The Sustainable Diner at Ateneo’s “What’s On Your Plate?”
October 2019
Some of the speakers from the food security forum posing with representatives from the AESS student organization.
L-R: Cherrys Abrigo, Sierreza Community Supported Agriculture’s Founder, Melody Melo-Rijk, WWF’s Project Manager for Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Philippines, and Cynthia De Guia, Bureau of Agricultural Research’s Planning Officer and Assistant Head for Program Development
Last October 12, 2019, The Sustainable Diner: A Key Ingredient for Sustainable Tourism, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines’ pioneer project on sustainable consumption and production, was invited to speak at the Ateneo De Manila University for a food security forum called What’s On Your Plate? The forum was conducted to offer Ateneans a holistic insight into the underlying Philippine issue of food resource management as part the Talakayang Alay sa Bayan (TALAB) program, a series of talks and events which the university runs every year.
TALAB aims to highlight, bring awareness to, and discuss various trends and current issues by bringing in professionals from different fields to interact and discourse with the students. This particular forum was organized by the Ateneo Environmental Science Society (AESS), a student organization that “advocates for environmental awareness and action that’s grounded on scientific reason.”
Guest speakers invited included Cynthia De Guia, Planning Officer and Assistant Division Head for Program Development Division of the Bureau of Agricultural Research - an agency under the Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring that all agricultural research is coordinated and undertaken for maximum utility to agriculture, Lanie Francisco of Bokashi Pinoy Composting - an organization that advocates for food waste segregation, fermentation, and composting via the bokashi method, Cherrys Abrigo, Owner of Sierreza - an inclusive farm to table restaurant that advocates for sustainability and fair trade, Donna Miranda and Mark Sanchez of Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo (SAKA) - an artist alliance for land reform and rural development, and Melody Melo-Rijk, Project Manager for Sustainable Consumption and Production of WWF-Philippines.
Melo-Rijk discussing The Sustainable Diner project and sharing the three key partner cities, which includes Quezon City where Ateneo De Manila University is.
Melo-Rijk, for her talk, introduced The Sustainable Diner project to the students by first talking about the connection between sustainable consumption and production and food security in the country. “When we talk about Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), it generally refers to the use of services and related products which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials. It also takes into account the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the particular service or product, ensuring that the needs of future generations’ aren’t jeopardized,”she said. “If we connect that to food security, it means that our current global and local food systems need to function in ways that they are able to provide for the current needs without misusing resources to that point that there won’t be any left for future generations. These resources would include land, water, manpower, as well as the ecosystems and biodiversity that enable us to produce food in the first place. Food security should never be a privilege, it is a right for all of us.”
Participants were given opportunities to ask questions and to discourse with the invited speakers and their fellow students.
She then discussed why The Sustainable Diner project was developed and how it aims to empower both the food service industry and the dining public. “SCP is a multi-faceted issue that requires action from the different sectors of society. The goal of The Sustainable Diner project is to aid in providing a multi-sectoral approach involving the government, the food service industry, and the dining public in order to achieve SCP in the Philippines. This might sound complicated but it is something that we can achieve if we all contribute in our own small ways. There are many different ways by which we can help promote SCP, especially whenever we’re dining out. Helping our farmers and fisherfolk by choosing dishes that use local ingredients is one way of helping, as well as choosing to eat more fruits and vegetables,” stressed Melo-Rijk. “We should also do away with our takaw-tingin mentality and order only the amount of food that we can finish. If ever we still have leftovers, choose to take those home instead of letting it go to waste. Lastly, we should refuse single-use plastics and as much as possible, bring your own reusables. Microplastics are already present in the food that we are eating, and we all know that our bodies aren’t made to digest plastics.”
Ending her part of the session, Melo-Rijk encouraged the students to use their knowledge in order to encourage more people to become sustainable diners. “As individuals, we have the power to change the world. But can you imagine what we can achieve with collective action? Influence others through your actions and educate them because together, it is possible for us to ensure food security not only for our generation but for future generations as well.”
The Sustainable Diner project would like to thank AESS for inviting us to share our advocacy on sustainable dining through the TALAB program.
The Sustainable Diner project, under WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Consumption and Production, is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.
For more information, please contact:
Melody Melo-Rijk
Project Manager
mmelorijk@wwf.org.ph
For media arrangements, please contact:
Pamela Luber
Integrated Marketing Communications Specialist
pluber@wwf.org.ph
Lorayne Roque
Sustainable Consumer Specialist
lroque@wwf.org.ph
