BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “Parents, guardians and other mature citizens have a tremendous role to play in ensuring that we educate ourselves, and the children of our country, regarding our rights and responsibilities as consumers. We must be steadfast in monitoring what the children eat, and teach them the values of proper nutrition so that they, themselves, will restrict any possible acts of overindulgence in junk food.”
These were the words of Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, in his Consumer Week address to the nation under the theme “Junk Food Generation”. He said the world is “bombarded with the generation of junk food” as the hype associated with the advertising and marketing of these products encourages almost exclusive consumption of these goods.
Dr. Harris noted that in today’s fast-paced environment, many persons, particularly children, eat from fast food restaurants and therefore cannot influence the ingredients that go into the preparation of the food consumed. He further stated that his ministry continues to encourage all fast food operations to be “ever conscious” of the need to provide to patrons food that is “safe and nutritionally balanced”.
“The main provider of our children’s and our meals ought to be our homes. Despite the existence of the Schools Meal Programme and the availability of restaurants, it is incumbent on us that our homes prepare the majority of meals for our consumption. The value of this position is twofold, as we will have an input to the nutritional health of our families and there will be resultant cost savings which will be derived. Meal preparation and consumption at home can become a lovely occasion for the family to come together, pray together, eat together and share the joys and pleasures of breaking bread together.
“My ministry implores the entire populace to make certain that the nation’s children are encouraged and trained to have a balanced diet and lead a healthy lifestyle, including proper exercise. And what better example can be demonstrated than that we, ourselves, also adopt these same principles and lead from the front.”
Harris encouraged increased partnership with consumers, retailers and government as he underscored that participation of the business community in the development of a strong and healthy nation is paramount.
The Minister appealed to the relevant state agencies to continue to “vigorously evaluate our school meals” to ascertain that government meets its mandate of promoting healthier eating habits in the nation’s children.
