About sixty per cent of the diseases which Caribbean people die from are preventable and are caused by unhealthy eating habits and the consumption of artificially processed foods, according to chief coordinator of the Caribbean Agricultural Farmers Network, Jethro Greene.

Speaking during the National Agricultural Forum, Greene, who came in from Jamaica to deliver an address at the event, said the main killers in the Caribbean diet at present are ’white rice, white sugar and white flour’.

He said if persons were to utilise the food that is more indigenous to our region, like yam and dasheen, and stay away from processed goods, they would lead healthier lives and there could be less cases of ’non-communicable but fatal diseases like diabetes and hypertension’.

The farmers’ forum was held at the Macoya Wholesale Farmers’ Market in Macoya, Tunapuna and over 1000 farm and agriculture professionals attended the event.

During his address, Greene said young people have now been taught that unhealthy foods ’like beer, is more valuable than healthy food’.

He said a person would not be willing to pay three dollars for a whole heap of mango, but not think twice about paying five dollars for one beer. He said this is a ’culture of unhealthy consumption’.

Greene also said that ’cheap food’ should not be what people search for in this day and age, as farmers also have to live, but instead should aim to purchase and consume affordable healthy food.

He said farmers want to have ’the same respect as people who work in the banks, in jacket and tie’.

However, he added that selling their goods at unreasonable prices to a society that does not appreciate the real value of healthy food will not help them lead comfortable lives.

-Aretha Welch