Promote local food, healthy living

Letters

THE small business activities reserved for indigenous citizens such as fast food outlets and or kai bars are taken over by the foreigners as seen in many suburbs of Port Moresby and other provinces in the country.
An advantage our people can have over the foreigners is the natural healthy garden food that is produced locally and in abundance.
Natural garden produce such as sweet potatoes, taro, bananas, greens and all other garden food are found in almost all local markets.
These food can be prepared at a lesser cost but is nutritious for consumption.
Today, most of the food served in the fast food outlet are very unhealthy.
You just walk into a fast food outlet along the streets of Port Moresby and you would certainly be greeted by the sight of orange flour balls, fish flour, sausage flour, fried chicken and potato chips, and lamb flaps sold in the food warmer.
Would you rate this as healthy food?
As far as health standards are concerned, these are very unhealthy food.
Careless Papua New Guineans have given themselves up as slaves to such food which has compromised their health.
Due to unhealthy eating and lifestyle, our people are dying of diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and other related illness at an alarming rate.
We are being robbed of our money and the food we consume is killing us.
That is why people are being encouraged to avoid that sort of habit and choose natural and nutritious food.
Our people can do well in the catering services by preparing healthy food for food outlets.
We are capable of preparing variety of traditional and nutritious Papua New Guinean dishes that are incomparable to the unhealthy food prepared and sold in the fast food outlets by foreigners.
PNG is diverse and rich in culture and that a variety of local garden food can be prepared in different styles and methods of cooking.
By this way, we uphold goal five of the national goals and directive principles of our constitution where it says to practise ‘Papua New Guinean ways’ and promote our unique cultures and traditional heritage.
Even though some traditional methods of preparation may cause some inconveniences in the current commercial food preparation setting, it will cause people to improvise and be creative with food preparation.
Who would dare refuse ‘polom’ that is coconut creamed sago with fish for the Manus people or the famous ‘aigir’ for the Tolais.
For pork lovers, who would refuse pork cooked with traditional greens and spices in bamboos the Highlands way?

Jenny Ope Steven, Port Moresby