Lesson on TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University
97.8 FM Radyo Katipunan, 11 to 12 a.m. Thursday
Be healthy and happy with the food you eat
Dr Abe V Rotor
Co-Host with Fr. JM Manzano SJ and Prof Emoy Rodolfo, AdMU
Part 1 - 10 Healthy Food RulesPart 2 - Natural Food and Natural FarmingPart 3 - Simplify food preparation for enjoyment, health and economyPart 4 - Rare Dishes of the Ilocos Region, PhilippinesPart 5 - Don't waste food, don't!Annex A - A touch of Philippine culinary arts in Australia*
Annex B - Tips on how to minimize the effects of pesticides on your health
and the environment
Part 1 - 10 Healthy Food Rules
Ukoy na kalabasa, with egg and small shrimp.
It is served in patties, or rolled like lumpia
Bulanglang or diningding: young pod of batao, malungay pod, soup
thickened with kamote or sweet potato, topped with sea weed (Gracillaria).
Fresh seaweeds as salad: Gracillaria and Codium (pokpoklo)
Sweet potato paste (suman)
Tamales, fish with onion, tomato black pepper, salt and ginger,
wrapped with banana leaves - steamed.
Sinkamas or yam with natural vinegar and salt.
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Buko - direct from the young nut
Health Food Rules
Rule 1 - There is no substitute to freshness. Perishable food must be prepared and served without delay: newly caught fish (better if alive), animals and fowls direct from the slaughter house (better if butchered or dressed at home), newly picked fruits and vegetables (fully mature when harvested).
Rule 2 - The less processed your food is, the better. Reduce if not avoid eating processed food (canned, preserves, dairy, etc), heavily spiced, overcooked, over decorated, culinary loaded - they are unhealthy, They burden body physiology from digestion to circulation to excretion. Besides they are very expensive and unfriendly to the environment.
Rule 3 - Food residues are harmful, if not poisonous. Antibiotics residues in meat and poultry, eggs and dairy; sodium in salted products, instant noodles, sauce; chemical residues in fruits and vegetables from insecticide, herbicide, fungicide, nematocide; and hydrocarbon from fossil fuel and smoke emissions. The miracle insecticide against malaria mosquito - DDT (Dichloro-diphenyl-tetrachloro-ethane) remains banned because it is not degraded even as it passes from one organism to another in the food chain. Thus it accumulates in predators - among them humans. DDT poisoning builds even after years from ingestion.
Rule 4 - Metal poisoning causes permanent impairment, or results to death. Lead is the most common toxic metal around from, china wares to car batteries. It damages the central nervous system and internal organs. Mercury poisoning is more severe. Cadmium is a recent introduction with cell phones and other electronic devices. Other than direct contamination, these metals are absorbed by plants and animals and find their way on the dining table. Kitchen wares made of aluminum, tin, nickel, antimony are being phased out.
Rule 5 - Avoid particulates in food, water and air. Car and factory emissions scatter particulates in the environment which we can only observe in the form of smog, sediments and dusts. Tar from cigarette and asphalt, asbestos from car brakes, unburnt carbon from tires, and old and faulty engines, metal particles in factories, silica from cereal mills.
Rule 6 - Avoid synthetic food and additives, they are harmful, and affect mainly the nervous system and senses. The Number One food additive to avoid is Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) or Vetsin, and many surreptitious names or brands. It is the cause of Chinese Food Syndrome. A friend of mine died of vetsin overdose. It is also used in dognapping by simply throwing a piece of bread saturated with vetsin. Avoid sweeteners - NutraSweet, saccharin, aspartame and other concealed brand names. Another is Olestra - fatless fat. The fat molecules are so large the villi cannot absorb them. So the unbroken fat simply leaks and causes discomfort - and quite often, embarrassment. Go natural, like brewed rather that decaffeinated coffee.
Rule 7 - Beware of the invisible poison: radiation. The worst kind of radiation is from fallout following a nuclear explosion (Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945), and nuclear plant meltdown (Three-Mile Island in the US, Chernobyl in Russia in the seventies, and Fukoshima Japan following a massive tsunami in 2011). Radioactive decay slowly takes hundreds of years, thus it can cause harm to the members of the food chain. (grass to cow to milk to baby, back to the same or similar cycle). Radiation from high voltage lines, transmission towers, electronic gadgets may get into the food we eat. So with hospital waste containing radioisotopes. The innocent looking microwave oven is now being phased out in many countries.
Rule 8 - Beware of Frankenfood from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Frankenfood is named after the creator of the monster in Mary Shelley's novel –Frankenstein. Examples are Bacillus thuringiensis Corn (Bt Corn), GM potato, GM soybean, SavrFlavr tomato, and golden rice which contains the yellow pigment gene of daffodil. Pharmed food has built-in medicine or drug. An increasing number of food grown in the laboratory includes in vitro stem cell burger which is dubbed lab meat.
