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CORPORATES’ CULPABILITY AND CONSUMERS’ RESPONSIBILITY NESTLE’S MAGGI A CASE IN POINT

DR. JOHN MOHAN RAZU1

Transnational Corporations (TNCs) or Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

interchangeably used in accordance to one’s convenience. There are hundreds and

thousands of corporations on this planet out of which just Five hundred major TNCs

control global production, distribution and consumption processes. These oligopolies

have horizontally expanded and vertically integrated right from the most essentials-to-

luxury items-to-others that range from pins-to-arms-to-technologies-to-aero-planes-to-

what not. Apparently, these mega-corporations control from food-to-education-to-

technology-to-travel-to-everything on a global scale. The colossal capital these TNCs

control is greater than the GDP of some countries put together in Africa and in other

cases some independent countries in South Asia.

The wealth and capital put together totals to billions of US dollars that go beyond the

wealth generation of many countries. So, they are economically powerful and therefore

have the power to influence the policies and politics of independent country as well as

determine what type of education our children and grand children should have, dress

they wear, policies and growth the governments should envisage, visualise and emulate.

In sum these mega-corporations decide how the world should and whose world it

should be. In fact, TNCs are more powerful than the political establishments and so

these oligopolies decide the economic policies that suit them accordingly influence

those responsible. So, the international financial institutions such as IMF and WB

subscribe to unregulated free-market capitalism that the rich Western Capitalist

countries entrenched with. In tune to this dictate most of the countries of the world

embraced free-market economic order. It is in this backdrop we need analyse and

evaluate the storm in Maggi’s cup.

As the controversy over Nestlé’s Maggi nutritionally almost a big zero noodle snack—

gains momentum and in the mean time Nestle was asked to remove its Maggi noodle

from the shelves in India, Nestlé’s CEO, Paul Bulcke asserted, “The popular snack was

safe, passing every independent tests ordered by the company.” Vandana Shiva2 raised a

pertinent point that “If Nestlé’s objective was food safety, Maggi noodles would not have

lead or the multitude of other industrial ingredients that cannot be considered food.

Maggi noodles would not have lead or the multitude of other industrial ingredients that

cannot be considered food. Sadly, that is not the case. Nestlé’s objective, aligned with

1 IJMR is a Professor of Social Ethics and serves as a Consultant for the Doctoral Program of the ACTS Academy

of Higher Education, Bangalore.

2 The quotations as well as findings of the report appear in this paper are taken from an article by Vandana

Shiva entitled “Storm in Maggi’s Cup” appeared as column article in the Deccan Chronicle, 8th

June, 2015, p. 8.

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every global multinational jockeying for position to control more and more of our food

market, is profits—even if that means compromising consumers ‘health.”

Maggi’s episode has opened up diverse opinions and perceptions amongst people of

India and polarised the society. Similarly in the early eighties the people of India were

shocked and totally devastated as the people of India faced one of the world’s worst

industrial holocausts in Bhopal. The culprit was a subsidiary of Union Carbide involved

in the production of pesticide. One of the major agri-business global giants having

substantial control over pesticides and allied components was involved in the leak of

poisonous gas. Hundreds and thousands of people of Bhopal died; lost their vision;

suffer from respiratory problems and women the worst affected suffer from numerous

side-effects due to inhalation of the poisons gas. Three decades passed by the victims

are yet to receive compensations and whatever due they should get. The gas leak that

happened in Bhopal in the pesticide plant of Union Carbide is a classic case of culpable

homicide of a multinational corporation. Union Carbide flouted all the safety norms and

corporate responsibility. The leak was a sheer negligence that inflicted pain, trauma,

panic and constant suffering. Those who lived within in the vicinity had to undergo the

all sorts of health hazards and still are undergoing.

We the people of India are facing yet another type or form of health hazard from the

food industry that kills us through slow poisoning. According to a food safety

department report that did research in and around Tamil Nadu states that deadly

chemicals including furidan, monochrottophos, acephate and polytrine that lead to

cancer, Parkinson’s infertility and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children

are widely used in farms in Tamil Nadu that grow vegetables and fruits. Recently the

Food-safety join commissioner K. Anil Kumar and two senior officials visited farms in

nine districts in Tamil Nadu to prepare the factual report, Anil Kumar said most of the

farms are controlled by pesticide companies. Based on the report submitted to health

minister on May 19, 2015, the government has initiated a series of corrective steps. The

report says pesticides that passed their expiry date are used widely.

The report further adds that “Farmers are using pesticides in excess of what is

permitted—up to five times—and do not observe intervals at which these are permitted

to use. More the pesticides and insecticides are used more profit these agri-business

corporations get. Somehow, insecticides, pesticides and antibiotics are indiscriminately

applied on curry leaves, carrot, potato, cabbage, garlic, cauliflower, drumstick, snake

guard, cucumber and brinjal and in fruits like gooseberry and red banana that are

cultivated in these farms. The laws that are written to protect the interests of the

consumers they become tools for these corporate to expand. Right from the early 90s

the corporate globalization forced India’s food and agriculture policies to change most

of the food in India was processed at the household and cottage level.

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Food processing and food sector as such used to be the domain of women all along. The

junk food industry that the transnational corporations push on a global scale for its

expansion and profit maximization should eliminate the local food production and then

introduce western food and consumption patterns. In line to the western cultural ethos

and food habits these food chains standardized food tastes and accordingly introduced

food habits so that their products would flourish. The food production is being

controlled by the agri-business corporations and the global food trade too is being

monopolized by these corporations. A special ministry of food processing has been

created to monitor the rapid transformation from local to artisanal to global and

industrial.

