Living Ethics Journal

By Isaac Bauliah.

Pacific Islanders refers to anyone living on islands from the Philippians to Hawaii. With the rise of globalism, traditional “healthy” foods on these islands, ranging from fresh fish to root vegetables, have become more expensive while more processed food and soft drinks such as spam (popular meat) and soda have become cheaper and more available. This rise in unhealthy food, coupled with the rise of a more sedentary lifestyle, has led Pacific Island nations to have the highest rates of fast-food related diseases such as high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes, as well as an increased rate of heart attacks and strokes. 

Some countries have taken measures to help curb the rising obesity rates, such as Nauru introducing a tax on soda. But while these measures help discourage people from buying fast food and soda, alternative “healthy” solutions still remain expensive. Because of distance from other nations, Pacific island nations suffer from high shipping fees that raise the prices of fresh produce. One way these countries avoid this problem is to give citizens tax benefits when they use their own land to grow fresh produce to consume themselves or to sell in local markets. Countries could also increase import tax on foods containing trans fats and sugars, such as soda, corn, and canola oil, as well as increase the sales tax on meats such as pork and beef. These taxes can be translated into subsidies for local agricultural industries and tax benefits for fishermen who sell their fish locally, discouraging people from buying unhealthy foods while fostering the growth of homegrown produce and locally caught fish. 

Equally important is the need to increase access to education surrounding health and lifestyle. This can involve creating health wellness campaigns to inform the people living here of the effects of fast food and sugary drinks on their health. Ad campaigns like this have run in both America and Europe and have shown to help. 48% of people exposed to PSA’s warning about the effects of unhealthy food have stated they are trying to now be more health conscious. Informing parents about the effects of sugary soda and fatty foods would help them make better decisions when buying their own children’s food, and PSA’s that can be targeted toward making youth more active. This could be through requiring schools to offer extracurricular sports activities or implement physical education curriculum.