According to traditional Indian philosophy, food is revered as nectar and the waste of food is a sin. It also instructs us to constantly consume a bit less food than what fills our bellies. Most of these food items end up in the trash can in the majority of Indian households, including an extra chapati, one piece of bread, vegetables from the night before, and even vegetable peels and trimmings. The issue of food waste is a more recent one. India has a long history of civilization, and we have long practiced eating restraints. The same caution was once used by our parents and grandparents when it came to eating and cooking. But somewhere along the road, we forgot to practice the “waste not, want not” principle.
According to statistics provided in the latest campaign #EkMutthiChaawal by KRBL Ltd. – India Gate Foods, 6.87 crore tonnes of food are wasted annually by Indian families. Nevertheless, in the previous five years, knowledge of this has increased. KRBL Ltd. – India Gate Foods has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the issue of food waste in India and to make it tangible. The first scene in the campaign video shows how rice is being stolen from Indian homes, and everyone is concerned about it until they find out that their children stole the rice. However, an intriguing twist makes it clear that the stolen rice was only #EkMutthiChaawal, or the amount left over from the previous night’s dinner, and how that could be someone else’s food. Additionally, it conveys the idea of how our children now have progressive views on food waste in a very subdued manner. As a child, my grandmother often reminded me to eat every grain of rice on my plate, and she always made sure I did, according to Kunal Sharma, AVP Marketing, KRBL India. I was reminded of those times while working on the campaign #EkMutthiChaawal. As we commemorate 75 years of Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, this initiative by India Gate Foods is also a tribute to our young people, whose forward-thinking is something we can be proud of.
Nipun Arora, a founder, of Social Cloud Ventures, says, “Having conceptualized #EkMutthiChaawal, we believed the narrative would be a pathbreaker in India’s fight against food waste. By creating the word “Chaawal Chor,” we gave the ad a comedic spin to increase its social media engagement. Although this “Chaawal Chori” was performed with the best of intentions, it nevertheless brought up some sobering insights.
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