Voicing her concerns about the increase of fast food restaurants and imported foods, United Nations Resident Coordinator Khadija Musa yesterday emphasised the need for greater production of food locally.
She made the observation at the St Stanislaus College, while addressing students from secondary schools across Guyana who took part in the annual Secondary Schools’ Home Economics Competition.
This year, 30 schools participated in the competition, which is an increase from last year when 23 schools competed, displaying creative dishes intended to combat non-communicable diseases.
The students representing the Agricola Practical Institute won the competition with 29 points for their baked fish callaloo dish, while North West Secondary students were second with 26.5 points for their ground provision pie and Tutorial High students came in third place with 26 points for their breadfruit roll ups.
The competition was a collaboration between the ministries of Education and Agriculture along with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Musa, who is the local FAO representative, said she was concerned about the increase of fast food restaurants and the increase of imported foods. Instead, she said, we should be producing more local products, which will be far more nutritious, particularly since so many foreign goods are heavily processed.
She was impressed by the variety of dishes created by the students and complimented them on their attractive presentations. She said she expected each student to start being conscious about their diet. However, when the students were asked if they were going to start eating healthier by avoiding fast food restaurants, less than a quarter of them raised their hands.
Disappointed, Musa said she hoped that the others would realise the importance of eating foods that are not laced with fat and are heavily processed.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture George Jarvis spoke about the use of local fruits and vegetables, including carilla—which he said is one of the best foods to fight cancer and breadfruit—which he said is a commonplace carbohydrate that not only helps to reverse obesity but also prevents it.
The students were judged based on originality, taste and the impact their food has on reducing non-communicable diseases.
The Agricola Practical Institute students Joshua Ibbott and Naomi Glenn prepared the baked fish callaloo dish. Ibott said that the dish was created to be low fat and have a high protein content.
Students Bibi Khan and Keisha Campbell of the North West Secondary School were responsible for the ground provision pie, which Campbell said would help persons with diabetes.
Meanwhile, chairperson of the event Angela Alleyne said a book with the recipes from this year’s competition as well as from the previous years is planned.
