Philippine Sustainability Movement

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

- CHIT U. JUAN

Has it been 10 years? Actually, we have been promoting organic food since 2004 or a whole generation ago.

Ever since we attended the First Organic Coffee Conference in Uganda back in 2004 and we started working on organic certification for coffee farms in Benguet, I have been a firm believer in all things organic. When you get exposed to how organic food is produced, you may tell yourself that it must be the only way to eat.

Now, for many institutions like restaurants and hotels, going organic for sustainability may mean higher costs and this right away meets opposition from cost controllers and bean counters. This is why since 10 years ago, Christian Schmidradner along with hotel chefs convened to form the Philippine Sustainability Movement. He gathered a host of green retailers (myself included), hotels and restaurants who would give sustainability a push through sustainable seafood, sustainable purchasing or green procurement.

Every year we gathered the advocates and celebrated along with like-minded institutions and Christian, though he sold seafood primarily, would interest everyone in meats, produce and other ingredients hotels used. A few years later, global initiatives would have hotels using glass bottles for mineral water as is the practice now, with even bottlers of mineral water shifting some production to glass in lieu of plastic.

Recently, Christian and I joined the launch of the Naturland campaign on European Organic: Nurturing Every Juan - that of making organic products more accessible to Filipinos. Naturland actually certifies some Philippine-made products like muscovado sugar and virgin coconut oil (VCO) and helps these products reach European markets. So the involvement of Naturland works both ways bringing EU products over to the Philippines and bringing Phl products to the EU.