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VI’s high starch, alcohol & sugary diets have genesis in slavery- Eugenia O'Neal

-links diet to widespread chronic diseases across the C'bean region
Respected Virgin Islands (VI) Author and researcher, Eugenia O'Neal has linked the current unhealthy high starch and sugary foods of Virgin Islanders to the legacies of slavery and the plantation diet which now results in widespread chronic diseases across the region. Photo: Internet Source
Ms O'Neal's conclusion came during a presentation as part of virtual emancipation ceremony 2021 on August 2, 2021. She said the diets that African ancestors were made to live on, still impact the diets of Caribbean people during and after colonization. Photo: Facebook
Ms O'Neal's conclusion came during a presentation as part of virtual emancipation ceremony 2021 on August 2, 2021. She said the diets that African ancestors were made to live on, still impact the diets of Caribbean people during and after colonization. Photo: Facebook
The high labor slaves then turned to the starchy carbohydrates as the dominant nutrients which resulted in scores dying of malnutrition throughout the region because of the diet. Photo: Facebook
The high labor slaves then turned to the starchy carbohydrates as the dominant nutrients which resulted in scores dying of malnutrition throughout the region because of the diet. Photo: Facebook
Ms Eugenia O'Neal pointed out that discarded means after became the diet of africans. Photo: Facebook
Ms Eugenia O'Neal pointed out that discarded means after became the diet of africans. Photo: Facebook
Ms Eugenia O'Neal said as a result of the plantation society, ancestors started putting sugar in everything from soup to even providing a source of income for the many women who became sweet sellers of sugar cakes and nut cakes, all made of high amounts of sugar. Photo: Facebook
Ms Eugenia O'Neal said as a result of the plantation society, ancestors started putting sugar in everything from soup to even providing a source of income for the many women who became sweet sellers of sugar cakes and nut cakes, all made of high amounts of sugar. Photo: Facebook
Ms O'Neal said the result today, is that alcohol is now in black cakes, guava berry wines, and our sorrel, 'Today, big alcohol in the Caribbean has intertwined itself with both tourism and culture so that we can hardly think of one without the other,' she said. Photo: Facebook
Ms O'Neal said the result today, is that alcohol is now in black cakes, guava berry wines, and our sorrel, 'Today, big alcohol in the Caribbean has intertwined itself with both tourism and culture so that we can hardly think of one without the other,' she said. Photo: Facebook
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – VI Author and researcher, Eugenia O'Neal has linked the current unhealthy high starch and sugary foods of Virgin Islanders to the legacies of slavery and the plantation diet.

This she said has incubated the very diseases that plague the region, including chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes that result in Virgin Islanders being vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.

Diets & colonisation 

Ms O'Neal's conclusion came during a presentation as part of the Virtual Emancipation Ceremony 2021 on August 2, 2021.

She said the diets that African sales were made to live on also impacted the diets of Caribbean people during and after colonization.

Before slavery, O'Neil said the diets of Africans were based on fruits and grains, in addition to vegetables, legumes, nuts, and fish.

“Fish was often eaten by those on the coast or near rivers, but meat was rare and reserved for special occasions. The diet was sparse on salt, sugar, and dairy and even alcohol was usually only consumed on special occasions.”

According to O’Neal, it was in the Americas, when forced to work under slavery that the diets of Africans and their descendants changed. 

“Many plantation owners allocated land on which the enslaved could grow food, but, as you'd expect, this was usually mountainous or rocky soil unsuited to sugar cane and also to grow other crops. Crops grown or provision grounds nevertheless included yams, cassavas, and okra,” she said.

Dependence on Carbs 

The high labour slaves then turned to the starchy carbohydrates as the dominant nutrients which resulted in scores dying of malnutrition throughout the region because of the diet.

These diets she said was supplemented with salty foods added to the diets of Africans, including saltfish, saltfish cakes, ackee and saltfish and saltfish souse.

“Parts of animals unwanted by the planters such as tripe, oxtail, pigs feet [and] pig ears were passed on to the enslaved. Usually, these were the fattiest or grittiest parts of the animal, certainly the parts that did not contain the greatest nutrition,” she said.

Added to that, the sugar plantation also changed the Caribbean diets where sugar cane sparked sugar and rum and, according to O'Neal, the ancestors developed a desire for it.

As such, she said ancestors started putting sugar in everything from soup, to it even becoming a source of income for the many women who became sweet sellers of sugar cakes and nut cakes, all made of high amounts of sugar.

