Revere farmers who grow our food: Zoho's Sridhar Vembu

New Delhi, April 20
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu, on Saturday, said that it is important to revere farmers and connect back with nature.

In a post on X.com, Vembu said that people must respect farmers, as well as take care of soil and all its microorganisms.

The CEO of the global software-as-a-service (SaaS) company said this amid reports that Singapore’s food regulator has recalled Indian manufacturer Everest’s fish curry masala as it showed high levels of the pesticide ethylene oxide -- a Group-1 carcinogen.

“Arsenic in our rice, pesticides in our spices ... the damage of industrialised agriculture accumulates,” Vembu said.

“If we don't respect the farmer, if we don't take care of the soil and all its microorganisms, if we don't take care of ponds or lakes and instead keep drilling deeper and deeper for (arsenic-laden) water, we will destroy ourselves as a species."

“We have to revere the people who grow our food so they in turn treat soil and water with reverence. We have to connect back with nature,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s food regulator also found the cancer-causing ingredient in products of MDH, the famous spice brand in India.

It found that the MDH’s Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder contained pesticide ethylene oxide.

According to a statement from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), ethylene oxide is not fit for consumption, but is “used to fumigate agricultural products to prevent microbial contamination.”

“Members of the public should not consume the affected products. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected products immediately if they possess any of them,” said the Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong’s food regulatory authority.