Kannur RTI activist's fight against food adulteration paying dividends, says 'I'm happy'

John is happy about the fight that he has been putting up for the last 12 years. Recently, the Kerala High Court, considering the petitions filed by John, directed the Central government to allocate Rs. 160 crores from the annual budget to inform the public regarding the safety of the food they consume through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Kannur: A man who had sold three acres of his property and has spent over Rs 30 lakhs so far, filing RTI applications in more than 2000 government and non-government departments in states across the country, and holding over 400 press conferences in the last 12 years against adulteration of food items.

Liano Do John, a native of Kannur, started his fight against the adulteration of cinnamon, cassia, chili powder, and Ethiyon pesticide when his close friend died of liver cirrhosis, 12 years ago. John, through doctors, realized that an ayurvedic concoction made with a mixture of Cassia and cinnamon was the cause of the Cirrhosis that took his friend's life. His resolve to fight against food adulteration grew when his mother also succumbed to cancer.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, John said, "Such adulteration is creating many new cancer patients. There are 2.70 lakh cancer patients in Kerala at present and every year 50,000 new cases are reported. Kerala has the country's largest number of Kidney and Liver patients. The Lakeshore Hospital in Ernakulam has done several studies regarding herbal drugs causing liver diseases.

In 2016-17, they studied 1440 patients with serious liver diseases and found out that herbal drugs were the major cause of liver disease. No ayurvedic drug companies in Kerala have purchased the equipment to check the presence of pesticides or adulteration in the ingredients. Kerala ayurvedic industry has a turnover of Rs. 1000 crore per annum,".

He also said, "The Ayush ministry had given Rs 75 lakh towards the purchase of this equipment to all Ayurvedic drug manufacturers in Kerala, but none have brought the equipment so far. None of the drugs produced by these ayurvedic companies is tested before being sold to the public."

John's fight is mainly against the adulteration of cassia (Chinese cinnamon) and cinnamon. India and Sri Lanka are the major producers of cinnamon. He is also focussing his fight against the adulteration of chili powder, which comes mainly from Tamil Nadu, and also against the use of Ethion pesticide in food crops.

He has collected extensive data from over 2000 government and non-government departments across the country through RTI applications.

John, however, is happy changes are happening and his efforts are not going futile. "Sikkim has gone completely organic. A letter from Tamil Nadu has come recently saying that they have banned all dangerous pesticides for the next 90 days. We need to wait and see how well they are going to implement it," John said.

He further said, "It gives me great pain that many, including the state and Central governments, are treating me as if I am a terrorist. A major good development is that DGP Anil Kant has banned the entry of all masala powders from Tamil Nadu,".

He said, "For the last 50 years Kerala, despite being the state with the largest number of food safety officers in place, has not done any proper checks on food adulteration."

John is elated about the fight that he has been putting up for the last 12 years. Recently, the Kerala High Court, considering the petitions filed by John, directed the Central government to allocate Rs. 160 crores from the annual budget to inform the public regarding the safety of the food they consume through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

"I do not believe that you will achieve your goals sooner through your fight. But I will be happy with my fight if I could prevent at least 20,000 people from contracting deadly cancer, kidney or liver disease every year," John said.

John is continuing his fight, referring to the 1000s of pages of information that he had acquired from several parts of the country, and putting pressure on authorities to act against all forms of food adulteration.