So I was reading a book the other day called “Bugs in the Peanut Butter”. Good book dealing with food standards and over processing. In the beginning they cited some of the healthier eating styles such as the South Pacific nations of Fiji and Tonga. Did you hear that? Tonga cited as healthy? Since they are the fattest nation in the world I was skeptical. I read on and found a few things out. The point of the citation was to acknowledge the importance
of organic locally grown food. Yes that is wonderful but from my point of view this is skewed. Many Tongans love their chemicals as much as Americans. It is the poorer families that eat organic because they can’t afford these chemicals, not necessarily a choice. Also most farmers only grow root crops so vegetables are few and far between. Lu or Taro leaves are eaten regularly, but for some kids this is the only veggie they get. Vegetables are available in the market, that is where I buy my food, but most families can’t afford to eat veggies every day. At a feast you can definitely find vegetables, but this is not a reflection of everyday eating. Also the snacks available are (according to this book) the worst available and almost have to be. It takes a lot of processing and chemicals to get food that is able to be transported to Tonga and to remote villages and still survive the heat and humidity while sitting on an open air store shelf. This shipping and storing dilemma makes highly processed chips and cookies a favorite snack. Some locally available foods from my perspective are canned corned beef and fish (if you saw it on a plate in America you might think cat food) white bread, instant noodles (like ramen noodles, a favorite treat crushed and eaten raw) box milk, crackers, cookies, chips, candy, butter, chicken, mutton flaps, flour (white of course, it keeps longer) sugar and sometimes eggs. I get some of my food there, but choose some healthy (although more expensive) options in town. Many people eat manly root crops and food from the falekoloa (convenience store) so I tend to disagree with the author about the health of the food in Tonga. Or just modify it by saying yes there is healthy organic local food available here, but the cheap food available to all is the most processed you can find.