Rule 9 - Drink natural instead of distilled water. Manufacturers call bottled water as mineral water because the process did not take away the naturally occurring minerals which are removed through distillation. But why buy mineral water when you can make your own at home with seeds of malunggay (Moringa oleifera), and through simple water treatment?
Rule 10 - Don't overeat, and eat the right food with the proper nutritional value. Eat more fruits and vegetables and less of meat and meat products. It is best to grow or procure your food, cook at home and serve it yourself to your family. The family that eats together stays together happy and healthy. Food indeed is santa gracia. ~
LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
Part 2 - Natural Food and Natural Farming
"Natural farming is the key in the pursuit of this global trend. It is important in sustaining economic production, above all, the integrity of our ecosystems." - avr
Dr Abe V Rotor
Good health and good food go together, doctors all over the world tell us. Even our children quite often explain to us the importance of proper nutrition, balanced diet, fortification with vitamins and minerals. They tell us to take high protein food, or ask us if we are taking adequate calories. Lately such terms, beta-carotene and good cholesterol have come into the picture.
Now I hear a new term, probiotics. The way I understand these substances is that they keep our body always on the alert to fend off stress as a result of overwork and diseases. They are front liners and act as defense shield, Now if probiotics and antibiotics (substances that directly kill germs) work together, can we then say we can have better health and longer life?
Apparently yes, confirmed a balikbayan United Nations official who is working on a new food source from cyanobacterla or blue green algae. Again, this is a revolution in food and agriculture by the fact itself that we are now taking unconventional food such as Spirulina, an ancient organism probably the first kind of living thing that appeared on earth.
Going back to the main topic, I would like to see the other side of the fence. There are many reported ailments and abnormalities, which are traced to the food we take, and it is not only for the lack of intake. Cancer for instance, is often related to food. So with high uric acid which leads to kidney trouble. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, high sugar level. Aftatoxin causes cirrhosis of the liver. Ulcers are food related. So with many allergies.
Given these premises, I would like to discuss a new frontier of agriculture which I believe is also the concern of other sectors of the food industry. It is not only that we must produce enough food. We must be able to produce quality food, which ensures good health, reduces risks to diseases and ailments, and prolongs life. This is the topic that I would like to take up with you in this special occasion, the 40th anniversary of NFA that I was once a part. I am going to talk about food, which should contribute to good health, long life, enjoyment, and peace of mind.
Here then are seven postulates to address this challenge to present day agriculture. We reckon the Green Revolution in the sixties which ushered production gains from improved varieties and techniques, followed by another wave in the seventies and eighties which was responsible in opening the fields of mariculture (farming the sea), and conversion of wastelands into farmlands. We soon realized that there is need “to go back to basics". Thus ecological farming was born. It is also farming with a moral cause: the enhancement of quality life, good health and long life on one hand, and the maintenance of an ecologically balance environment.
1. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO EAT FOOD GROWN UNDER NATURAL CONDITION THAN FOOD GROWN WITH CHEMICALS. This statement can be captured with one term "natural food". All over the world this is a label is found on food grown without chemicals. People are afraid of becoming sick because of the chemicals introduced into food. They know that chemical fertilizers and pesticides go with the crops and are passed on to the body destroying our organs and systems.
No artificial additives, please. Additives such as food colorings and fillers are looked upon with suspicion.
2. PEOPLE ARE AVOIDING HARMFUL RESIDUES AND ARTIFICIAL ADDITIVES IN FOOD. A trace of certain farm chemicals is enough to condemn a whole shipment under the rules of the US Food and Drug Administration. One kind of residue that people are avoiding is antibiotics. Poultry and hog farms maintain high antibiotic levels to safeguard the animals from diseases. In so doing the antibiotics is passed on to the consumers. In the first place our body does not need antibiotics. But every time we eat eggs, chicken, pork chop, steak, and the like, we are taking in cumulatively antibiotics. This makes our immune system idle. This punishes certain organs like the kidney and liver. To others, antibiotics cause allergy.
Another culprit is radiation. Traces of radiation can be hazardous. Many countries immediately took drastic action to avoid contamination following the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident ten years ago. Then we have toxic metals emitted from manufacturing and from vehicles. These are mercury, cadmium, and lead, to name the most common pollutants in our waters today.
3. PEOPLE ARE BECOMING MORE CONSCIOUS OF THE NUTRITION VALUE OF FOOD RATHER THAN ITS PACKAGING AND PRESENTATION. Many people now reject junk foods, even if their packaging is attractive. Softdrinks have taken the backseat, courtesy of fruit juices and mineral water. People have even learned that plant varieties have different levels of food value even if they belong to the same species. To a lesser extent this is also true among the different breeds of an animal species.
4. FRESHNESS IS THE FIRST CHOICE CRITERION FOR PERISHABLE FOOD. Indeed there is no substitute to fresh-ness, a function of handling and marketing. The farmer has the first and direct hand in enhancing this quality. If he keeps his plant; healthy, their products will 'have longer shelf life. Products free from pest and diseases stay fresh longer.
