A private member bill introduced by the former Aglip South Waghi MP, Jamie Maxton Graham, to ban lamb flaps in PNG had stirred debate among Papua New Guineans and importers and dealers in lamb flaps.
However, the issue had been dropped after Mr Graham has lost his seat in the last election. Food containing fat, like lamp flaps, play a vital role in our body. Stored fats is used when we do not take enough fatty food in our diet. However, fat becomes injurious to health when we continuously eat fatty foods like lamb flaps as it builds up in the tissues.
The fat content of a lamb flap is about 90% of which 50% is saturated fat. This is five times the daily requirement of our body.
Saturated fat is stored as glycerol in muscle tissue. Excess fat build up under the skin and inside the body and can weaken the normal functions of heart, liver and other organs. Continuous deposition of fat can lead to many lifestyle diseases such as heart failure, strokes, coronary heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes, obesity and many more.
It has became an issue of debate in parliament because many leaders do not understand the low nutritional value of lamb flaps. Many countries overseas regard it as waste food and feed it to domestic cats and dogs because they have the nutritional knowledge.
It should be ban it here in PNG and supplement it with other protein. The government should solve the current issues in the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and pump more money into the department so we can raise our own sheep, pigs and poultry as an alternative to lamb flaps. We have enough land to do that. The government must also support existing piggery companies like Radho and Boroma at 14 Mile and cattle farms like those in the Markham Valley and others. |
| Hon Jammie Maxton Graham, MP |
However, the issue had been dropped after Mr Graham has lost his seat in the last election. Food containing fat, like lamp flaps, play a vital role in our body. Stored fats is used when we do not take enough fatty food in our diet. However, fat becomes injurious to health when we continuously eat fatty foods like lamb flaps as it builds up in the tissues.
The fat content of a lamb flap is about 90% of which 50% is saturated fat. This is five times the daily requirement of our body.
Saturated fat is stored as glycerol in muscle tissue. Excess fat build up under the skin and inside the body and can weaken the normal functions of heart, liver and other organs. Continuous deposition of fat can lead to many lifestyle diseases such as heart failure, strokes, coronary heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes, obesity and many more.
It has became an issue of debate in parliament because many leaders do not understand the low nutritional value of lamb flaps. Many countries overseas regard it as waste food and feed it to domestic cats and dogs because they have the nutritional knowledge.
I think it will help boost the economy. There will be more job opportunities created as government focuses on building up more butcheries and expands its investments in the agriculture sector.
It will circulate money within the country instead of overseas. These products will be cheaper, as they are produced in the country. I believe many poor Papua New Guineans will then be able to afford better meat products.
We must always consider the health of the people. Many people are dying silently of lifestyle and fat related diseases. The death of Kundiawa MP Joe Mek Teine and another Chimbu elite, former Madang Provincial administrator, Joseph Dopor, are two recent examples.
Many countries have regarded lamb flaps as waste food and dump the product here in PNG. We must ban it and supplement it with locally produced protein.
No comments:
Post a Comment