Taste for sugar developed 

“We developed a taste for sugary and salty foods that was unknown prior to colonisation and enslavement, but diets high in sugar can raise our blood pressure and they put us at risk of gaining weight. Diets high in salty foods can do the same thing, raising our blood pressure and making us hypertensive,” she said.

“But as with sugar, it was with rum. Rum was used to trade for more captives back in Africa so enslaved people were used to make a product traded for more captives,” she said.

Ms O'Neal said the result today, is that alcohol is now in black cakes, guava berry wines, and our sorrel, “Today, big alcohol in the Caribbean has intertwined itself with both tourism and culture so that we can hardly think of one without the other.”

She said alcohol makes big profits but the health cost of alcohol takes a toll on society, "it's health effects can include sclerosis of the liver in men and women and breast cancer in women,” she said. 

Diets resulted in today's chronic diseases 

Ms O'Neal added that other health effects of alcohol is that it can affect brain function and make persons vulnerable to heart disease while weakening their immune system. 

Further, Ms O'Neal said modern life coupled with smaller plates of vegetables, high starch diets, and less active people have resulted in some of the unhealthiest people in the Caribbean region.

“We stopped moving but our diet remained as it was, heavy on starches, sugar, salt, and far too many alcohols."

She said heart disease and diabetes rates in the region are among the highest in the world and noted that persons who are suffering from hypertension or obesity today remain particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 as a result of what they eat.

32 Responses to “VI’s high starch, alcohol & sugary diets have genesis in slavery- Eugenia O'Neal”

  • Rubber Duck (07/08/2021, 13:01) Like (44) Dislike (8) Reply
    Nothing stopping people switching to a healthy diet is there?

    Maybe Albert and the rest should set a better example.
    • Hmm (07/08/2021, 13:48) Like (22) Dislike (2) Reply
      NDP elected body were a fit and healthy looking bunch.

    • resident (07/08/2021, 16:34) Like (11) Dislike (2) Reply
      @Rubber Duck Easier said than done. Habits are very hard to break and healthier foods are more expensive. However in recent more persons are trying to eat more healthy and one can see more persons walking on evenings and mornings. We just need to educate people more and encourage persons to change their lifestyle.
      • Hmmm (08/08/2021, 05:35) Like (8) Dislike (1) Reply
        When did vegetables became more expensive more that meat? People really like to find reasons why they can't accomplish things that are most important.
      • Ronald Mc Donald (08/08/2021, 12:21) Like (4) Dislike (0) Reply
        Not many slaves got Big Mac and fries.
      • Bipartisan (12/08/2021, 10:30) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
        Healthy foods aren't that much more expensive (fruits and veggies, particularly); it's the meats and processed foods that tend to skyrocket the grocery bill. But, I'd think that it's better to spend the money to be proactive about one's health than to find it to cure disease. Habits are indeed hard to break, but it's a sorry excuse and clichéd response when things aren't easy. People have to want better for themselves. Most of us have smart devices and live in a time where information is easily accessible, if we want it.

        I enjoy a good slux down (in my best USVI accent), but I think the Caribbean really needs to adopt a Mediterranean-type diet (or a good Rasta vibe, even). Failure to makes it rather difficult to feel sorry for those who succumb to preventable diseases such as Diabetes (assuming they got it due to poor eating and lifestyle habits).
    • Popogogo (08/08/2021, 04:27) Like (10) Dislike (2) Reply
      In my experience, there are people of all races that eat unhealthily and do no exercise. All races have also been enslaved and all races practiced slavery.

      Life is more complicated than good guys and bad guys. It’s certainly not black and white.
    • KFC (11/08/2021, 07:55) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Agreed, diet can change any day, stop blaming the past for our present problems.
  • local boy (07/08/2021, 13:20) Like (17) Dislike (2) Reply
    Ms. O'Neal is indeed correct. The slaves were fed this type of food, but they toiled the soiled in the hot sun. They survived with longivity due to the Vitamin D they got. Now we dont get that vitamin compared to our ancestors but he have the same diet which has caused life to be fragile and shortened.
  • Wondering? (07/08/2021, 13:28) Like (35) Dislike (1) Reply
    Isn't your diet a "personal choice"?
  • A bigger broad (07/08/2021, 13:44) Like (33) Dislike (2) Reply
    True and factual. That was eons ago. We know better and have known better for quite sometime. But we celebrate women to the tune of $20,000 who abuse the privilege of caring for their bodies and living a healthy lifestyle. How many young girls as a result of such role models
    Wil be looking forward to
    winning large sums of money with much applause just for becoming fat and fluffy.
  • pap (07/08/2021, 13:51) Like (12) Dislike (0) Reply
    Nothing wrong with "glucksing"once in a while but moderation is key and physical b excersise must become a habit.
  • So corret (07/08/2021, 14:46) Like (1) Dislike (2) Reply
    Then there treat us with a poison bandage
  • Why (07/08/2021, 14:52) Like (9) Dislike (4) Reply
    Is it those who who chatting about our ( African ancestors ) only hollering from what happened on the boat and after / but not a word of what went on BEFORE
  • @Why (07/08/2021, 15:30) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    and why our much talked about lately of our African history is not taught in our schools
  • My girl (07/08/2021, 15:48) Like (8) Dislike (20) Reply
    She is correct these racist from the uk
  • Thoughtful Sailor (07/08/2021, 16:30) Like (8) Dislike (0) Reply
    Progress is all about learning from past mistakes, and improving habits as one moves forward. So, generations after slavery was abolished, where does the responsibility lie?
    • simple (07/08/2021, 18:48) Like (3) Dislike (17) Reply
      The responsibility lies with the UK to pay the enormous reparations bill for unpaid labor, theft and mistreatment. As Louis Farrakhan said, "they can't pay, but they must pay". Only a matter of time.



