In an interview with Ranveer Allahabadia, food label activist Revant Himatsingka aka Food Pharmer who voices against misleading advertisements and claims about packaged food opined that he fear for his life considering the revolution that he is bringing which may hamper revenue of FMCG giants in India. He stated the below.
“India’s one of the most respected people Rajeev Dixit. He used to do 100x what I am doing now. He is the main person who started this revolution actually. I am just a small contributor. He died at the age of 41 because of mysterious reasons. I don’t want to get into why he died and all that. So there is that back of the mind fear what if something they (food corporates) do something illegally (sending goons). So I receive a lot of emails suggesting me to keep security and bodyguard and to be careful because someone may do something. So I have that fear.”
The host Ranveer Allahabadia then opined that his friend Fittuber (Youtuber) started getting legal notices when he was doing the same thing which Food Pharmer is doing now.
Revant Himatsingka got media attention when he publicly criticised Bournvita for its misleading claims of healthy drink. He was served a legal notice by Mondelez India, the makers of Bourvita. However, the company was ordered by NCPCR to withdraw all the misleading advertisements. The activist got mass support from the public which made the company retract their tough stance on him.
“Relying on Savings“
When quipped by the host as to how he is earning money, Food Pharma replied that he is relying mostly on his savings from the last 14 months and that Youtube monetization is helping him financially these days. He also stated about the money he is earning these days and that is approximately $400 -500 per month from Youtube shorts.
“Meri kaafi savings hai. For the last fourteen months, mein mainly savings pe rely kiya hun. Last 3 – 4 mahine mein mein Youtube monetization on kiya hun lekin mere zyadatar followers instagram vale hain, youtube mein nahin hai. Aur Youtube shorts mein itna kuch paisa hai nahin. Zyadatar mein short videos banata hun. Toh about $400 – 500 per month which is very small in the grand scheme of things, Youtube se aate hain. Now I am figuring out ways to monetize. My goal is to create conscious capitalism.”
Food Pharma also stated that he has recently started a health school in order to teach and promote health literacy to the people in exchange of some fees which he believes is a win-win situation as he will earn some money whereas the poor people will get knowledgable about the harmful ingredients inside the packaged food and also about the misleading advertisements and claims.
Revant Himatsingka aka Food Pharma has worked in US UK and other countries for the last 13 – 14 years where he claimed to earn a whooping Rs 2 crores INR annually. He returned to India in the year 2022 to promote ethical food capatilism.
