Monsanto was orchestrating field trials of GM (Genetically Modified) food products at various locations in India. Measures taken to ensure non-contamination were lax. There was an imminent danger of GM food hitting the shelves of the supermarkets. At this point, consumers had not even heard of ‘Genetically Modified Food’.

The challenge for communication was to bring about consumer awareness of a complex concept. The real challenge though was a budget of $900.

Since the budget was low, we decided to use alternative media. The idea had to be interesting enough to capture the attention of the public and the media.A vegetable protest through mass suicide!We hung up hundreds of vegetables all over Bangalore that had committed ‘suicide’ leaving behind melodramatic suicide notes that spoke about how they had served us uncomplainingly, but by genetically modifying them, we had played with their very identity. We followed this with the funeral of a ‘martyr’ corn through the heart of the city where we distributed a ‘vegetable’ newspaper that spoke about GM

The campaign completely got under the radars of people and hundreds of commuters stopped during their every day rush to read the suicide notes. Many even carried the suicide notes home! A huge amount of curiosity was generated. The media loved it and it made its way into seven major dailies. Many of these were elaborate articles which explained what genetically modified food products were. They also carried relevant sound bytes from Greenpeace activists. Coverage even crept into some major news channels and radio stations.