COMMENTARY: Are you what you eat?
By Dr. Craig Stoutt, Contributor
Think about the last time that you fully felt energized and at peace. For many of us, that comes from a good, wholesome meal. Yet, many Virgin Islanders wake up every day unsure of where their next meal will come from or may wonder if it will be healthy enough to sustain them. Today, we’ll talk about how food security and healthy eating are not luxuries – they are the foundation of our health.
Food security is knowing that you can always afford and find enough safe, nutritious food. I often listen to my dad reminisce about the times when the BVI was the bread basket for the US Virgin Islands but, sadly, now we cannot feed ourselves. The BVI mostly relies on imported foods from abroad and realistically this can abruptly end at any time based on what is happening at the time – war; gas crisis; pandemics. Healthy eating is choosing whole or minimally refined foods like vegetables, grains and lean meats on a daily basis in the correct amounts and proportions. Good health is having the mental clarity and physical strength to live life to the fullest.
When a person does not know where their next meal is coming from their body goes into survival mode. Thus, food security is the bedrock that allows health to even be possible. Knowing that food is available removes constant damaging anxiety and toxic stress. Secure food access prevents developmental delays and childhood stunting. Regular meals keep our immune systems strong enough to fight infections.
Practically, if food security provides the quantity of food that’s needed, eating well provides the quality. Eating well is the most powerful and affordable medicine available to us. Eating less sugar and processed foods drastically decreases the risks for heart disease. Nutrient rich foods improve daily mood, focus and mental clarity. Whole foods provide steady, long-lasting fuel without the afternoon crash.
We cannot have true health without both concepts working well together. If we only have access to cheap, heavily processed junk food, we get calories with little to no nutrition. This in turn results in rising rates of diabetes and high blood pressure which already plagues the BVI. Healthy eating is only possible after nutritious food is affordable and easy to find for everyone.
We all can play a part in building a healthier society. What we grow here in the BVI needs to be broadened. There needs to be subsidies that would encourage us to go back into farming and fishing. Every family needs to have incentives to have their own backyard garden, with some layers, a small chicken farm or rather community gardens need to be encouraged. Agricultural Science should be introduced in the schools so we can get the younger generations to understand the importance and necessity of food security and healthy eating especially at this time. The British Virgin Islands has more water mass than land mass that needs to be better harnessed for better productivity. Foreign vessels are allowed to fish our waters without single cent being collected. Our people need to benefit from our resources which should be properly monitored, preserved and adequately developed and utilized in order to help secure our food security for this and future generations.
Dr. Craig Stoutt is a Consultant Anaesthesiologist and Intensivist with more than twenty years of service in the Virgin Islands health system. On Our Health is a five-part series on the state of our health and the country we can still build together.
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If we are serious about food security, then agriculture and fisheries must be aggressively supported through targeted subsidies and strategic investment. The reality is that our topography, soil conditions, and the limited size of the local market are not conducive to achieving the economies of scale necessary for many farmers and fishermen to earn a sustainable living. As a result, there must be mechanisms in place that allow these industries to gain momentum, develop capacity, and become more viable over time.
I can think of at least one industry that is currently receiving public subsidies despite offering far less strategic value to the Territory. Those funds would be better directed toward strengthening our farming and fishing sectors, which are essential to long-term food security.
They spent 5M on a poly tunnels but they were never used as no guarenteed water. We are looking for outward solutions as locally there is nothing commercial. BVI Wild caught fish $8lb Guana $2lb.
The Agriculture is limited as we saw in the Grants offered in the Covid time.
Tourists are flying in with Coolers of meats and food, All of this could damage the food programs in the BVI.
100% agree with the plan but were a long long way away.
Another Great Read. There are Many Foreign Investors within This territory Who are Willing and have Spoken to some Government Officials Concerning Supporting Several Initiatives To Help The People of This Territory. Unfortunately, Their Support Has Fallen on Deaf Ears. Its Not Every Foreign Investor who Offers to Help this territory is Looking For Something in Return. The Fact That They have already been allowed to Operate Businesses in The territory is enough to Care That Much to provide Jobs for our People and To Offer Help in Other Areas. Why can’t the Powers That Be seize such opportunities Knowing That There are Laws That Govern The Territory? No One Can Take From Us anything where The Country is Concern Unless We give It To Them…People are Perishing For Lack of knowledge and Vision.
We were always told that doctors bury their mistakes and engineers/architects have to live with theirs.
So when we are admitted to hospitals ER’s they give you saline first (salt water) and discharged after, you doctors say watch our salt intake – lol.
Snake oil salesmen/women…
Sir you sending an intelligent message you are sending to the powers that be / sadly these set of wannabe aristocrats we call politicians is only interesting in filling their pockets and using taxpayers money as a luxurious traveling rodeo while throwing the civil servants and pensioners in the gabbage / imagine we had green house EQUIPMENT on this territory to start developing green house farming and the boasting Cuban allowed them to sit and deteriorate while he chilling out with Branson sipping on champagne etc , or we could of been way ahead in agriculture / these who in charge raided social society and had a party using “fake” farmers & fishers as a front or excuse to share out the social security’s money to them and pocketed the rest of people’s retirement money / so all of them is birds of the same feather and we know (there’s NO honor amongst these entitled thieves) the white colonists slave masters has become our national anthem, whenever their rodeo games gets discovered THEY all singing the the same CHORUS ■ unless we get people with “integrity”/ ,we will just be going in circles
Another wonderful piece, Craig. Keep ’em coming and thank you!