Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in its fight against hunger and poverty, achieving near self-sufficiency in food production. Ensuring two meals a day for such a massive population was no easy feat. Once plagued by chronic food shortages, the country now holds an enviable position globally in the production of rice, vegetables, and freshwater fish. However, beneath this unprecedented success, a silent crisis is deepening. In our rush to secure food availability, are we jeopardizing food safety? This question has become incredibly relevant today. Driven by the need to fill our stomachs, it is time we critically evaluate exactly how safe the food on our plates really is. Simply eating is not enough; the food we consume must be completely healthy and safe.
Food security and food safety are distinct yet deeply interconnected concepts. Food security means having adequate, accessible, and affordable food for everyone year-round. Food safety, on the other hand, dictates that the food must be nutritious and free from harmful chemicals, heavy metals, or pathogens. Over the past few decades, our national policies have heavily prioritized increasing production volume. The introduction of high-yielding varieties and intensive farming has certainly multiplied agricultural output. But to sustain this pressure for extra yield, the reliance on chemical fertilizers and harmful pesticides has reached alarming proportions. Consequently, while the sheer quantity of food has increased, its quality and safety have been severely compromised. We may have silenced hunger, but we have failed to guarantee long-term nutrition and well-being.
A look at the ground reality easily reveals the depth of this crisis. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, unsafe food causes countless people worldwide to suffer from complex diseases every year, with a large portion residing in developing nations like Bangladesh. The presence of harmful chemicals in our everyday vegetables, fruits, and regular meals has become a common phenomenon. To protect crops from pests and secure quick harvests, farmers often apply pesticides at doses several times higher than the approved limits. Toxic chemicals are routinely sprayed on fields mere days or even hours before harvesting. The residues of these pesticides wash into local water bodies and permanently penetrate the plant cells. These toxic elements are not fully destroyed even after the food is cooked. As a result, this poison enters our bodies directly with our daily meals, gradually dismantling human health.
This alarming scenario extends beyond crop cultivation to the production of fish and meat, which serve as our primary sources of protein. The poultry industry and farmed fish meet a significant portion of our daily nutritional demands. Yet, to ensure rapid animal growth and prevent diseases, excessive amounts of antibiotics and various growth hormones are routinely used in these sectors. Standard regulations mandate a specific withdrawal period after administering antibiotics before the animal is safe for human consumption. However, driven by ignorance and the greed for quick profits, many farmers simply ignore these crucial rules. Consequently, antibiotic residues are transferred into the human body, contributing to a severe global health threat known as antibiotic resistance. Public health experts point to this unsafe animal protein as a major reason why life-saving drugs often fail to work even against common fevers or routine infections.
Climate change and our geographical location multiply the complexities of this food safety crisis. The impacts are particularly far-reaching in coastal regions and disaster-prone areas. Due to rising sea levels and encroaching salinity, coastal farmers constantly face a high risk of crop failure. Increased soil salinity severely hampers normal agricultural yields. To offset these immense losses and force production in hostile environments, farmers are compelled to rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and potent pesticides. This practice permanently ruins the natural fertility of coastal soils while dangerously elevating chemical residue levels in the harvested crops. Furthermore, during and after natural disasters like cyclones or tidal surges, adequate facilities for safe food storage are practically non-existent. Storing food in damp, unhygienic conditions leads to the growth of highly toxic fungi like aflatoxin in rice and grains. The contamination of relief goods or stored food with such pathogens poses a massive risk to public health during emergencies.
Women play a highly significant role in this entire food safety process. In rural economies, especially in disaster-prone coastal areas, women bear the primary responsibility for sourcing and processing the family's daily meals. Often, due to a lack of proper knowledge and awareness, simple errors in cooking methods and storage can render otherwise nutritious food unsafe for family members. Therefore, ensuring food safety is impossible without raising awareness among women at the grassroots level. They need practical training on using safe water, cooking at the right temperatures, and storing food hygienically. If these awareness messages can be integrated into courtyard meetings or community clinics, food safety at the household level can be largely secured.
Bangladesh has enacted the Food Safety Act and established the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, which is undoubtedly a landmark step. However, despite the existence of a legal framework, the core problem remains in policy coordination and strict enforcement. Our Ministry of Agriculture encourages farmers to increase crop production, setting new targets every year. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Food attempts to control food quality. Yet, a unified and robust supply chain monitoring system-capable of tracking food quality from the production stage to the consumer's table- has not fully materialized. The lack of coordination among the Department of Agricultural Extension, BSTI, City Corporations, the Food Safety Authority, and the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection is glaringly obvious. Unscrupulous syndicates easily exploit these institutional loopholes. Without exemplary and immediate punishment for offenders, the inhumane trend of food adulteration cannot be permanently eradicated.
To escape this dire situation, adopting an integrated and far-sighted policy is absolutely urgent. We must formulate a national agriculture and food policy that does not merely settle for production statistics but places equal importance on food quality and safety. Farmers must be heavily encouraged to use high-quality organic fertilizers and bio-pesticides as viable alternatives to harmful chemicals. If necessary, the government should provide special subsidies for eco-friendly agricultural inputs. Good Agricultural Practices must not remain confined to seminars or brochures; their absolute implementation at the field level must be guaranteed. To stop the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in farms, selling such drugs to farmers without a valid prescription from a registered veterinary doctor must be declared completely illegal and monitored rigorously.
Ultimately, our slogan should no longer be just "food for all," but rather "safe food for all." Only through the strict application of integrated policies, proper monitoring, and increased social awareness at the grassroots level can we build a healthy, strong, and intelligent future generation.
The writer is a student, Department of Disaster Management, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur
