What are we really eating?
Recently, my dad went grocery shopping and he had two heavy bags of meat. So I asked, ‘What was in the bag?” He gleefully told me that he bought two cow heads for $80, he then told me that it was $25 each before and it sold out and the butcher jacked up the price. My first thought was, “What a savvy businessman?” Then I realize that he’s taking advantage of his customers’ gullibility. I guess it’s true what they say. A new sucker is born every day. Unfortunately, a lot of West Indians share the same tendency as my dad does, to totally embrace unhealthy eating habits. I also remember being 6 years old and my dad telling me to get something out of the freezer for dinner. After a couple minutes of meddling, I opened a bag to see a pig’s head screw facing me. I then told my dad about the traumatic event, he just laughed at me and continued to down his Labatt Blue, while watching Hulk Hogan talk shit. As a matter of fact, a lot of the Caribbean food we eat, (cow foot, chicken foot soup, tripe, oxtail, goat head soup, etc…) is nothing but slave food. More specifically, the plantation owner couldn’t afford to feed all his slaves, and he sure as hell isn’t feeding them useful parts of his livestock. So, why not feed “invaluable” people with food that is equally invaluable?
The plantation owner didn’t give a shit about your blood pressure, cholesterol level, your weight, or your blood sugar level. But the slaves didn’t have a choice what they ate, but of course, we embraced it and celebrated it, and made it a part of our lifestyle. African American people took it to a higher level; they have this high sodium, high cholesterol, high sugar intake train wreck that they call “soul food”. You can have pig ears or intestines (or whatever odd throw away meat) in a bed of sugar, grease, or whatever your heart’s (dis)content…
These killer dishes have been in our culture for over 400 years and counting. Don’t get me wrong, I”m just as flawed in my dietary choices as the rest of you.I’d probably beat up an old lady or a toddler for some oxtail or goat head soup right now. But I’m aware that this is an issue that I’m still trying to address. Although we still use a lot of foods from our West African roots (yam, sweet potato, etc.), we’re still embracing and holding onto the bad slave food, and what are we holding onto? Nothing is more dysfunctional than slavery. Then we wonder why diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity run in our families. Do you think this is a coincidence? It might be challenging for our parents to change because they are set in their ways But you can make a difference in your life and your kids’ lives. The first step is to change our mentality. Affluent people will line up for high grade Angus beef because they deserve the best and will only intake high quality food. They won’t spend their money on cow heads or chicken feet; so next time you’re drinking your cow head soup and one of his eyes come to the surface of the soup, remember, you are what you eat.