Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter has said the discrimination of unsafe food for the poor and safe food for the middle class must be ended. "This cannot be allowed to happen under any circumstances. Safe food must be ensured for all people," she said.

She spoke on Saturday (10 May) as chief guest at the opening of the 7th International Scientific Conference on Food Safety and Health, held at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) auditorium.

Farida Akhter said discussion of food often centres only on agriculture, but food production does not come from agriculture alone; fisheries and livestock also play an important role. In many countries, she said, the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors are considered together for food security and production, but in Bangladesh the importance of fisheries and livestock alongside agriculture is not given special consideration.

The adviser said there is a deep link between food production and public health. Whether food is safe must be ensured, because following proper food-processing methods has been identified as important work for public health.

Aware consumers want chemical-free and antibiotic-free fish and meat even if it costs more, she said, but ordinary and working people are not aware of whether their food is safe. She urged the food safety authority to work to raise their awareness.

Farida Akhter said the use of pesticides and even herbicides in farming is not only harming agriculture but also causing difficulties in livestock rearing. Pesticides used on land are washing into ponds, rivers and canals and doing great damage to fish. Pesticides are even being used to catch fish, which has become a huge threat to safe food.

She said modern agriculture has narrowed the range of vegetables: many seasonal vegetables that were once available can no longer be found. Hybridisation is being used to produce these vegetables, which forces people to use pesticides. The modern idea of food being created in this way is beset with problems, she said, and becoming more dependent on the same kinds of vegetables or crops all year round will turn into monoculture.

The event was chaired by Prof Dr Khaled Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Society for Safe Food. Special guests Prof Dr Md Alimul Islam, vice-chancellor of Sylhet Agricultural University; Dr Md Abu Sufian, director general of the Department of Livestock Services; and Prof Dr Mohammad Shoeb, member of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, also spoke. Shamsul Arefin Khaled, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC), spoke as guest of honour. The keynote paper was presented by Dr P. Chandra Shekhara, director general of CIRDAP. Teachers, scientists, researchers and students from various universities and senior government and private officials attended.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.