5. FOOD PROCESSING MUST BE APPROPRIATE AND SAFE.
6. FOOD MUST BE FREE FROM PEST AND DISEASES.
It is shocking to find certain pest in food. So with the possibility that food is a carrier of disease organisms. Reports about infested NFA rice needs serious attention. Poor rice is an insult to the Filipino whatever is his economic status.
There has been news of food poisoning too, as a result of food deterioration, or contamination. Remember the Seven Eleven Store mass food poisoning? For a reputable establishment, such an accident deserves something to look deeper. What is the truth behind image building and advertisement?
7. FOOD PRESERVATION MUST ENSURE QUALITY, AND ABOVE ALL, SAFETY. Be aware of the fish that is stiff yet looks fresh. Be keen with formalin odor. Salitre is harmful, so with vetsin. Too much salt is not good to the body. I saw a puto maker use lye or sodium hydroxide to help in the coagulation of the starch. Sampaloc or tamarind candies are made bright red with shoe dye. So with ube to look life real ube.
Now I am going to discuss in details each postulate as it applies to the farmer, and the condition of his farm. I will try to relate the issue with actual practices so that we can draw up innovations to improve them, as we explore technologies that would settle certain issues.
8. AVOID AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE FOOD FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS OR GMO. There is an increasing awareness worldwide on the potential harmful effects of taking GMO products as food. Bt corn for example carries a gene of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, golden rice carries the yellow gene of the daffodil, milk contains recombinant bovine growth hormone. Other GMO food include soybeans, papaya, squash and zucchini, which carry "foreign" genetic material. Here is a list of countries that have banned both GMO imports and GMO cultivation: Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, Madagascar, Peru, Russia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe. EU members are selective in banning GMO. Most countries require labeling of GMO products, and are strict in their quarantine laws, and land use policy against GMO.
NATURAL FARMING
Community gardening, QC
First, the organic fertilizer must be free from pathogen that causes diseases.
Second, it must not carry toxic waste or metal as this kind of fertilizer is manufactured from waste materials.
Let me give you scenarios of natural farming.
1. Payatak method (Samar) - This is a local version of zero tillage. No plowing, no harrowing. A herd of carabaos trample of the soil until it turns puddle, then the one-month old seedlings are transplanted. No spray, no fertilizer. This is natural farming in the marginal sense, a carryover of traditional farming.
2. Mixed orchard (Zambales) - A mixture of several kinds of trees, orchard, firewood trees, forest trees grow together without any apparent planning. Yet these trees follow a natural pattern of arrangement. They have no common pest, they need soil fertility differentially, they have their own space niche, they make up several storeys. Management is very little. Nature takes care of everything.
3. Multiple cropping model (Sta. Maria. Bulacan) - Here the farmer engages in the production of three commodities. For Narciso Santiago, national outstanding farmer, his 2.5-ha farm produces frults, vegetables and rice. He has several heads of carabao and cattle grown on homelot, pastured between the orchard trees. A pond supplies irrigation, as it produces tilapia and mudfish. Why three commodities? It is because they are closely integrated. This is the key to natural farming where there are a number of products to be desired. First the animals produce, other than meat and milk, manure for the plants, the plants produce food for the family and market, and they together with their residues give feeds to the animals. The pond is source of irrigation for the plants, principally rice and vegetables. It is a waterhole for wildlife for biological control. Because of its integrated structure and management. the farm itself becomes a balanced system. This is the key to sustainable production. This is ecological. farming.
4. Sloping agricultural land technology or SALT (Bohol) Call this natural farming even if the farm is a logged area. Precisely the idea is for the farmer to return the land to its natural state as much as possible. How does he do it? If one sees the model, the land has a grade of 20 to 40 degrees. The steeper the grade the more difficult it is to apply the system. Over and above 45 degrees the model may not work at all.) Here the contour of the slope is marked and outlined so that the sole of the plow, so to speak, will be level at all times. The contours are spaced uniformly, and the rows which follow the contour are planted at interval of annual and permanent crops.
5. The idea is for the permanent crops like fruit trees and firewood trees to sandwich the annual crops like peanut, rice, corn vegetable. The herbage of, say ipil-ipil, is used as organic fertilizer. Neem tree is used for pesticide. Lantana is a natural pest repellant, so with Eucalyptus. Legume intercropping and crop rotation replenish the soil of Nitrogen.
6. Modified models (rice and corn areas). Rice farming can be modified to suit the conditions of natural farming. There are farms today that rely entirely on homemade or commercial organic fertilizers. These are contracted farms to supply organically grown rice.
An equally important aspect of successful farming is cleanliness. This means no weeds, trimmed waterways, properly disposed farm wastes, efficient drainage, well arranged rows, properly scheduled farming activities, and the like. All this requires but low technology that is also affordable, and contributes to good health to both producer and consumer, and the whole community.
