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Bangladesh Studies/Final/Spring 2014/smj/21062014/Part A

Due on 22 June 2014

Part A: Soft copy @ 9:00 am and hard copy @ 11:00 am
Part B : 9:00 am to 10:30 am

Question # 1.
Since independence, Bangladesh has progressed a lot in terms of food production,
among other things. A country which failed to feed its 70 million people in the early
1970s, forty years later it is feeding 160 million, that too with reduced land
resources. (Note: Cultivable land has reduced with the increase of population that
requires more shelter, more infrastructure and more industry.)
Despite such outstanding achievements in terms of food security (or food
availability), the issue of food safety has increasingly become a major public
health and consumer right concern. (Some often view this as a national security
threat.) Like Bangladesh development paradox, this phenomenon (what maybe
called unsafe food security) too is quite paradoxical. This forces us to ask
ourselves the big question: so what? a question that we have tried to use as
frequently as possible in this course to challenge ourselves.
Now, answer the following questions by reflecting on the lessons that we have
learnt in this course, the facts that we have come across, the approaches that we
have deployed to explore knowledge, the skills that we have sharpened and the
attitude that we have shaped:
a) how do you assess this scenario/paradox?
b) if youre in charge of solving this problem, what realistic action plan can you
propose?

Answers:
a) A paradox is a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition
which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true.
Now, we have to focus on what are the paradoxes that are mentioned in this
case.
Back in the 1970s, although the population was small (70 million) and the
amount of land was higher than it is today, food productivity was not enough
to satisfy the entire population. But today the situation is completely the
opposite. The population is more than twice (156 million) of that in 1970 and
the amount of land is less. But in spite of that. Bangladesh now has food
security.
This is a paradox. But, the reasons behind this paradox is quite obvious.
First of all, comes technology. The advancement of technology has made this
seemingly impossible event come into being. Because of advanced
technology that is being used, food manufacturers have been able to produce
food in an efficient manner which has led them to produce more in little
amount of land available.
Also, another reason that can be identified is the proper fertilization and apt
care of land in order to make them cultivable for longer periods of time and
also, more fertile in the process.
Now, moving on to the next paradox, the Bangladesh Development Paradox
which can be called the Unsafe Food Security. Here the term Unsafe Food
Security is self-explanatory in explaining the paradox. Here, by saying unsafe
before food security, the paradox is being created. Food security means that
the quantity of food that is currently being produced is satisfactory.
But, in trying to address the food crisis of the country, the country has fallen
into that age old problem which is not being able to maintain quality while
producing a huge quantity. So, here we can see that the lack of quality of
food is actually hampering the food security of Bangladesh. And so, the lack
of quality is actually nullifying abundance of quantity.
Now, what is meant by lack of quality of food? Basically, this means food
adulteration. Food adulteration has become a huge problem for the people of
Bangladesh right now.
Basic food items on the market like rice, fish, fruits, vegetables, and
sweetmeats are adulterated with hazardous chemicals in an indiscriminate
manner, though food-grade preservatives and colors can be safely used in
permissible quantities.
More than 76 percent food items on the market were found
adulterated in a random survey by Public Health Laboratory of
Dhaka City Corporation in 2004. (Food Adulteration rings alarm bells,
2011)

So, to sum up, the current situation of the quantity of food production is
satisfactory but the trade-off here is very high with the quality of food being
compromised.