In Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, thousands of impoverished families are resorting to an alarming survival strategy: consuming “mud cookies” — flattened discs made from clay or dirt, salt and sometimes oil or fat that are shaped and dried in the sun. These cookies, locally known as bonbon tè, are eaten not for taste or nutrition, but simply to soothe hunger when no real food is available.

The practice is especially concentrated in slum areas such as Cité Soleil in Port-au-Prince, where food prices have soared and incomes remain extremely low. Dirt is transported from the central plateaus near towns like Hinche to urban markets, then processed by hand: impurities are removed, the fine earth is mixed with salt and some form of fat (such as vegetable shortening), formed into discs and sun-dried. Once hardened, they are sold for only a few cents each — often the only affordable option for families surviving on less than two dollars a day.

Although proponents claim the cookies provide minerals (such as calcium) and act as antacids, nutrition experts caution that the minerals are largely unavailable for human digestion and that reliance on these discs is a clear indicator of extreme food insecurity. Health risks including tooth decay, intestinal problems and malnutrition are well documented.

The production and consumption of mud cookies function as a bleak “misery index” for Haiti: as more families turn to them, the deeper the crisis of food access becomes. Analysts say the cookies reflect systemic issues: dependence on food imports, climatic shocks to agriculture, political instability and rising global food prices. The cookies are not a solution — merely a last resort for the hungry.

Efforts to address the issue include community feeding programmes, agricultural development initiatives and nutrition education. However, the scale of the problem remains huge and the fact that children and pregnant women consume material made of dirt is a stark reminder of the world’s silent hunger crises. The image of these cookies should prompt not only gratitude for what we have, but also action to bridge the gap for those who have nothing else to eat.