Genetically resistant varieties are chosen. Proper time of planting and harvesting is needed. We should know that clean farms, healthy plants and good management, are basic. What we are saying is that the use of chemicals is dispensable. To a single farmer, this is easier said than done. There is a need for collective and community effort, in which case farming , especially if it intends to shift to organic, likewise becomes more efficient as cost of production can be brought down.
Coconut farms (Southern Tagalog and Bicol). Seldom do we hear of coconut cultivation that follows the agronomic practices of other major crops like sugar cane or corn.
Perhaps there is no plant more resistant than coconut. It is because it perfectly fits our soil, climate and latitude. It is indigenous to us. In fact it evolved with our islands and our culture. Evolutionarily and historically what I am saying is that natural farming is not new. And more importantly, it is a product of long years of development. It is not just acclimatization. It is co-evolution.
The message is that let us explore the richness of our biodiversity and our culture as a people to be able to understand the working of nature. Nature shows us the way. Nature, the way our ancestors knew then, is the nature we know today, except that we have embraced many changes in farming as well as in life style. Many of these changes had not passed the test of time.
In Laguna and Quezon, coconut is the dominant species of an ecosystem. The presence of man in the ecosystem has modified it to suit to his needs. For example, he has chosen only the trees and plants that grow between the coconut trees. Unknowingly he raises animals, which reduce the richness of plant species diversity.
We still see around well-established, stable coconut areas where man's intervention is kept low, but my fear is the current practice of logging old coconut trees for lumber.
Natural farming then is important as a way of farming. It is also important in sustaining economic production, and above all, the continuity of our ecosystems that we have placed in our hands. Given these premises the farmer today faces a new challenge worthy of the title, "the backbone of the nation." ~
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LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to FridayPart 3 - Organic Farming - Today's Green Revolution for Health and Environment
While organic food accounts for 1 to 2 percent of total food sales worldwide, the organic food market is growing rapidly, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations.Dr Abe V Rotor
Senior citizens attend to the barangay garden where most of the vegetables are organically grown. Lagro QC
It is true. The whole world is going green and organic. It is the current Green Revolution that provides the foundation of sustainable agriculture, balanced ecology, and healthier and longer life.
Here is a basic comparison between conventional farming and organic farming:
Conventional farmers vs Organic farmers
• Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth. /Apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants.
• Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease. /Use beneficial insects and birds, mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease.
• Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds. /Rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage weeds.
• Give animals antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to prevent disease and spur growth. /Give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors. Use preventive measures, such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing, to help minimize disease.
As one who grew up in a farm and practitioner of organic farming, here are other features of organic farming, which I would like to contribute.
1. Minimized wastage. Example: gleaning of grains is done by chicken.
2. Milling of grains practically leaves no waste, even the hull is ground with bran to serve as natural fiber and roughage for animals and fish.
3. Less mess and odor on the farm through efficient recycling. Farm wastes – crop residues and animal waste - immediately go to composting.
5. Agribusiness is highly profitable through organic farming. Farm produce is immediately processed like natural fruit puree, natural vinegar, natural fish sauce, and the like.
6. Freshness of farm harvest and products is enhanced, hence requires no preservatives.
7. Community-based farming is ideal with organic farming.
8. Direct marketing linkage with outlets and endusers.
9. lesser risk to human health.
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Above all concerns about organic farming, you gain peace of mind in eating products that are friendly to your health and the environment. Your fears of toxic metals like cadmium, lead and mercury are eliminated. So with residual toxicity from pesticides and chemical fertilizers. There are no antibiotic residues, induced hormones, engineered genes from bacteria and other organisms. You keep fields and waterways free from harmful runoff of chemical substances. Biologically, you keep down chances of pest and disease organisms to mutate and develop resistance.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eat more fruits and vegetables, those grown organically – without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, antibiotics, and the like, and above all – not genetically modified. You will live a healthier and longer life - and kind to Nature, too.It is true. The whole world is going green and organic. It is the current Green Revolution that provides the foundation of sustainable agriculture, balanced ecology, and healthier and longer life.
Here is a basic comparison between conventional farming and organic farming:
Conventional farmers vs Organic farmers
• Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth. /Apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants.
• Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease. /Use beneficial insects and birds, mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease.
• Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds. /Rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage weeds.
• Give animals antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to prevent disease and spur growth. /Give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors. Use preventive measures, such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing, to help minimize disease.
As one who grew up in a farm and practitioner of organic farming, here are other features of organic farming, which I would like to contribute.
1. Minimized wastage. Example: gleaning of grains is done by chicken.
2. Milling of grains practically leaves no waste, even the hull is ground with bran to serve as natural fiber and roughage for animals and fish.
3. Less mess and odor on the farm through efficient recycling. Farm wastes – crop residues and animal waste - immediately go to composting.
