Srinagar, Aug. 11 -- The spoiled stockpile, seized last week in Srinagar, was a warning that the food on our plates is only as safe as the weakest link in a chain driven by profit over people.

Since the raid, reports of more suspicious consignments have emerged, and the real question is not what was caught, but what may already have been served, swallowed, and digested.

Meat is at the heart of Kashmiri life. Wazwan feast is a symbol of hospitality and honour. Yet the very food we treat as sacred is being trafficked through markets with alarming ease.

Somewhere in that supply chain, a wholesaler knew the meat had gone bad. A transporter looked the other way, vendors chose to sell it anyway, and this wasn't a slip-up.

It was a calculate...