Antoinette Taus puts a spotlight on discarded vegetables

Actress Antoinette Taus will soon be hitting two birds with one stone by helping non-profit organization Communities Organized for Resource Allocation (CORA) in assisting farmers and people in need.

In an Instagram post, the Filipino-American actress shared how the delay of deliveries due to the coronavirus pandemic has led farmers from the provinces of Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya to discard fresh produce like tomatoes, carrots, and other vegetables in the streets.

Adding, “All this waste as thousands go hungry in Metro Manila and other parts of the Philippines--highlighting the deeper issue of #FoodWaste that has heightened due to the #COVID-19 pandemic.”

Antoinette listed down the three major things affected by food waste, including:

• People in poverty--enough food but improperly allocated
• Our local farmers--no market due to lack of demand and logistics; and
• Our planet--methane emissions due to decomposing and rotting food.

She explained that through CORA, the funds will guarantee two things: “Reaching out for help to provide vegetables and relief goods to families in need while helping support Filipino farmers.”

Overproduction of vegetables

According to a report by GMA News Online on June 12, the Department of Agriculture will establish additional trading posts to expand the market for farmers' produce due to oversupply.

The news follows after carrot farmers in Tinoc, Ifugao have resorted to selling their products at PhP5 to PhP10 per kilo due to lack of buyers amid the pandemic.

In a statement made by Agriculture Secretary William Dar, “We need to establish linkage to the food market and logistics, i-identify kung saan puwede mag setup ng trading posts in all regions.

“We will have a more efficient system, i-li-link natin itong trading posts sa big food markets sa Metro Manila in the next two years.”

Even before the lockdown was implemented, incidents of oversupply have been reported such as 300 kilos of eggplants from Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, and over 3 million kilos of vegetables in Balanoy, Benguet were left to rot early this year.

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