4. Organic farming is key to tri-commodity farming – crops, animals and fish farming.
Mushroom is a health food, it has anti-cancer properties. It is the only vegetable that
grows in total absence of sunlight.
6. Freshness of farm harvest and products is enhanced, hence requires no preservatives.
7. Community-based farming is ideal with organic farming.
8. Direct marketing linkage with outlets and endusers.
9. lesser risk to human health.
10. More environment friendly. It enhances ecology, that is, it promotes welfare of the ecosystem.
11. Less dependent on fossil fuel, favors tapping alternative and renewable energy sources.
12. Integrated with farm life, managed by family or by small and medium enterprise.
13. Aesthetics and quaintness of farm life through organic farming.
14. Farm becomes a tourist attraction as model in agriculture, ecology and sanctuary of wildlife.
15. Low technology, affordable and practical, thus less expensive.
Organic food has higher nutritional value and better taste.
There is no substitute to buko (young coconut) as food and drink. The roots of coconut sieve toxic metals and other harmful substances from getting into the plant system.
Results from Quality Low Food Input (QLIF), a 5-year integrated study funded by the European Commission, confirmed that the quality of crops and livestock products from organic and conventional farming systems differs considerably. Specifically, results from a QLIF project studying the effects of organic and low-input farming on crop and livestock nutritional quality "showed that organic food production methods resulted in:
(a) Higher levels of nutritionally desirable compounds (e.g., vitamins/antioxidants and poly-unsaturated fatty acids such as omega-3);
(b) Lower levels of nutritionally undesirable compounds such as heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticide residues and glyco-alkaloids in a range of crops and/or milk;
(c) A lower risk of fecal Salmonella shedding in pigs.
Regarding taste, a 2001 study concluded that organic apples were sweeter by blind taste test. Firmness of the apples was also rated higher than those grown conventionally. In the market, organically grown fruits and vegetables look fresher and more solid.
Organic food may also have potentially higher amounts of natural biotoxins like solanine potatoes, as to compensate for the lack of externally applied fungicides and herbicides.
Organic farming favors community farms where the produce is geographically closer to the consumer. Local food is seen as a way to get fresher food and invest in one's own community.
Facts and statistics about Worldwide Green and Organic Movement.
• While organic food accounts for 1–2% of total food sales worldwide, the organic food market is growing rapidly, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations.
• World organic food sales jumped from US $23 billion in 2002 to $52 billion in 2008.
• The world organic market has been growing by 20% a year since the early 1990s, with future growth estimates ranging from 10%–50% annually depending on the country.
• Organic food is the fastest growing sector of the American Food market. Organic food sales have grown by 17 to 20 percent a year for the past few years while sales of conventional food have grown at only about 2 to 3 percent a year.
• In Canada, organic food sales surpassed $1 billion in 2006, accounting for 0.9% of food sales in Canada. Organic food sales by grocery stores were 28% higher in 2006 than in 2005.
• In the European Union 3.9% of the total utilized agricultural area is used for organic production. The countries with the highest proportion of organic land are Austria (11%) and Italy (8.4), followed by Czech Republic and Greece (both 7.2%). The lowest figures are shown for Malta (0.1%), Poland (0.6%) and Ireland (0.8%)
• In Austria 11.6% of all farmers produced organically in 2007. The government has created incentives to increase the figure to 20% by 2010. Some 4.9% of all food products sold in Austrian supermarkets (including discount stores) in 2006 were organic. There were 8000 different organic products available in the same year.
• In Italy, since 2005 all school lunches must be organic by law.
• In Poland, in 2005 168,000 ha of land were under organic management. 7 percent of Polish consumers buy food that was produced according to the EU-Eco-regulation. The value of the organic market is estimated at 50 million Euros (2006).
• In UK, organic food sales increased from just over £100 million in 1993/94 to £1.21 billion in 2004 (an 11% increase on 2003).
• In Cuba, after the collapse of the USSR in 1990, agricultural inputs that had previously been purchased from Eastern Bloc countries were no longer available in Cuba, and many Cuban farms converted to organic methods out of necessity. Consequently, organic agriculture is a mainstream practice in Cuba, while it remains an alternative practice in most other countries. Cuba exports organic citrus and citrus juices to EU markets. Cuba's forced conversion to organic methods may position the country to be a global supplier of organic products.
Organics Olympiad 2007 awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to countries based on twelve measures of organic leadership. The gold medal winners were:
• Australia with 11.8 million organic hectares.
• Mexico with 83,174 organic farms.
• Romania with 15.9 million certified wild organic hectares.
• China with 135 thousand MT of organic wild harvest produce; and with an increase of 1,998,705 organic hectares.
• Denmark with 1805 organic research publications recorded.
• Germany with 69 members of. International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the worldwide umbrella organization for organic agriculture movement, uniting more than 750 member organizations in 108 countries.
• Liechtenstein with 27.9% of its agricultural land certified organic.
