The government of Samoa has finally wised up to the fact that the mass consumption of low-grade fat-ridden imported meats from New Zealand and elsewhere are having huge, long-term detrimental effects to the health of many Samoans.

To combat this, the government is bringing in 1,000 head of sheep from Fiji. Personally, I'm thrilled for both the Samoans and myself. Samoans can't keep eating this crap and I never started, but I would love to get a nice cut of lamb every now and again. And if someone wants to want into a vindaloo and serve it up with some naan and a mango lassi, well I'll be first in line.

Of course, when the sheep are coming, the sheep jokes can't be far behind. Maybe we can import some of those from New Zealand as well.

Health Worries Behind Move to Import Live Sheep
By Lave Tuiletufuga

Imported mutton and lamb flaps from New Zealand, blamed for contributing to health problems here, may soon be a thing of the past.

Better meat could be produced locally if all works out as hoped following approval for importing a trial shipment of sheep. Government is looking at import substitution but more particularly healthier meat than the flaps presently imported from New Zealand.

Minister of Finance Misa Telefoni announced approval for a shipment of a breed called Tropical Sheep in his Budget speech in Parliament last week.

Noted the Finance Minister: "If considered viable, it will provide a substitute to imported meat and hopefully will lead to a gradual reduction in the quantity of meat imports, while also improving the quality of meat cuts from sheep."

The imported mutton and lamb flaps available at present have long alarmed nutritionists because of their high fat content.

Health officials view them a factor in the sharp rise in non-communicable diseases in recent decades. Pacific Islands doctors say New Zealand exporters are dumping low-grade meat in the region, including Samoa.

But flaps are also the cheapest form of meat available and continue to be popular because of this.

New Zealand meat industry representatives reject the dumping claims, saying sheep flaps can be used in sausages and rolled roasts and are relatively lean if cooked properly.

Academics who have worked or done research in the region have said the New Zealanders are sending fatty meat that would never be sold to a Western developed country.

An adjunct professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Garry Egger, said sheep flaps had become part of islanders' diet only in recent times but were now regarded as "traditional" food.

It was hypocritical of New Zealand to give the Islands aid money on the one hand and make their people sick with rubbish food on the other, he said.

An epidemiologist at the Auckland School of Medicine, Rod Jackson, said New Zealand was one of several countries sending fatty meat to the islands.

A Samoan doctor now working on contract in American Samoa with the LBJ Tropical Medical Centre, Lealiifano Dr Iopu Tanielu, said that New Zealand sent poorer quality meat to the islands than it sold to Western countries.

"We do seem to be getting second-grade lamb here. I don't see this grade in New Zealand," he said.

Other doctors say that sheep flaps are a health problem but it is up to their own people and governments to improve diet education and possibly ban the imports.

Back in March, Minister of Agriculture Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau and Director of Agriculture Seumanutafa Malaki sang praises of the Fiji Fantastic breed of sheep after a trip to Fiji.

It was noted that this breed can be left to graze amongst trees and plants found in the Pacific, like coconut trees, banana trees, taro and nonu trees, without causing any damage to these plants.

Instead the sheep provides a form of control for overgrown plantation weeds.