India’s leading environmental NGO – Centre for Science and Environment had alleged that the amount of pesticides in colas was dangerously above the acceptable mark (see link below), as compared with colas sold in Europe and the USA. In turn, the Pepsi and the Coke launched a high-powered campaign in the Indian media to counter this charge.
But the woes of the Cola giants do not seem to be ending. The CEOs of Coke and Pepsi could have sleepless nights if the momentum picks up after the negative remarks made by India’s Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday. He said “that even without pesticides, colas have ‘long-term consequences’ which are harmful to health.
“All carbonated drinks like Pepsi and Coca Cola have high-risk factors as much as tobacco and a comprehensive policy on such drinks are needed,” he said addressing the golden jubilee year celebrations of the cardio-thoracic department of Madras Medical College.
“He said the pesticide content in soft drinks was a short-term issue, which could be sorted out by specifying the permissible levels during manufacture.
“The minister also said a notification had been issued to specify the contents and nutrients in packed food items.”
Says CBS News: “At least seven Indian states have banned sale of soft drinks made by the Indian subsidiaries of Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. at schools, colleges and government offices after the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi said the levels of pesticides in the drinks made them unsafe for humans.”
The International Herald Tribune says that “Coke and Pepsi stumbled badly in their response to the pesticide allegations: they underestimated how quickly this would spiral into a nationwide scandal, misjudged the speed with which local politicians would seize on an Indian environmental group’s report to attack a powerful global brands and failed to respond swiftly to quell the anxieties of their customers.
“The companies were sure that they knew how to handle the problem, because this was the second time they had fought identical allegations. The same environment group said it found pesticide residues in their products in 2003, and lessons from that episode still linger. Still, both companies were still unprepared for political fall-out.”
This onslaught on the colas is in addition to the mass campaign launched by the wellknown Yoga guru Swami Ramdev (who is also hosted by corporate honchos) in his Yoga camps at grassroot levels across India, and now in Europe. He says: “Cold drinks not only had harmful pesticides but other cancerous chemicals also with depleting effect on bones. Cold drinks do not give life; they give death.”
For more accusations against the cola giants by another wellknown NGO read here.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.