• Mali with an 8488% annual increase in its organic hectares, and with a 10.9% 4-yearly increment of the organic share of its total agriculture.
• Latvia with an annual 3.01% increase in its organic share of agricultural land.
• Switzerland with a per capita annual spend on organic produce of 103 Euros.
Eating the right food enhances happiness, peace of mind, good health and long and active life - and the quality of your environment. This is a primordial Human Right. It is also the best you can contribute in saving the earth. Enjoy the quaintness of Farming with Nature.
References: Living with Nature in Our Times, Food and Fertilizer Technology Center publications, Internet.
Part 3 - Simplify food preparation for enjoyment,
health and economy
"The greatest dishes are very simple." - Auguste Escoffier
Dr Abe V Rotor
1. Edible fern salad (with red egg, tomato, onion rings, vinegar,
and a dash of salt.
2. Twin fried eggs over brown rice (onion leaves topping)
3. Halaan shell soup with sili (pepper) tops (thickened with corn starch)
4. Green corn on the cob (Serve with buko or young coconut juice or just water)
5. Nangka served as whole fruit
6. Empanada and ukoy (Eating while cooking)
7. Broiled tilapia cum scales (Burnt scale removes fishy taste and smell)
8. Tamales (fish steamed in banana leaves, add tomato,
ginger, onion and a dash of salt)
9. Paksiw sapatero fish (Just don't overcook)
tomato and onion)
Simplify food preparation with these guidelines
1. FRESHNESS: There's no substitute to freshness - fruits picked from the tree, newly harvested vegetables, newly dressed chicken and slaughtered meat.
2. CLEANLINESS: free from contamination, healthy source of crops and animals, strict sanitation and quarantine.
3. SIMPLE PREPARATION: broiled, steamed, boiled, blanched, and the like.
4. AVOID PROCESSED PRODUCTS: canned, hammed, pureed, and the like.
5. HOMEMADE: direct choice and preference of recipes, others
6. ECONOMICAL: less handling, less processing, less advertising.
7. EDUCATIONAL: to children, members of the household and immediate community.
8. PEACE OF MIND: food security from vetsin (MSG)*, aspartame, olestra or fatless fat, decaf, enhancers.
9. HEALTH: investment and legacy to children and future generations.
10 PRODUCTIVITY: enjoyment in life and good health = high productivity.
11. BONDING: with family, friends and neighbors
12: VALUES: free from guilt and fear; fulfillment, and confidence.
*Vetsin or MSG comes in different names and brands, It is claimed to cause asthma, headaches and even brain damage, other ailments notwithstanding. On the other hand, it is also claimed safe. Don't put yourself and your family, especially children, at risk. The best way is to avoid using MSG!
LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday
Part 4 - Rare Dishes of the Ilocos Region, Philippines
"I, a prodigal son, I atone for my past;
join me, for the world's a stage of fun."
Dr Abe V Rotor
Caliente, ox hide. Hide is cleaned, and softened under low fire for hours, sliced thinly, spiced heavily with onion and pepper, and salt.
Ngarusangis shellfish is washed and cooked until shell opens. Skillful winnowing completely separates the shell. This shellfish is gathered in unpolluted shallow
estuaries.
Let me go back to my originwith old folks of my time;only then can I claim myself a GI,and all the world's mine.I live in the past with pinapa-itan,jumping salad and ipusancaliente, pulutan and basi winemy version of Bacchanalian.With the vernacular Bannawag,live the great Angalo and Lam-ang,heroes always are to the Ilocano,with pinakbet and pinulpugan.Ay, kakabsat, take a break just now,I am your kail-lian, a balikbayan;a prodigal son I atone for my past;join me, for the world's a stage of fun. ~
- GI - Genuine Ilocano
- Jumping salad - live shrimps served on the table with salt and calamansi
- Ipusan - long tail guppies caught on the river
- Caliente - oxhide (carabao hide) softened with prolong coiling, garnished with red pepper, Ilocos vinegar, chopped onions and ginger, and a dash of refined salt (asin ti Ilocos).
- Pulutan - appetizer that goes well with basi (Ilocano wine)
- Bannawag (Dawn) - weekly magazine in Ilocano language read locally and internationally.
- pinakbet - a potpourri of native vegetables notably eggplant, ampalaya, with sweet potato (camote) to thicken the soup. Cooked with bagoong (fish paste) and topped with bagnet (lechon kawali - roasted pork in kettle)
- pinulpugan (imbaliktad) - medium rare fresh meat or large fish, such as dalag (snakehead)
- Bacchanalian - lavish feast in honor of Greek God Bacchus
- Angalo, Lam-ang - Ilocano epic heroes
- Kabsat - brother; in a brotherhood perspective (kakabsat)
- Balikbayan - an overseas resident or transient visiting his homeland
- Kail-lian - town mate
This is a favorite dish of Ilocanos known as “jumping salad.”
