Savour Planet: No Place For Waste

I was invited last May 25, 2019, for an event by WWF Philippines. It is all about Savour Planet: No Place For Waste which is part of their The Sustainable Diner: A Key Ingredient for Sustainable Tourism campaign. It was held at View Park Hotel, Tagaytay and they talked about the things we could do help lessen food wastes.

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
https://wwf.org.ph/what-we-do/food/thesustainablediner/savour-planet-tagaytay-2019/

The venue was just a few minutes away from home. The event started at around 10 o'clock in the morning and it was catered by Siglo Modern Filipino, one of the project’s partner restaurants.

Ms. Melody Melo-Rijk, WWF’s Project Manager for Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Philippines.

We may think that leftovers are our food wastes but little did we know that we already acquire them in preparing our foods. We often classify and separate ingredients. We choose the ones who look perfect and set aside the ones we call ugly produce (misshapen, undersized, discolored, bruised, or those with unusual spots or marks). I was actually guilty. Haha! I know you are too, right? Ms. Melody emphasized that the ugly produce may be different on the outside but they contain the same nutrients and might be even better. Parang sa tao lang, wag tayong judgemental. Haha!

Jomar Fleras, Executive Director of Rise Against Hunger Philippines

Mr. Jomar Fleras talked about the importance of food banks and how it helps in preventing excess food go to waste. I was never aware of food banks, to be honest, and I am really glad that we already have it here in the Philippines. Aside from preventing excess foods go to waste, they also help in alleviating hunger. There are a lot of excess foods (foods that are about to expire within six months, foods that did not meet their quality standards but still can be eaten, etc) from factories and companies and it's really nice to hear that some companies donate them to food banks.

Rina Papio, Founder of Earthventure/Greenspace

We also had a workshop on Bokashi Composting which was led by Ms. Rina Papio. It was my first time to hear about this. Bokashi Composting originated in Japan and it actually makes the regular composting period shorter. Bokashi gran is used in this method. We can do it in our own little homes. If you wanna know more about the process of Bokashi Composting, you may check this video.

The Savour Planet workshop series aims to empower and educate Filipino diners, partners from the media, the academe, as well as fellow non-government organizations and food security projects on the importance of sustainable food systems and sustainable dining. The objective of this year’s theme is to equip Filipino diners with knowledge and practical approaches on how they can prevent, manage, and divert the food waste they have at home.
https://wwf.org.ph/what-we-do/food/thesustainablediner/savour-planet-tagaytay-2019/