Vandana Shiva locates the transition of our food and dietaries’ in this way: Chips made

in local shop like Hot Chips are better than the ones packaged by PepsiCo, which

exploits their contract farmers by paying them as low as 50 paisa per kg of their

produce. “Vadis “have been replaced by “Nutri Nuggets”- a by product of the solvent oil

extraction industry “Bikaneri Bhujia” is not made fresh by 50,000 women in Bikaner

anymore. It is made in factories with chemicals, additives and preservatives because an

industrial food system has no room for “fresh” food. The richness and diversity of

India’s food culturing is so amazing, but gradually waning. From a nation of food

diversity and low-risks of food safety, we are moving towards a nation of high obesity

and high risks of food safety. Our consumption patterns and dietary systems have

changed drastically. They are being fashioned and patterned in line with the West. India

has become a “Fast Food Nation”, where “all kinds of stuffing available in the name of

fast-food”.

Food industry is controlled by the agri-business corporations. These mega-corporations

expand at rapid pace to main-lanes and by-lanes to maximize their turn-over at

phenomenal levels. Since they are the off-shoots of corporate capitalism, to survive and

to be on competitive edge they should be innovative and so involved in new forms and

modes of products and production--a pre-requisite for the TNCs to stay on in the free-

market cut-throat neo-liberalism. Corporations should get involved in innovations and

all the get re-invented. Competition is good, but we live in a world of cut-throat

competition leading to elimination process by employing all sorts of dubious methods.

On numerous circumstances we have come across how the TNCs influence the policies

of UPA and NDA and even get the minutes or even stall the decisions or policies that go

against the corporate interests.

Vandana Shiva unfolds a series of incidences that include food industry too. For

instance, during the “Supreme Court hearings (under the prevention of Food

Adulteration Act, 1954) on non-permissible additives such as phosphoric acid and anti-

freeze in Coca Cola, the lawyer for Coca Cola pulled out a bunch of papers saying the

PFA was replaced by the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the PFA will not be

applicable. Coca Cola knew because it had a hand in shaping the law which would wipe

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out all our street foods, small dhabas and all our artisanal processing, and with it

destroy millions of livelihoods and lives, and fresh and quality food. Fresh hot food is

always safe. It is the water that is not. And municipalities and governments have failed

to ensure clean drinking water to every citizen.”

Government sell water and the classic example is Tamil Government’s popular brand

“Amma”. When asked people who can afford to pay Rs.10-12/ contend compared to

other brands “Amma” is cheaper and it is being supplied by the Government and so

there won’t be any adulteration and so “safe for drinking”. It is the duty of the

government to supply safe drinking water to its citizens. TNCs have been trying to

monopolize and privatize water. People should not allow their governments to privatise

water. In such a context as citizens should locate the problems and act upon. Vandana

Shiva emphasizes that “The lack of safe water is being used to criminalize and ban our

street foods under the pretext of food safety. In Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, street

food vendors are guaranteed safe water. Local food is celebrated and not criminalized. ...

in India – a little more pride in our own food.”

It is in this context, Vandana Shiva reprimands that “Lead laden Maggi is a wake-up call.

Firstly, it’s a reminder for the government of its role and responsibility in regulating

corporations to ensure that public health and safety are not compromised. This is

important in the present climate of deregulation of actions of large corporations and

criminalization of the daily activities of ordinary activities of ordinary citizens, whether

it is the sugarcane juice seller or the rujma-chawal stand that provides affordable and

safe food to the daily office-goers. It is extremely important that communities that are

served by street food rally in their support. Like we have a participatory guarantee

system for organic food, we should create a participatory guarantee system for stree

food, including street “chefs” and those who can vouch for their safety quality and work

with them is to get access to clean water and hygienic spaces.”

While citing the second reason, she delves into “why the Maggi controversy is an

opportunity for India is that it can help our society from becoming a junk food nation.

We need to know our food and we need a nationwide moment for food and nutrition

literacy. There’s a need to understand that corporations, like Nestle and Coca Cola do

not care for people’s health. In the US, they have joined Monsanto to prevent citizens

from having GMO labelling and have sued the state of Vermont for passing a labelling

law. The right to know what is in your food is our fundamental right and the duty of the

government. The right to know is a pillar of food democracy.”

We live in a country of adulteration and poisoned food environ. All these year we were

concentrating on air, water and environmental pollution, and thought that the food we

consume is healthy. The vegetables, fruits, pulses, rice, wheat and all the materials that

are used to prepare for consumption are contaminated and poisoned. In addition we

have junk food from TNCs like Maggi. It is to be noted that Nestlé’s Maggi noodles in

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news for wrong reasons. Consumption of lead is harmful and long term use could even

be fatal. Dr. Ravindra B.S., Chief Medical Gastroenterologist BSG Global Hospitals warns

that”Consumption of any product which contains high levels of lead will cause

constipation and abnormalities in the brain. Long and continuous use can also cause

tumour.” Further, “It affects the body at so many levels. It can cause stunted growth,

irritability and memory loss among children. Blood pressures can also rise and lead can

cause bone damages’ as well”, he added.

Dr. Ajith Benedict Rayan, Medical Director of HOSMAT Hospital as a warning note

emphatically says that “It takes months and even years for its effect to come up in

children. But the main effects are both mental and physical. Children suffer loss in

developmental skills, low IQ, loss of appetite, memory loss and insomnia.” The short

term effects include, vomiting, nausea and irritability, he added. Experts warn that a

build up of lead in body over a period of time can even prove fatal. Hence, we are being

killed slowly and gradually. As responsible citizens and parents we are obligated in

caring and protecting our present and future. In simple term it is called as “Relation

Responsibility”. Remember what happened in Bhopal 30 Years Ago and now Nestlé’s

Maggi that injects “LEAD”. Start the campaign in small and big ways wherever you are

before it’s late.

The following addendum will graphically explain the claims and disclaims of the TNCs:

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