Mumbai: Aligned with the vibrant Holi festive spirit, Indian Sellers Collective, an umbrella body of trade associations and sellers across the country, today launched the Holi Ke Rang Bharatiya Vyanjanon Ke Sang campaign. The campaign aims to celebrate the goodness of Indian cuisine, highlighting the rich traditions and flavours passed down through generations.

Indian Sellers Collective through the campaign urges all Indians to consume and patronise dishes that have been a part of the country’s culture for thousands of years with pride and vigour. These Indian traditional foods include Gujiya or sweet dumplings-available in baked, chocolate and coconut options, Malpuas- available in ragi or paneer variety, Thandai- which is a fennel-fragrant concoction and offers a cooling effect on the body, Dal Kachori-made of arhar daal and spices, Paapri Chaat and Dahi Bhalla- made of curd, spices and crisp papri, Masala Chana with baked kachori which is full of flavour and nutrition, Almond Malai Kulfi- made with milk, cream, dry fruits and saffron. The list also includes Mathri, Bhaker Badi, Kaju Barfi, Samosa, Halwa, Shakarpara, Puran Poli, Besan Ladoo and many other domestic and regional offerings.

The Indian sellers Collective expressed surprise as to how we as Indians could even look at western sweets and savoury options- when we are spoilt for choices from our regional and traditional stable.

The Indian Sellers Collective also exhorted Indians to forego foreign foods like Pizza, Burger, French Fries and various other foreign foods and drinks. There is an urgent need to expose the false narrative and widely held belief that foreign food is healthier in comparison to our indigenous cuisine. Studies have shown, that the calorie content in foreign foods like pizza, pastry, burger, doughnut and others is much more than a parantha, gulab jamun, vada pav and various other traditional offerings. Similarly, a shake with ice cream, soda and artificial flavourings is much higher in calorie content vis-à-vis jal jeera, chach or lassi! These foreign foods are also higher in trans fats, salts, sugars and artificial ingredients when compared to most native food items and offer much lower nutritional value.

As per the umbrella body, unfortunately, all these traditional foods are not reflected in the choices of millions of Indians, especially children, and the increasing footprint of foreign cuisine in India is already having a huge impact on health, leading to conditions like obesity which is the precursor to many ailments like hypertension, diabetes, cardiac events, strokes and much more. It is interesting to note that the obesity index in India is much lower when compared to many western countries, whose food items are making serious inroads into India. This is nothing but an attempt to create a market for western foods in India which is providing a huge opportunity to various businesses through concealment of facts and adoption of wily marketing strategies.

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Against this backdrop, according to the Indian Sellers Collective, the front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FOPNL) initiative aims to portray foreign foods as healthier alternatives to traditional Indian cuisine. This, they argue, is part of a strategy by multinational corporations to penetrate populous markets like India as they have already saturated Western markets. The guidelines of FOPNL, they claim, appear to support this agenda by raising unnecessary concerns about traditional Indian foods, potentially influencing consumer preferences. The proposed regulation is also seen as contradicting the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India promoted by the Honourable Prime Minister, posing a significant setback to these initiatives.

The Indian Sellers Collective also has warned that the implementation of FOPNL would result in significant losses for Indian packaged food MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) and the millions of workers reliant on this traditional industry. The body highlighted examples such as Bhujia production, a cottage industry in Bikaner, which employs millions, particularly impacting women’s livelihoods in the region. Similar cottage industries exist across India, including the production of Gavalu in Andhra Pradesh, Pitha and Coconut Ladoo in Assam, Jhal Muri in Bengal, Khakhra and Ganthia in Gujarat, Mysore Pak in Karnataka, Banana Chips in Kerala, Anarsa and Chakli in Maharashtra and Murukku in Tamil Nadu.

Indians have to be mindful, and this requires proper dissemination of information, that cuisines of different states have historically taken into consideration various climatic and cultural factors- simply put, there is a scientific reason why a particular food is eaten in a particular state, and this could vary from high salt intake in coastal states to high-calorie foods in the agriculture intensive areas, to the natural availability of cereals, vegetables, fruits in certain regions resulting in their specific consumption. In addition, Indian cuisine has also, always, imbibed the foods and ingredients of all those who came and settled in India and gave it a unique twist that was in harmony with the overall eating habits.

The Holi Ke Rang Bharatiya Vyanjanon Ke Sang campaign will be launched across digital platforms, focusing on the intrinsic role traditional dishes have played in festivals like Holi and throughout the country for generations. These digital campaigns will also engage with youngsters, who are typically digital natives. The primary objective of this initiative is to highlight the history, richness and goodness of Indian food compared to foreign cuisine, thereby nurturing a renewed sense of pride in the indigenous culinary heritage.

As per Indian Sellers Collective, it is critical that we engage with the children and youth as they are the largest consumers of these foreign food items and are quite unaware of the misinformation and hidden realities. As the youngest nation in the world with a large number of students and working young professionals in the cities and their hinterlands – with convenience at the centre of their mindset, the body believes that this is the ideal time to bring Indian convenience food to the centre stage. There is no doubt that when hygiene is ensured- why Indians will not once again move back towards their local foods and shun popular but unhealthy western food products. This movement has to gain momentum at the earliest and with a sense of urgency, and this requires the participation of all stakeholders which includes the individuals, government, corporates going the whole nine yards.

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Indian Sellers Collective member & national Coordinator Abhay Raj Mishra, emphasized the significance of the campaign during its launch and said, “Our Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a staunch advocate of India’s rich food diversity and cultural heritage. Let us contribute to his Vocal for Local initiative by embracing Indian dishes this Holi and avoiding foreign foods. Let us celebrate the diversity of Indian cuisine this Holi.”

“The campaign revolves around the assurance and reliability of Indian cuisine, deeply ingrained in our dietary traditions for centuries and honed over generations. Additionally, it is crucial to recognize the influence of global food MNCs, backed by organizations like WHO, in promoting their products within our country at the cost of our traditional foods. As responsible citizens, we must remain vigilant against proposed regulations like FOPNL, which could potentially undermine our culinary heritage and dietary preferences,” Mishra added.