What is it really? In Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (school-on-the-air) program, five callers phoned in to give their answers. Except one who said he learned about this rare dish from a friend, the callers apparently Ilocanos, said they have actually tasted jumping salad.
Newly caught juvenile shrimps, promptly dressed with tomato or calamansi and a dash of salt. Pick them up individually by the head, put it into the mouth in reverse, severe the rostrum (unicorn) and antennae with the teeth to avoid injury. It is the kicking in the mouth that gives this unique dish its name jumping salad.
This dish is prepared from newly caught small to medium shrimps from the estuaries and rivers, and while they are still very much alive are served right there and then with calamansi and salt, momentarily agitating the ill-fated creatures.
Pronto! The shrimps, on removing the cover, frantically jump out of the plate, save the dazed ones. You should be skillful in catching them from the table (and even on the floor) deftly picking them by the head, taking caution so as not to get hurt by their sharp rostrum. You can imagine the danger you face as the creature makes its last attempt to escape. You must get a firm hold before putting the struggling creature into your mouth, tail first and quickly bite off the head, severing the sharp dagger in your hold. The creature wriggles in the cave of your mouth and you can actually feel its convulsion fading as it undergoes the initial process of digestion.
Being an Ilocano myself, eating jumping salad is an adventure and rarely do you experience having one nowadays, unless you are living near the sea, river or lake, or a good friend brings live shrimps to town in banana stalk container to keep them alive.
Try jumping salad. It’s one for the Book of Guinness.~
Other Favorite Ilocano Food
Singkamas or yam is eaten fresh with Ilocos vinegar and a dash of salt. It is also an ingredient of fresh lumpia, and fruit cocktail.
Tamalis - this mixture is divided into small packs wrapped with wilted banana leaves, and cooked in earthen pot (banga).
Malunggay pod is skinned, and cut into pieces, cooked into dinengdeng, with camote (buridibud) and alukong. Broiled tilapia or bangos is excellent sahug.Ngarusangis shellfish is washed and cooked until shell opens. Skillful winnowing completely separates the shell (right). This shellfish is gathered in shallow estuaries.
Squash ukoy. Squash is grated like noodles, used fresh or partially dried. Cooked with egg, small shrimps, and condiments, like any ukoy 
Tupig being cooked. Ingredients: glutinous rice flour, coconut milk and sugar.
Sinambong - glutinous rice in woven coconut leaves, cooked with sugarcane juice during the manufacture of muscovado sugar.
Two kinds of suman
Ar-arusip, a green seaweed (Caulerpa racemosa) is served fresh with tomato,often with onion
Sinigang na malaga (Ilk), samaral (Tag)
Ilocano-inspired cooking and serving chicken
Alimasag crabIlocano dishes include pinakbet, tinubong, saluyot, imbaliktad or dinakdakan (medium rare beef or pork)
Acknowledgement: shrimp photo
Lesson, former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
Part 5 - Don't waste food, don't!
Yes, children there is a Santa Gracia
Don't throw away food left on the table. Please don't.
Recycle leftover in a different presentation.
• Food waste could otherwise go to millions who have not enough to eat.
• Food waste breeds pest and disease, sickens the air.
• Anything that goes to waste draws down the economy.
• Waste widens inequity in resources.
Here are some things to do with food leftovers.
1. Sinagag - fried rice mix with bits of bacon, ham, fried egg, fish, and the like.
• Waste widens inequity in resources.
Here are some things to do with food leftovers.
1. Sinagag - fried rice mix with bits of bacon, ham, fried egg, fish, and the like.
2. Torta - tidbits like those mentioned in scramble egg. Include veggies like carrot and onion.
3. Pickle – excess veggies and fruits plus vinegar, sugar and salt, and spices. Good for carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, green papaya, yam (sinkamas), others.
4. Paksiw – if not consumed is fried, makes a new menu.
5. Daing – fish in season is dried, cooked with gata’ (coconut milk).
6. Suka – fruit vinegar from overripe pineapple, banana, others, but not tomato and kamias.
7. Pudding – bread not consumed on time is also made into pizza bread- bread crumbs, garlic bread.
8. Sopas – Grind bones, shrimp head for soup and broth. Bulalo' for whole bone.
9. Pastillas – milk p
owder not consumed on time, also grated hardened cheese.
owder not consumed on time, also grated hardened cheese.10. Veggie and fruit peelings – for animal feeds, composting. Include solids from brewing (coffee) and juicing fruits. Ultimately, inevitable food waste is collected for feeds in poultry and piggery.
Food waste also emanates from carelessness in handling, food preparation and serving. Much is also lost due to lack of proper processing, transport and storage facilities. Estimated loss in postharvest alone runs from 10 to 37 percent of actual harvest of crops.
In "Give us this day our daily bread..." in the Lord's Prayer, us here is regarded as thanksgiving and remembering the millions people around the world who may not have the food they need.
