in Karnataka. An online version is available at http://greenpeace.in/safefood/the-guide/
The Guide also highlights consumer attitudes towards GMOs in India. In 2010, in a consumer opinion poll conducted by GfK Mode,
- Over half of the citizens questioned in India (53 per cent) said they would reject food brands containing GMOs.
- A majority (77 per cent) have shown a preference for foods that come from ecologically grown sources.
- Close to 70 per cent want packaged food to declare through labeling whether or not it contains genetically modified organisms.
- A little more than 60 per cent people want labelling on raw fruits, vegetables etc and unpackaged foods as well.
It's about our right to food, but what do the "clean" companies have to say?
Dabur India Limited, says Greenpeace, is one of the more responsible companies that has not only assured us that they are GMO-free as of today, but have also taken their first steps to make their stance public. They have also guaranteed Greenpeace that their intention is to remain free of GMOs in the future, and in whichever countries they operate or export. They will also take steps to initiate a dialogue with the government or industry bodies for this. However, they are not at par with the other two companies in this category, who are far more proactive on this front.
Vippy Soya Limited and KRBL Limited can be considered as the most responsible of the 25 companies leading the way for the rest. They have assured Greenpeace that they do not use GMOs and will never do so in the future. They have also taken proactive and sometimes voluntary steps to share their stance with consumers. These companies intend to act equally responsible with consumers across various countries across the world, and will initiate a dialogue to this effect with both industry associations and the government.
But will the other 22 companies take their cue from these three? If peer pressure doesn't work, consumer action is what is needed.
PS: As a passing thought, shouldn't RTI be made applicable to the private sector too?
