The influx of cheap imported food soon followed - turkey tails, lamp flaps, salted beef, white flour, and sugar. Our people had a natural liking of these imported food products and soon developed our own unhealthy creations - pancakes, kopai, keke puaa, german buns, and siamu popo (jam) made by frying sugar to melt and add coconut cream. Even though most of these imported products are expensive today, we still buy them because we are “addicted” to them.

When our belief that “Big” is strong, wealthy and beautiful, is fuelled by cheap imported food, there are serious health consequences for our wonderful people.
We have also added imported food to our Cultural Ceremonies or gatherings such as Village Chief Title bestowment, Village penalties, Village gifts, funerals, weddings and opening a new church building and many others.

Prior to our exposure to the wider world, our main food for special occasions was a whole pig. Pig is so highly prized in our culture that we have named its different body parts. These are divided and distributed according to village status, from the high chief to the untitled men of the village. Fish was also highly valued but it is not as important as the pig. For the special occasions (fa’alavelave) or gatherings, food plays a significant part. Unfortunately, the success of ceremony in the eyes of many Samoans, is simple: “Did they have enough food to give away?”