Nowadays with the Coronavirus is one of the main external forces dictating how we conduct our lives. We are constantly hearing news outlets talking about how underlying conditions can leave us to be more susceptible to the disease. Statistically, minority groups have had a harder time dealing with the coronavirus. One of the key factors of their heightened risk being diabetes. Health condition is a huge factor and it tends to be less of a priority to those with lower incomes. Things like unprocessed foods and products can be significantly more expensive than processed foods and canned goods. The purpose of the information presented below is to see whether or not unhealthy habits within the Caribbean diasporic community were established before tor after the migration. 
The first resource analyzed was a cookbook written by a Jamaican chef John DeMers. The chef has a prod and long history of the island written as the preface to the recipes. In this preface, he talks about all of the vegetation Jamaica was capable of growing, and that the produce grown was key in Jamaican cuisine.
ABOVE: The Spanish and British exported fresh produce from Jamaica with
the help of slaves brought in from West Africa, the ancestors of today’s Jamaicans
However, all of this fruit and vegetation was emphasized as being prevalent during the peak of the British Colonial Empire, so the basis of the dishes was in fresh produce because that’s what was mainly produced. But what happened after agricultural growth began to focus less on produce and more on tobacco and sugar?
A study done by Frank long on the agricultural system revealed some key indicators. Despite being capable of producing an excess of food, in 1970 the Caribbean collectively became net importers. That essentially translated to them not being able to produce enough food to feed the people who live on the islands. It also means that food has to be brought in.
Imported food has a higher price tag simply because it has to travel from somewhere else. This high price tag has become a major problem. Being that the Caribbean historically was a collection of agricultural lands, a lack of agriculture leaves them with fewer people involved in the labor force. No steady income leaves people to purchase the cheapest food they can get their hands on. Imported food is already more expensive, so canned goods are what they resort to. Fresh peppers become jarred ones. Fresh milk becomes evaporated milk. The Islands’ history of replacing healthy food with more economical alternatives, engraves habits generationally. If grandma cooked with margarine or Crisco instead of olive oil or butter, so will I.
Between the 1980s and 1990s there was a huge influx of Haitian, Trinidadian, and Toboggan immigrants. The Haitians fled during a military coup. The Trinidadians and Toboggans fled due to a lack of job opportunities. By the 1980s and 1990s unhealthy alternatives had an opportunity to penetrate the culture. Even if they had more money to spend on healthy foods, there wasn’t much of a desire to do so. If a traditional food was made a specific way, why change it. As a result there began to be initiatives that would begin to emphasize food as a form of health. The response to these initiatives overall has been extremely positive. People what to change their cooking and eating habits.
