Preemptive and Proactive Strategies for Food Control and Biosecurity

Khalil, Ali T.; Iqrar, Irum; Bashir, Samina; Ali, Muhammad; Khalil, Ali H.; Shinwari, Zabta K.

Food security, sustainable agriculture, and healthy nutrition are the keystones of sustainable development of society that foster the long-lasting well-being of the human population. The global occurrence of exotic diseases, emerging and remerging pathogens, biological weapons, urbanization, and population explosion, decreasing crop yields, climatic changes, biodiversity loss, declining investments, and water scarcity remains a prevalent threat to sustainable agriculture, food security, and control. Proactive and dynamic strategies with stringent biosecurity measures are required to meet the challenge of Sustainable Development Goal 2 “zero hunger” adopted in the year 2015. Lapses in food and agricultural biosecurity measures can have an adverse impact on the health of people and may result in economic chaos. Awareness about biosecurity and bioterrorism has become more critical in recent years as terrorists are becoming more creative in their attack methods and targets. Food biosecurity strategies are essential to protect the food supply from intentional or accidental threats. Industrial and operational designs that inherently support biosecurity procedures should be employed in agriculture and livestock. Food security is a global issue. Substantial progress in food control and biosecurity will be dependent on our technical capacity, dynamic policies, awareness, and a global movement by involving the international regimes based on cooperation and collaboration.