There’s a big percentage of individuals who lack basic knowledge in food and nutrition today. People are oblivious to the quality of food available in the market and the right nutrition for their bodies. In the Philippines, comprehensive food education is only available to a number of schools, but majority of educational institutions in the country don’t have it in the curriculum.

Chef and cultural heritage advocate Myke “Tatung” Sarthou believes that food education is an important tool in saving the country’s economy and that it can be done personally and as a society.

“There are a lot of health and economic issues brought about by not being able to feed our people properly. People can find ways to educate themselves beyond the convention since there is a lot of information about food available, but to check the validity of this information and be able to contextualize this into our own lives is very important.”

Individually we can come up with ways to educate ourselves, but adding food education in all schools will help in spreading awareness to the next generations and enable them to make wiser and healthier life decisions.

“It’s important to invest in food education because there are a lot of problems related to food like malnutrition, hunger, and health issues brought about by unhealthy eating practices in this fast-paced lifestyle.”