Karsiyaka Municipality, which continues its activities to strengthen social awareness for healthier generations, has been working in the field of food safety at an academic level for years. He brought Bülent Şık together with the people of Karşıyaka. The talk and autograph event, which was held under the same title with Şık’s new book “Children and Food Safety”, was held at Zübeyde Hanım Wedding Palace. Organized by Karşıyaka Municipality Agricultural Services Directorate, the organization was open to everyone and free of charge.
Speaking at the beginning of the program, Karşıyaka Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay; Stating that food, food safety and food security issues should be considered and studies should be carried out, he said, “Food safety is an issue that we need to focus on, especially considering the climate crisis we are facing. Local governments should also do their part in food safety. I believe that we will gain important information here today and gain awareness that will increase our sensitivity on the subject. We all have responsibilities that fall on us, we must fulfill them and do something together.”
Bülent Şık, who argues that child health should be the focus of food safety studies, said,
He also discussed this issue in detail in the interview. He stated that nutrition, social relationships and environmental environments have a great importance on a child’s future or health in his later years, and they also greatly shape his neurological and cognitive development, as well as various health problems that may arise later in life.
“THE MORE SENSITIVE AND MORE VULNERABLE”
Stressing that children are more sensitive and fragile than adults, Şık said: “The food crisis and problems related to nutrition have been on our agenda recently. We will talk about these from the perspective of their impact on children. Children are more sensitive and fragile than us. Although we perceive food and healthy eating as an individual choice, this is a very new thing because nutrition is a right. Ensuring people’s access to food is a social state principle and a public responsibility. There are fragile segments in social life that need support and solidarity. Childhood is actually a period of life. In terms of food, both the conditions we are in and the problems that we may encounter in the near future make the concepts of food security and food safety important. In other words, all of these concepts we mentioned are intertwined with each other.”
“WE HAVE TO THINK”
Indicating that various public and social studies should be carried out in terms of food safety, Şık continued: “Our most critical issue in terms of food security is the excessive pollution of assets such as soil, water and air, which form the basis of food production in Turkey, and the destruction of these assets as expendable. Even in order for us to continue our current food production, we need to carry out public works that improve the soil and support this process. When we consider the reality of the climate crisis, we have to take precautions and take action right now. In terms of food safety, that is, in terms of reaching the table in a way that does not harm health, we are in a period of the last 30-40 years, which is the most problematic and public works are the most deficient. These issues will require us to be more involved in the coming years and we have to think about how we should prepare.”
TOXIC CHEMICAL HIGHLIGHT
Stressing that increasing the nutritional diversity of children will reduce their exposure to toxic chemicals, Şık said, “The issue of pollution caused by toxic chemicals is also an issue that we need to think carefully about. This is an issue as important as climate change on a global scale. Even if we solve the problem of climate crisis, if we do not take precautions, the problem of toxic chemicals will grow and progress. This issue also has important implications for children’s health. Loss of biodiversity and destruction of natural habitats that host living species are also among these topics; they are all interconnected. Children are not little adults, so we have to think for them separately. This factor makes children more sensitive to these problems. For example, some toxic chemicals negatively affect different functions and different organs of the body, and children are affected more negatively than adults. Since children are in a rapid growth phase, they eat as much as adults, but their body weight is lower. This makes it more susceptible to the effects of toxic chemicals. Especially the process in the womb, the first two years after birth, are very important periods for children aged 2-6 and 6-12; Healthy eating is critical. In this sense, policies should be produced and studies should be carried out.
“THEY ARE MOST AFFECTED”
Stressing that my studies prioritizing child health are insufficient and that he regrets this, Şık said,
“One of the substances that the World Health Organization has declared to be harmful to children is lead. It can mix with soil, air and water and adversely affect health. Cognitive activities of children exposed to lead can slow down, but it can also cause other problems. These are all preventable problems. On the other hand, children’s digestive system and absorption mechanisms work differently from adults; exposure to toxic substances is higher than adults. In this sense, healthy nutrition is not only a concept related to growth, but also a method to reduce exposure to toxic substances. In the world, food-related diseases and the reflections of climate change mostly affect children under 5 years old. We need a public perspective that prioritizes child health across the country, we must prioritize child health. We are a society that talks a lot about a child’s educational success but less about their health. Children start school at the age of 6 and the most important factor in their educational success is healthy eating and reducing their exposure to toxic chemicals, but we do not have a point of view against them. I regret this,” he said.
“forty percent are undernourished”
Stressing that there is a problem of malnutrition in children with the effect of the existing economic conditions, Şık stated that solutions should be produced in this regard and used the following expressions: “All of the problems I have mentioned are problems that have a solution. It can produce food differently; We can carry out different studies on environment, air and water cleaning. Turkey is an active country in ship dismantling, we also import plastic waste to our country for money. The pollution they cause affects the air, water, soil, food and our entire society. Finally, we have big problems in terms of access to food, food prices have increased tremendously in the last year. Local governments, angels and non-governmental organizations, central government should do something. Children should be provided with at least one meal a day. Kindergarten and 40 percent of the students of that period are faced with malnutrition. So everyone in public life should somehow make these problems visible and think about what we can do to the best of their ability.”
After his speech, Bülent Şık answered the questions of the citizens attending the event. At the end of the stylish event, he signed the book “Children and Food Safety”, which serves as a guide for parents, for the participants. Karsiyaka Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay presented Bülent Şık as a gift and sapling to commemorate the day.
Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency
