Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw (right), in dialogue with Vice President, National Consumers’ League (NCL), Michael Diamond (centre); and Professor Fitzroy Henry, School of Allied Health and Wellness, University of Technology, at the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the NCL, held under the theme Consumers Health, Jamaica’s Wealth: ‘Healthy Approach to Nation Building’, at the Multipurpose Facility, Bureau of Standards Jamaica, Winchester Road, Kingston, on Wednesday, October 2, 2019.
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Audley Shaw, has lauded the work of the National Consumers’ League.
“I must applaud you for your loyal and faithful support over the past fifty-three years. You have contributed so much over these years towards the empowerment of our citizens through activism and the provision of information that allows our consumers to make educated choices and, I urge you to continue the charge,” the Minister said.
Minister Shaw was addressing the National Consumers’ League of Jamaica 52nd Annual General Meeting held under the theme, ‘Consumers’ Health, Jamaica’s Wealth: Healthy Approach to Nation Building’, at the Bureau of Standards Jamaica Multi-purpose Facility, Winchester Road on Wednesday, October 1, 2019.
He noted that this year’s theme echoes the sentiments regarding the need for a shift in our approach to our collective health as a country – financially, emotionally and otherwise, as well as how we feed ourselves, our children and, the innate connection to our prosperity and advancement.
The Minister reiterated the need for us to eat more locally grown food.
“We do not realize the God given blessings that we have. We spend too much time feeding our children things because they are cheaper. We feed them on genetically modified food such as imported rice and flour and, God has given us the ability to produce things here that are more nutritious than those things that we import although, admittedly they are cheaper,” he stated.
The Minister added further that “when we eat more of our local produce, this will in turn reduce our dependence on imports, while at the same time increasing our wealth as a country. We will spend less to buy imports, improve our health as we consume more local fresh produce, while at the same time, creating wealth among our small farmers”.
The National Consumers’ League a non-profit, non-government agency was established in 1966 to advance consumer knowledge, awareness about products, services, prices, market trends, their rights and responsibilities to enable them to make informed choices in a liberalizing economy.
-30-
