WWF-Philippines launches #TheSustainableDiner to combat food wastage

Extra rice? Hold that thought and consider this first: Filipinos waste up to 308,000 tons of rice every year.

Food wastage is a real problem in the Philippines, even if 2.7 million Filipino families were documented as "hungry" in the first quarter of 2017.

As a response to this, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines is launching a campaign to raise awareness on mindful production and consumption of food — if there's enough to go around, not a single person should feel the pain of hunger.

"With The Sustainable Diner project, WWF-Philippines hopes to empower the Filipino dining public and the food service sector, and help them realize that their consumption and production choices have the power to transform the industry," Joel Palma, President and CEO of WWF-Philippines, said during the launch of the new project on September 26.

"With the support of the government and our media partners, we can all have productive and collaborative discussions on the changes we can implement in order to make the local dining scene more sustainable," he said.

"These choices are now more important than ever, and if we want to green both the food service industry and the tourism industry, each stakeholder has to become a key ingredient towards achieving a more sustainable Philippines.”

Every grain of rice has value, so eat it all up...and try not to take more than what you need.

#TheSustainableDiner is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Bulding and Nuclear Safety. The organization made a commitment to three local cities — Quezon, Tagaytay, and Cebu — to further educate the public on how to make the food service industry more environmentally friendly.

Recognizing the sustainability efforts of and the partnership made with The Sustainable Diner’s three pilot cities: Quezon City, City of Cebu, and City of Tagaytay. L-R: Mr. Joel Palma (President and CEO, WWF-Philippines), Ms. Divina Pascua (Cultural and Tourism Affairs Officer-in-Charge, Quezon City Government), Ms. Leilani Diesta (Tourism and Information Officer, Tagaytay City Government), Ms. Nida Cabrera (Environment and Natural Resources Office Head, Cebu City Government), and Ms. Melody Melo-Rijk (Project Manager for Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Philippines, WWF-Philippines). Photo courtesy of WWF-Philippines.

The dining public can help by supporting establishments who have partnerships with local farmers. Coffee shops like SGD and Commune, for example, brew from beans sourced directly from communities in Northern Luzon.

Every peso spent in these establishments empowers local food producers.

“If consumers go to restaurants that practice sustainable dining, or only order food that comes from local producers, such as fisher folk who practice sustainable fishing, then of course the market will follow suit. The market will always follow what the consumers want,” said Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Undersecretary for Administration, Agribusiness and Marketing, and Regional Engagement of the Department of Agriculture.

“If we are proud of what we have, we would promote it, patronize it, support it, sustain it, and all the more we will be able to enjoy it, not only now, but for the future,” Eden Josephine David, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Tourism added. — AT, GMA News