The traditional gardening practices of before have not been maintained and a lot of the secrets have been lost. Much of our traditional medicines have been associated with black magic so a lot of traditional understandings are being neglected for the modern medical system.

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Now there is the convenience of shop bought meat and vegetables. Fishing is still a necessary pastime as fresh fish is always accessible to the Meriam, but the traditional practice has died. We now have introduced foods that are seen as Torres Strait islander, such as Sop Sop, which is vegetables steamed in coconut milk. Much of these food practices, such as steaming in coconut milk was introduced and influenced by the south-sea islander missionaries that settled on Mer.