Mumbaikars to walk for 'toxicity-free, good food'

Business Standard: Over 10,000 Mumbaikars, including cancer patients and farmers, will march for healthy and 'toxicity-free' good foodstuff grown naturally without using deadly chemicals or pesticides, an organiser said here on Friday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to lead the Help Our Society Health (HOSH) Walk with celebrities on Sunday morning.

The event is organised by AmbaGopal Foundation in collaboration with Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital and University Of Mumbai.

According to the AmbaGopal Foundation founder-trustee Harish Shetty, the HOSH Walk is the first-ever initiative of its kind in Mumbai, intended to highlight how people suffer in different ways by unknowingly consuming foods that are laced with dangerous chemicals, besides air and water pollution compounding problems.

"We have also launched a public campaign demanding a complete ban on the use of all chemical fertilisers or pesticides in agriculture, and to adopt only organic farming methods to make Maharashtra a fully 'organic food' state like Sikkim," Shetty said.

The HOSH Walk will inspire people to embrace an organic way of life by promoting and consuming fruits, vegetables and all other agro-products which are free from deadly chemicals or fertilisers to ensure a healthy and disease-free life.

"Organic diets can immensely benefit cancer patients and 400 farmers from rural Maharashtra who practice organic farming shall join in the noble cause," Shetty said.

The AmbaGopal Foundation, founded in 2014, addresses key societal issues like preventive health, wellness and healthcare for senior citizens in Mumbai. BS