Amid all the threats and counterthreats, and the potential trade war regarding patties in CARICOM, I have yet to hear what I regard as the crux of the matter - the nutritional value of these pies.

I remember seeing a newspaper photograph, on a "social page", of several prominent persons snacking on patties, and the only one not chomping down was a patty-maker. He merely held his patty bag, symbolically, as it were. Now why was that?

a reasonable snack

The patty idea is a potentially good one, and the pie could conceivably be a reasonable snack, or even a good meal, but the consumer, at present, has no way of knowing what he or she is really getting.

I suspect that if enterprising journalists were to do a report on the comparative ingredients of several patties [as is regularly done on fast foods in the United states], or if patty manufacturers were required to have nutritional data printed on the patty bags, there would be such an immediate and vast improvement in the quality of patties that they would find ready markets locally and overseas, and could be a big hit among hungry fans at Jamaican music shows in Europe and the USA, as a snack icon along with local beer, and 'strongback' beverages.

So, instead of preparing warships, as it were, à la Captain Morgan, the pirate style, to frighten our distant CARICOM neighbours into buying Jamaican patties, our troops should really consist of nutritional advisers and marketers.

I am, etc.,

PATRICK BLAKE

mysterymonpatrick@hotmail.com