Aubaid Ahmad Akhoon
In today’s public discourse, society seems trapped in a dangerous paradox. Foods that have nourished generations, like eggs, milk, and meat, are dragged into sensational debates. Meanwhile, substances that clearly destroy lives continue to be accepted in legal, social, and commercial contexts. Cigarettes and alcohol, despite decades of clear medical evidence linking them to cancer, liver failure, mental illness, domestic violence, and road fatalities, remain normalized. They are taxed, advertised indirectly, and consumed openly, as if familiarity has lessened their danger.
This selective panic reveals a deeper crisis, not just of food safety, but of ethical failure in public health governance. We fear contaminants in our nutrition but tolerate addiction as part of our culture. We debate protein on our plates while ignoring poisons in our lungs and bloodstream.
Cigarettes and alcohol: The accepted killers
Cigarettes and alcohol are not misunderstood substances; they are some of the most studied public health hazards in human history. Tobacco directly causes lung, oral, and throat cancers, while alcohol leads to liver disease, cardiovascular issues, mental health problems, and family breakdowns. Hospitals see their consequences daily; yet shops selling these products face less scrutiny than street vendors selling eggs or milk.
This contradiction is not accidental—it is convenient. Addiction brings in money. Disease boosts industry. Silence safeguards profits. The real danger often lies not in what we eat, but in what we repeatedly inhale and drink, accepted because it is profitable and familiar.
Eggs, poultry, and the forgotten logic of natural nutrition
Kashmir once practiced organic living without even naming it. Domestic poultry was a household tradition. Chickens, ducks, and geese provided fresh eggs and meat free from artificial feed, hormones, and chemical accelerators. These foods were nutritious, affordable, and trustworthy.
Eggs remain one of the most complete natural foods, rich in protein, essential vitamins, antioxidants, and nutrients that support brain health. Chicken, when consumed in moderation and prepared hygienically, supports metabolism, muscle repair, and heart health. Yet these foods face disproportionate suspicion while cigarettes and alcohol escape moral outrage. This reversal of concern shows a society that has misplaced its health priorities.
Government poultry and food regulation: Infrastructure without accountability
Despite having land, manpower, and departments focused on poultry and food safety, government performance often appears symbolic. Poultry farms exist but contribute little. Supplies appear occasionally during festivals, leaving markets dependent on external and often unregulated sources for the rest of the year.
Also, enforcement against unhygienic meat is reactive rather than preventive. Raids happen after outrage, not through regular inspection. Shops reopen, practices resume, and consumers remain at risk. Public health cannot thrive on sporadic actions; it requires ongoing regulation and serious institutional commitment.
Milk: From nature’s elixir to a source of anxiety
Milk, once the most trusted daily staple, now carries uncertainty. Adulteration, synthetic enhancers, and a lack of district-level testing facilities have weakened consumer confidence. Milk consumed by infants, patients, and the elderly cannot rely on market ethics alone.
Without clear testing centers, strict monitoring, and accountability, trust collapses. The lack of these protections turns nourishment into a risk, and silence into complicity.
The golden card: Healthcare access or ethical trap?
The Ayushman Bharat “Golden Card” was meant to be a revolutionary step by offering up to Rs 5 lakh in cashless treatment to vulnerable families, giving them access to secondary and tertiary care. In principle, it is a lifeline. However, in some cases, it has also become a new trap for unethical medical practices.
There are growing concerns that under the guise of cashless insurance, unnecessary surgeries are being recommended when non-surgical treatments are available. Procedures become profitable, patients become statistics, and fear becomes a tool. When the cost is covered by the card, the ethical burden quietly shifts away from the patient, making exploitation easier.
Healthcare insurance should never incentivize unnecessary interventions. A surgery should always be a last resort, not the most profitable option. When healing becomes a transaction, trust in medicine erodes.
Medicine, markets, and moral decline
This crisis extends beyond insurance. Poor prescriptions, influenced by pharmaceutical incentives, worsen public suffering. Patients are overmedicated, overcharged, and under-informed. While food vendors face scrutiny, prescription practices often remain unaccountable.
The pattern is clear:
Weak regulation.
Selective outrage.
Institutional silence.
The way forward
Eggs, meat, and milk certainly need regulation, testing, and transparency. Yet cigarettes and alcohol must be rejected, not normalized. Medical practices require ethical audits, not blind trust. Health insurance needs oversight, not unchecked intervention. Government departments must aim for performance, not mere existence.
Public health cannot be built on hypocrisy.
Bottom line
The biggest threats to health are not always hidden in food—they are found in systems that reward addiction, profit from disease, and permit unethical behavior. When society fears nutrition more than intoxication, questions farmers more than corporations, and debates food while neglecting ethics, it loses its moral compass.
Health is one of the greatest gifts. Protecting it requires courage—not selective panic, but genuine reform; not silence, but accountability; not profit, but conscience.
(The author is a columnist and motivational speaker. He can be reached at [email protected])
