Amid the festive season, Indian Sellers Collective urges Indian consumers to choose traditional sweets over western fare and promote Vocal for Local
Campaign champions Kalakand over Cake, Gulab Jamun over Chocolates, Rasgulla over Pastry, Nimbu Pani over Soft Drinks
New Delhi, 09 November 2023: Indian Sellers Collective, an umbrella body of trade associations and sellers across the country, today launched the Desi Wali Mithai campaign, amid the ongoing festive season. The campaign aligns with the honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative, urging Indians to embrace the spirit of festivities by enjoying traditional sweets like Kaju Barfi, Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla, and encouraging the avoidance of foreign foods.
The Desi Wali Mithai campaign is being launched across digital platforms and has highlighted the intrinsic role traditional sweets have been playing in festivals like Diwali across the country for generations. The central ethos of this initiative is to foster a renewed sense of pride in our homegrown culinary heritage while urging individuals to veer away from foreign foods during this joyous time. By doing so, the campaign seeks to revive and celebrate the unique flavours and traditions that define our cultural identity, ultimately forging a stronger connection with our roots and communities. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that Indian sweets also offer nutrition. Specific sweets like laddoos and modaks crafted with ingredients like cashews, almonds, pistachios or jaggery contribute beneficial components such as protein, healthy fats, fibre and unrefined cane sugar. These elements can aid in blood sugar regulation and cholesterol management, making certain Indian sweets a healthier alternative compared to foreign counterparts.
In the campaign, Indian Sellers Collective goes beyond just encouraging the adoption of traditional sweets and takes a bold stance against certain vested interests including foreign agencies that are attempting to change the Indian palate. It calls out the deliberate efforts by foreign food corporations and international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) to influence Indian food preferences so that these food MNCs can make inroads into the growing and lucrative Indian market. By influencing food choices, they aim to create a preference for foreign products, thereby disrupting the longstanding culinary traditions and preferences deeply rooted in Indian culture.
The campaign also consists of a series of social media collaterals that highlight and expose to Indian consumers the prevailing narrative that unfairly portrays Indian foods as unhealthy. For example, a recent WHO Report titled – ‘The growth of ultra-processed foods in India: An analysis of trends, issues and policy recommendations’ has alleged that Indian beverages may contain high sugar content, leading to confusion among Indian consumers and creating a misleading perception that Indian traditional foods are not healthy.
Conversely, in an attempt to reduce the cost of zero-sugar soft drinks and enhance their affordability for Indian consumers, the same aforementioned WHO report suggests reclassifying these beverages, so they are not taxed at the same rate as conventional carbonated drinks. It’s crucial to note that in May 2023, the global health organization introduced new guidelines on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), discouraging their use due to their limited long-term benefits in reducing body fat for both adults and children. Instead, these guidelines suggest potential adverse effects from prolonged NSS consumption, including an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and increased mortality in adults.
Mr. Abhay Raj Mishra, Member & National Coordinator, Indian Sellers Collective, said, “Amidst the festive cheer, we urge our fellow citizens to include only Indian sweets and delicacies as part of their celebrations and support Vocal for Local. While it is good to embrace cultures and customs of other countries, it should not be at the cost of our own traditions. Festivals such as Diwali provide the perfect opportunity to celebrate and showcase our rich food culture and heritage, safeguarding it against the encroachment by foreign foods. This festive season let’s trend #Desiwalimithai!.”
“Organizations like the WHO are propagating a skewed narrative that appears to serve the interests of multinational corporations looking to expand their products within the Indian market. It is crucial that we speak out against these modern-day forms of colonialism. We must challenge the introduction of regulations like FOPNL, which aim to present foreign foods as healthier than traditional Indian foods. Our culinary heritage deserves to be celebrated and protected,” he added.
Indian Sellers Collective asserts that due to saturation in the western markets, multinational corporations are now targeting populous markets like India to promote their packaged foods. The guidelines of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL) seem to align with this agenda, attempting to alter Indian food preferences by generating unwarranted concerns about traditional Indian foods.
Indian Sellers Collective argues that the FOPNL regulation is deeply flawed. In a study that assessed favourite Indian foods using the star rating method proposed by FSSAI, significant flaws were uncovered by Indian Sellers Collective. These findings shed light on the method’s unscientific approach as it categorizes a vast array of loved and time-honoured Indian delicacies as unsuitable for consumption.
Western MNCs producing packaged foods can achieve higher health star ratings by utilizing methods such as reconstitution and substitution through chemically fortified processes, which are exempted under the new system. Indian Sellers Collective asserts that the proposed regulation is essentially a copy-and-paste approach from the West, designed to favour Western foods systematically and, over time, undermine traditional Indian foods and the Indian palate.
FOPNL will have far-reaching consequences for Indian packaged food MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) and the millions of workers who depend on this traditional industry. For instance, Bhujia production is a cottage industry in Bikaner, Rajasthan, providing employment to millions of people in the region, with a significant impact on women’s livelihoods. Similar cottage industries can be found across the country – Banana chips in Kerala; Anarsa and Chakli in Maharashtra; Khakhra and Ganthia in Gujarat; Gavalu in Andhra Pradesh; Jhal Muri in Bengal; Murukku in Tamil Nadu; Mysore Pak in Karnataka etc.
