April Is Filipino Food Month – Has The Department Of Agriculture Been Cultivating Filipino Food Giving Value To Cultural Heritage, Towards National Pride & Sense Of Belonging?

According to Presidential Proclamation 469 signed by PRRD on 13 April 2018, the month of April of every year is designated as “Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino” or “Filipino Food Month.” My Ilocano mouth is watering, but I do not see any “food offering” by the Department Of Agriculture (DA) – not a program or activity to meaningfully celebrate the month. Why not?

(“Natural Food” image from Market Business News, marketbusinessnews.com)

In CNN Travel, Maida Pineda and Candice Lopez-Quimpo list“50 Dishes That Define The Philippines” (25 May 2016, CNN.com) (edited):

Adobo, Arroz Caldo, Bagnet, Balut, Betute, Bibingka,
Bicol Express, Buko Pie, Bulalo, [Camaron] Rebosado,
Champorado, Chicken Inasal, Crispy Pata, Dinuguan at Puto,
Empanada De Kaliskis, Ensaymada at Tsokolate, Fish Kinilaw,
Fish Tinola, Halayang Ube, Halo-Halo, Ilocos Empanada,
Inihaw na Liempo, Inihaw na Panga ng Tuna, Kamaro,
Kare-Kare, Kuhol sa Gata, Laing, Leche Flan, Lechon,
Longanisa, Lumpiang Ubod, Pan De Sal, Pancit Habhab,
Pancit Palabok, Pastillas De Leche, Pinakbet, Pork Barbecue,
Puto Bumbong, Relyenong Alimango, Sinanglay, Sinigang,
Sinugno, Sisig, Suman at Mang[g]a, Taba ng Talangka,
Tablea Tsokolate, Taho, Tapa, Tinolang T[u]gac, and Turon.

We have much & many Filipino foods to celebrate – where is the celebration?!

Thomas Kellersays, “A recipe has no soul. You must bring soul to the recipe.” Likewise, the Filipino Food proclamation has no soul; Filipinos must bring soul to Filipino food.

My way of celebrating April as Filipino Food Month is to point out that every bit of food can be the source of natural health for everyone. And the way for the DA to ensure that is? Promote organic agriculture more than ever before!

The top image says, “Pagkaing Pilipino: Susi Sa Pag-unlad At Pagbabago.” My free translation: “Filipino Food: Key To Progress & Meaningful Change.”

I do subscribe to natural food as key to progress and meaningful change. The lower image says, “Natural Food: Food from farms that don’t use artificial fertilizers, GMOs, pesticides, growth regulators or food additives.”

Brought to you by? Organic Agriculture!

And so, I am sort of expecting that OneDA, under Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, will officially declare that henceforth, organic farming shall be encouraged from Aparri to Jolo. So that the DA pronouncement is not simply hot air, henceforth I expect the DA to allot at least P50 Billion for the promotion of organic agriculture and the production of organic fertilizers that will be distributed at half cost of production to farmer cooperatives. (I prefer cooperatives to simply farmer associations because a coop has a board of directors where community interests are represented, while a farmer association is usually a one-man or one-group rule.)

According to Patricia Bianca Taculao (26 March 2022, “Celebrating Food, Culture, And The Filipino With The Filipino Food Month,” Manila Bulletin, MB.com.ph), the theme of the whole-month celebration is “Iba’t Ibang Luto, Pinoy ang Puso” (my free translation – “Different Recipes, Same Filipino Heart”).

Next year, it should read: “Different Natural Food Recipes, Same Filipino Healthy Heart!”@517

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What’s Your 1K Worth Today? My 1K Is Worth Love In Communication For Village Development In The 21st Century (CoViD21)!

Image
Today, Friday, 02 Sept 2022, I post this essay as the 1000 th in this blog “CoViD21” – short for “Communication for Village Development in the 21st Century.” Blogging since 2000, I have decided to dedicate myself unrelentingly to village development – an area much neglected. Actually, the 999 essays published before this one appeared in my blog “ Towards A New Eden” but which I have come to the conclusion that building a New Eden is too much of a promise, and developing villages is a dream within one’s reach in a lifetime. The development of villages I have in mind is via Regenerative Agriculture (RA). Rodale Institute introduced the term “Regenerative Organic Agriculture” in 1989 “to distinguish a kind of farming that goes beyond sustainable” (undated, Rodale Institute, rodaleinstitute.org ). So, I now believe that “Sustainable Development” is inadequate! We must go after “Regenerative Development,” especially via Agriculture. At this point, I must say that the application of org
Read more

Knorr Of Big Business Unilever Thinks Big Business Regenerative Agriculture – My Tiny Country PH Also Should!

Image
“Knorr’s plan for 50 regenerative agriculture projects is predicted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use by an estimated 30% while improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods.” That is regenerative agriculture (RA) news by Julian Cirineo (05 Nov 2021, “Unilever Wants To Rethink How Farms Work To Secure Food And Resources For The Future,” Rappler , rappler.com ). Note: 50 (not 5 only) RA projects to improve greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and water use by 30% – plus improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods. Note the last 7 words in the above paragraph. How can RA improve biodiversity? RA requires that the farmer practices multiculture (a few or many crops grown at the same time in the same place), where monoculture (such as rice-only or corn-only) is the practice – the biodiversity improves crop health because of the ensuing balance of nature, such as some organisms feed on other organisms that would otherwise become pests or cause diseases. RA is your
Read more

How Do We Celebrate “World Environment Day?” 2 Related Answers: “We Believe Farming Is The Biggest Job On Earth” – BASF. “Everyday Is Environment Day For Me!” – Frank A Hilario

Image
We have ignored “World Environment Week” and it’s time to pay attention to it. All the more reason because wars of all kinds are going on all over the world, and I am scientifically convinced that the kind of environment we have, or the kind we cultivate, propagates such wars. The inclusive date for “Environment Week” according to Jenica Dizon is 20-27 March (upper image). Differently, the Government of Virgin Islands says it’s 04-10 June (lower image from   bvi.gov.vg via YouTube). What? We don’t even have a single inclusive date! We mortals do not care much about our environment to celebrate it, do we? Not the issue of the inclusive dates, what I want to tackle here is what we mortals can commonly do to truthfully celebrate World Environment Day/Week. The above image I saw on Facebook, the post “Be Green, Be Great” by Waves For Water Philippines Country Director Jenica Dizon, “highlights the importance of caring for issues facing our environment.” I have always cared much abou
Read more