I believe in the wisdom of the old folk who reminds us of the value of food. They have experienced hunger during war, drought, flood, crop failure, pestilence - even in normal times. They have not lost sight of the presence of Santa Gracia.
Yes, children there is a Santa Gracia .
*In observance of World Food Day October 16, every year.
~
ANNEX
A touch of Philippine culinary arts in Australia*
Dr Abe V Rotor
Diningding - an indigenous Philippine recipe - a complete one-dish
meal, rich and balanced in ingredients and nutrition, a healthy diet.
Top, clockwise: A tray of lumpia, squid rings, chicken nuggets, and
green pea salad; papait (beef-entrails with cud-enzyme), Ilocano
signature recipe; ground beef topped with fresh eggs; fried salmon.
Philippine fruits: papaya, santol, calamansi, karamay, saba banana,
pineapple; right, pichi-pichi, a variety of rice cake (puto, kuchinta)
Barbecue and fish in alum foil, marshmallow on stick - campfire style.
Author and family are house guests of their kababayan and
neighbors in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, now residing in Brisbane.
Outdoor barbecue adds quaintness to a get-together of former
co-workers in the Philippines before they moved in to Brisbane,
the author's daughter and her family among them,~
* Culinary art is a broad term that refers to the preparation, cooking, plating, presentation, and service of food. It applies to meals and their components – like appetizers, side dishes, and main courses.
ANNEX B - Tips on how to minimize the effects of pesticides to your health and the environment
Dr Abe V Rotor
A healthy one-dish meal, sinigang nasamaral fish with local vegetables
What should we do with vegetables under the second category – those that are raised with chemical spraying as a prescribed horticultural practice? Here are some tips of getting the least effect of the pesticide used.
1. Avoid the organophospates. Get advice from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, or from your agriculturist. Organophosphates are the most poisonous of all pesticides. Examples are Parathion, Azinphos, Bromophos, Demethon, Diazinon, EPN, DDVP, TEEP, Thiomethon. There are 70 organophosphates packed and marketed under different brand names in the FPA list. Read the label carefully and check for the kind of active ingredient.
2. Carbamates have lower lethal dosage and are therefore comparatively less toxic to human and animals. Examples are Aldicarb, Benomyl, Carbaryl, Carbufuran, Carboxin, Methomyl, Cartap, Thiobencarb. FPA listed more than 20 carbamates, which carry different brand names in the market.
3. Intermediate in toxicity between the two groups (organophosphates and carbamates) are the organochlorines or chlorinated hydrocarbons such as Endusulfan. Pertane, Heptachlor, BHC Toxaphene. Because the residual toxicity does not only stay long but persists in the organism it is carried through the food chain. Many of these organochlorines are banned. This is particularly true with DDT and Chlordane. Under FPA regulation the presence of these in the market is considered illegal.
4. Herbicides belong to two groups: chlorophenoxy compounds and nitro and chlorophenols. One big disadvantage of herbicides is their destructive effects to living things and the environment. But when it comes to toxicity, gram for gram, rodenticides or rat poisons are the most dangerous. Keep them away from humans and animals. Dispose used baits and containers properly, particularly the acute rodenticides (e.g. zinc phosphide and sodium cyanide). Note: these are highly regulated by FPA
5. Remember, spraying with chemicals is an ultimate recourse in pest control. Pest control must be integrated with good farming. That is why the government is pursuing Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Successful IPM models in other countries have drastically reduced the use of chemical pesticides. Follow the threshold level formula which means, spray your field only when the pest has reached the destructive phase. Do not spray because of its mere presence of the pest.
6. Choose botanical pesticides, such as nicotine, rotenone, neem and pyrethrum because they are biodegradable and very much less expensive. In fact they can be formulated on the farm. Ask your agriculturist how to use them.
Here are additional tips to both growers and consumers:
1. Do not harvest newly sprayed crops even if the market is good. Through laboratory analysis, samples of pechay (Brassica chinensis) coming from four Metro Manila markets are positive to contain residues of the highly toxic organophosphate insecticides. One is positive in 15 pechay for methyl parathion (0.1 mg/kg), and one is positive in 15 for endosulfan (.01 mg/kg).
2. Washing may help reduce the poisonous residue, but systemic poisons remain in the body of the plant. Avoid eating vegetables, which are heavily protected with pesticide.
3. There are laboratories that determine pesticides residues. These are: Pesticide Analytical Laboratory of the Bureau of Plant Industry, the Pesticide Residue Laboratory of UPLB, Food Development Center of the National Food Authority, the Department of Science and Technology, Siliman University
4. Better yet, plant your own vegetables and practice organic gardening. Spend time outdoor with your plants. Enjoy true freshness of vegetables. One thing you are sure of, they are pesticide-free.
But if you do not have time and space to raise vegetables, it is good to have the list of pesticide-free vegetables always ready on hand. They are not only health-friendly, but environment-friendly as well. ~
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