  • mah (07/08/2021, 16:58) Like (7) Dislike (0) Reply
    @jack you are just a A$$.
  • ReX FeRal (07/08/2021, 17:34) Like (5) Dislike (1) Reply
    Still on the plantation.
  • RACISM & REPARATION (07/08/2021, 21:34) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    FROM WHO? THE SELLER OR THE BUYER ? WHEN STOUT WAS THERE WE NEVER HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THE NEW DISCOVERY THAT WAS DISCOVERED BY THESE YOUNG SUPER STARS
  • ? (07/08/2021, 23:30) Like (12) Dislike (0) Reply
    Your diet is your responsibility. Dont be blaming all that fried chicken on white people that died 200 years ago. This is part of the reason why the world doesn't take the Caribbean diaspora seriously.
  • Well (08/08/2021, 00:59) Like (1) Dislike (4) Reply
    With all of that said, people want to eat healthy but can't
    afford to buy healthy food. Those greedy supermarket owner's. Price of food are expansive. Government need to do something help it people, especially in this difficult time we are living in.
    • Rubber Duck (08/08/2021, 10:12) Like (4) Dislike (0) Reply
      In India the vast majority of the population is vegetarian. This is partly for religious reasons but mostly because they cannot afford meat. There are not many fat people. A healthy diet does not mean eating expensive lettuce , which in fact is not that healthy, it means avoiding sugar, too much fat and too many carbs, bread and pasta and to some degree rice being the carbs here. Chickpeas are a wonderful healthy food that are not carbs and most pulses, split peas etc. Lean chicken is good. In fact the ITAL diet is pretty healthy. There are not many fat Rastas.
  • question (08/08/2021, 06:14) Like (6) Dislike (1) Reply
    There is a degree of truth in this.

    But compare the diet of the people and how it has changed more recently than slavery. What was the diet in 1950? How has that changed to now. Consumerism and wealth has created the environment when diets have declined in quality.

    Combined with the lack of investment in fishing (or the fact that it has become easier to make more money elsewhere).

    Education is the answer. However, education will always be undermined when leaders are talking of putting faith in prayers and fasting as a response to a crisis, rather than putting faith in science and knowledge.
  • NB (08/08/2021, 07:43) Like (10) Dislike (4) Reply
    Why would you write an article like this? Slavery was abolished years ago. We all have choices to eat what we want. No one is forcing us to consume unhealthy foods. Madam, emancipate yourself from mental slavery. Stop spreading the the hate virus.
  • my2cents (08/08/2021, 09:15) Like (8) Dislike (1) Reply
    What is being pointed out is our food culture not your personal diet. Our food culture came down thru slavery as slaves had to eat. So yes it's a personal choice but all of our choices are influenced by our Culture, environment & experience. A expat friend of mine was telling me how good mullet fish is, we don't eat that here. We also don't eat porgy fish, but in other places they love it. We like bonito fish but in many places they don't eat it. High starch foods are our culture, but we're not walking to the ghut to bathe & to the well for water every morning, then tending to our grounds and animals. So the cultural diet became a detriment. How many ppl do we know who refuse to change their diet after the doctor warns them of the consequences? Corned Pork, Souse, Salt fish w/ mayonnaise. Then we get upset when they drop down dead and blame other factors. Come on BVI we are better than what we blog, we have sense to reason with man.
  • FEO GOMEZ (09/08/2021, 09:27) Like (1) Dislike (1) Reply
    SPEAK THE TRUTH Mrs. O'NEAL I applaud you.


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