(Jamaica Observer) For Carmen Thomas, an American who now resides in Jamaica, relocating to the Caribbean island was largely influenced by the quality of the country’s food.
Speaking to the Jamaica Observer on Monday at an expo held at Devon House in St Andrew to mark the end of this year’s activities surrounding the ‘Eat Jamaican’ Campaign, Thomas said her family moved to Jamaica for a healthier life.
“I moved here because my husband felt that this was a healthier society,” she said. “I eat yams, plantains and cassava, and since I’ve lived here, I would say I just sleep better and I’m healthier all around.”
In fact, she said, overall, life has been better for her.
“So eating locally grown food took on a whole new meaning for me, and so I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t eat locally because I have eaten in the [United] States and I do see that there is a huge difference,” she insisted.
Thomas was one of several people who expressed appreciation for the ‘Eat Jamaican’ initiative, and shared that it is their hope that the message has not fallen on deaf ears.
Lauren Lawrence, who now lives overseas but plans to return to the land of her birth eventually, said that one of the reasons she loves visiting home is for the food.
She told the Observer that she hopes the next generation is receptive of the message and realises how important it is to eat local produce.
National Farm Queen Aniecea Wiggan also praised the agenda being encouraged by the Jamaica Agricultural Society and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries.
“It is a good move because statistics have shown that ever since the establishment of the Eat Jamaica Campaign, our food import bill has been reduced — not by a lot, but it is a start. If we are able to reduce our food import bill, then that would mean that the amount of money that we spend on a yearly basis would lessen, and that money can be put into developing our own economy,” Wiggan said.
She added that educating the youth is also a brilliant move, as more youth involvement will aid in the development of the agriculture sector.
Meanwhile, Jamaica Agricultural Society President Lenworth Fulton said the planning of the activities was strategic, as it was the aim to have the campaign end a month before Christmas.
“We did it so that it would culminate one month before Christmas to kick off the festive season with local foods and to carry that throughout the year, and especially for the children to eat what we grow.
“This year we had the church service, two school programmes, and today we are highlighting the importance of Jamaican farmers and that we can use farming to stabilise the economy,” he said.
He explained that it is imperative that Jamaicans come to the realisation that the more we eat local produce, the less money will be spent on importing food, and, as a result, we will have a better economy.
“We have a gap of about 700 and odd million [USD] between what we import and export. We are exporting just about 214 million and we have 902 million coming here, so we want to narrow that gap [so] that at least it nets off as much as possible. Today is a day where we are reinforcing that it is better to eat what we grow here, and give the dollar a break, and also give our farmers more sustenance and wealth,” Fulton said.