DIET, INCOME, AND AGRICULTURE IN AN EASTERN CARIBBEAN VILLAGE

This study of a Vincentian community in the Eastern Caribbean explores the impacts of income on dietary quality and food import dependency I t finds that two forms of income - total household income and the inco me that women control - are positively correlated with total dietary d iversity as well as with frequency of consumption of numerous imported foods. However, no relation is evident between banana incomes and con sumption of imported foods, thus questioning the general belief in the literature that the growth of banana production has been responsible for increasing dependence on food imports in the Windward Islands. The beneficial impacts of income on dietary quality that have been found in many other developing areas are more limited here because malnutrit ion is not a widespread problem. But income is closely linked to consu mption of foods that contribute to overnutrition and obesity, growing concerns in the English-speaking Caribbean.