Focus: Nutritional poverty
Is modern-day poverty linked to the inability to cook?
Is nutritional poverty linked to the inability to cook, resulting in expensive ready-made meals? In an attempt to tackle the growing problem of hunger in Britain, TV chef, Jamie Oliver said that the underlying cause is that most low-income families don’t know how to feed themselves properly, and instead opt for expensive ready-made meals. Similarly, Lady Jenkin suggested that “as a society, we have lost our cookery skills” and instead, we buy ready-made meals that cost more than what a home-cooked meal would. However, critics suggest that cookery skills are irrelevant if the resources aren’t available, including the ability to buy and transport food, cooking facilities and the skills to make appropriate choices etc.
The focus of this week’s debate is on nutritional poverty and whether it is linked to the lack of cookery skills?
These are the statements to be debated:
• Healthy food doesn’t always have to be expensive.
• Home-cooked food is cheaper and more nutritious than packaged food.
• The ability to cook is irrelevant if you do not have the resources.
Participants will be required to clearly state whether they are ‘for’ or ‘against’ the statement and provide their supporting arguments for the same.
If you would like to participate, send us a request at readers@gulfnews.com
