A LOW intake of animal protein by the large majority of people because of serious erosion in their purchasing power consequent on persistent high inflation is worrying. High inflation, which has remained more than 10 per cent for months, has pushed many people below the poverty threshold while the number of extreme poor has increased. Inflation has impacted the middle-income group. Food inflation for November has been recorded at 14.63 per cent in urban areas and 13.41 per cent in rural areas. The latest World Bank food security update that covers May 2023鈥揗ay 2024 says that the persistent high food inflation has pushed the large majority of low- and fixed-income people into food insecurity and puts Bangladesh in the red zone. The first way that people with little purchasing power take to cope with inflation is to compromise their expenditures on basic needs, including food, and the first thing that they cut is animal protein as it is costly. A number of studies have already showed that because of high inflation, most low-income people struggle even to afford a 鈥榗ompromised diet,鈥� let alone a protein-rich diet.
A sharp fall in meat production to 6.02 lakh tonnes in October from 12.25 lakh tonnes in July, as official statistics show, suggests a further fall in the consumption. Prices of all items of animal protein have, meanwhile, remained beyond the reach of the poor and the low- and fixed-income people. The impact of a low- or no-animal-protein diet is, as experts say, severely adverse for people, especially those with high nutrient requirements such as young children and pregnant and lactating women. Animal proteins, or animal-sourced foods, are high quality proteins that play a vital role in the human body and a significant role in child鈥檚 growth, mental and physical. These foods also have bioavailable micronutrients that are difficult or impossible to obtain from plant-sourced foods. Animal-sourced foods are particularly rich sources of six nutrients 鈥� Vitamin A, Vitamin B12 and B2, calcium, iron and zinc 鈥� and other micronutrients. Deficiencies of the nutrients and micronutrients, resulting from low or inadequate intake of animal protein, are responsible for poor growth, anaemia, rickets, night blindness, impaired cognitive functioning, neuromuscular deficits, diminished work capacity, psychiatric disorders and even death. Some effects, such as impaired cognitive development from an iron deficiency, are said to be irreversible.
The large majority of people coming to live on a compromised diet with low or no animal protein is alarming as such a diet disrupts the sound growth and cognitive development of the children and reduces productivity. The government has, therefore, issues to attend to. The government should prioritise inflation containment and take effective measures to achieve the end. The authorities should also focus on employment generation and ensure corruption-free social safety net programmes.