IN time for the celebration of National Children’s Month this November, Greenpeace Philippines launched a book, titled Paano Kumain ng Kulay? which seeks to promote nutrition as a way for the Filipino youth to growth healthy and fulfill their potentials.
Published by the environmental independent global campaigning organization, together with Adarna House and Me & My Veg Mouth, it features poems by author Mabi David, complemented by illustrations of Yas Doctor, to encourage six- to eight-year-old kids to eat colorful everyday fruits and vegetables that contain vitamins and minerals.
“We try to use colors as the theme of the book [to educate youngsters] that they can actually taste the colors of fruits and vegetables,” the writer told reporters in a sideline interview during the kickoff event held recently at the Museo Pambata along Roxas Boulevard in Malate, Manila.
“This is inspired by the idea that the colors in plant foods actually determine their nutrient content. It’s a bilingual book [in Filipino and English]. It’s a poem. It follows the arc of morning to evening and a child playing,” she added.
Obesity and noncommunicable diseases are growing health problems in the Philippines. The United Nations Children’s Fund said more than 29,000 Filipino children die annually due to undernutrition.
“People always say it’s so hard to eat healthy,” David said. “One of the easiest ways to make sure we get our nutrients daily is to ‘eat the rainbow.’ Plant nutrients that make malunggay green, or carrots orange, or tomatoes red, are compounds that have nutritional benefits. So a plate with different colors—not just brown—tends to be balanced and nutrient-dense.”
The author, who is also a certified plant-based cook, shared that she used to give nutritious meals to her nephew when he was very young. Hence, the book also comes with a list of activities for parents and kids on how to encourage eating more plant-based food.
“I would like to invite parents to do this sensory play with fruits and vegetables with their kids. It’s a great way to use curiosity to introduce healthy eating habits,” she said.
Switching to plants for food as a daily practice that is good not only for one’s health, but also that of the environment, is also the goal that the 32-page book wants to impart to its readers.
Based on the latest report from Greenpeace International, global meat and dairy production and consumption must be halved by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate change.
“Five million deaths each year—nearly nine people dying per minute—could be avoided by 2050, if people around the world would shift to healthier diets with more veggies and legumes, and less meat,” said Virginia B. Llorin, campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines.
She also cited the study of Food Nutrition and Research Institute, which reveals the declining trend about eating fruits and vegetables among Filipino households today.
The environmentalist also cited the results of Social Weather Station’s survey that showed 7 out of 10 Filipinos are eating meat and processed food, thus, contributing to environmental degradation, including deforestation.
“The livestock industry also releases as much greenhouse gases as all cars, trucks, planes and ships put together. That is a double-whammy for the country’s poorest sectors—our food producers. That is why Greenpeace is supporting this book project, not just for our health and that of the planet, but also toward developing eating habits that would support our local farmers rather than industrial meat production,” Llorin said.
Paano Kumain ng Kulay? will soon hit all leading bookstores nationwide. Price is P99 a copy.