The proverb “Health is wealth” is widely quoted but remains overlooked in practice in our society. While our national curriculum and social discourse place immense weight on academic excellence and professional degrees, we have systematically ignored a vital component of human development: food education. As we strive to become a developed nation, it is imperative to recognise that nutritional literacy is a fundamental necessity that should be integrated into every household and classroom.
From a legal standpoint, the right to health and food is intrinsically linked to the right to life guaranteed under Article 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. However, the right to food should not merely mean the right to a full stomach; it must encompass the right to “safe and nutritious food.”
While we have the Safe Food Act, 2013, and the Consumers’ Right Protection Act, 2009, these laws primarily focus on the supply side, regulating producers and sellers. We are missing the “demand side” of the equation: educated consumers. Without food education, a citizen cannot exercise their right to choose what is healthy for their body. The legal framework provides protection, but literacy provides the power to utilise that protection. If a citizen cannot read a nutritional label or identify harmful additives, the laws protecting them remain partially ineffective. For instance, Section 44 of the Consumers’ Right Protection Act deals with misleading advertisements, but without food education, how can a consumer distinguish between a genuine health claim and a marketing gimmick?
In Bangladesh, we have made significant strides in increasing the general literacy rate, but that has not translated into better nutritional literacy. Even highly educated families often unknowingly consume excessive amounts of sugar, trans fats, and sodium-rich processed foods simply because they lack basic knowledge of food science. This ignorance leads to a rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular issues.
According to World Health Organization, NCDs now account for a staggering 67 percent of total deaths in Bangladesh. This is an alarming figure for a nation like ours. We are suffering from what experts call “hidden hunger,” where the stomach is full, but the body is starving for essential micronutrients. This gap can only be bridged through systematic food education that starts from the dinner table and extends to the classroom. Our education system teaches us how to solve complex equations, but fails to teach us the chemistry of what we consume daily.
In this regard, Bangladesh can look towards countries like Japan for inspiration. Japan enacted the Basic Act on Shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in 2005, making food education a mandatory part of the school curriculum. It teaches children not just what to eat, but the history, culture, and science behind their food. Similarly, in Finland, school meals are used as a pedagogical tool to teach balanced dieting. If these nations can prioritise food education to build a resilient workforce, why shouldn’t Bangladesh, a nation with a large young population, do the same? While the country’s National Food and Nutrition Security Policy 2020 outlines several strategic goals, the implementation lacks grassroots educational engagement. We need a curriculum that reflects our local dietary needs and addresses the specific challenges of food adulteration prevalent in our markets.
If health is wealth, then a sickly population is a national liability. When a family spends a large portion of its income on medical bills due to preventable diet-related illnesses, it drains the family’s savings and, by extension, the national economy. The burden on our public healthcare system is immense. By making food education mandatory, we can shift our national healthcare focus from “curative” to “preventive.” Teaching a child how to identify balanced nutrients or the dangers of food adulteration is just as important as teaching them mathematics or science. Nutritional literacy is, therefore, a long-term investment in our human capital that will reduce the national expenditure on healthcare.
Therefore, the government should consider incorporating a comprehensive food and nutrition module into the primary and secondary school curriculum. This shouldn’t just be a theoretical chapter but a practical guide. Furthermore, community-based awareness programmes should be launched through legal aid clinics and local government bodies to reach homemakers, who are primarily responsible for a family’s diet.
We need to empower our citizens to demand safe food, not just as a matter of preference, but as a constitutional right. Food education is the first step towards a society where health is truly prioritised as our greatest wealth. It is time to treat food education with the same urgency as our general education system. Health is, after all, the only wealth that allows us to pursue all other forms of prosperity.
Mohammad Saharin Hossain is studying law at International Standard University (ISU).
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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