Fats, Vitamins and Minerals

Already a week in General Santos city. It is really good to be back in GenSan. I guess it is a good idea to stay for some 2 weeks, live in a house and do our own cooking, etc., to see how things go, whether there was anything about Manila that we’d miss. And then when we return to Quezon City, see what it is about being in GenSan that we’d miss.

Staying in a modest 2-bedroom house here in VS Homes, we are managing very well as we have in our apartment in QC. What is strikingly different is the freshness of vegetables, meats and fish in the nearby market since most of the time, fruits and vegetables look so tired in the markets or the mall supermarkets back home. It was quite a surprise, though, to see how bad the vegetables were at the Gaisano mall here in GenSan. They were better in KCC and definitely much better at the satellite market here in Masaya, a bit of distance from the town center but just about 15 or so minutes walk from VS Homes.

Till now I am not having chest pains, and even as I continue my crocheting here (stopping frequently to rest), I don’t have the hand and arm pains as before. My partner suspects the pain to be symptoms of heavy metal poisoning (due to air pollution in Manila), my suspicions too, although I did not attribute it directly to air pollution but rather to food.

As with Baguio and Vigan, quite worrying is the effect of the transport sector on air pollution here in GenSan. For now, GenSan - even the town proper - is not as bad as Baguio or Vigan. Because public transport is so closely linked to the livelihood of many Filipinos (especially jeepney and tricycle drivers, operators and mechanics), getting a solution at that level has been extremely difficult if there is an immediate economic burden with benefits too long term to appreciate. But there are more socially relevant solution - not just an economic issue - which I’d like to deal with later.

In the meantime, the Mexican solution could be of interest (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6519601.stm)

The visit to Lions Beach was utterly disappointing. I felt depressed. The water was full of garbage - plastic mall and supermarket bags, slippers, packaging from food products, etc. Surprising to hear on the business news today that local consumption of plastic lowered by over half since 2002. Of course, this “consumption” probably only means the local manufacture of plastic products and does not include the importation of plastic (i.e. plastic packaging for food, cosmetics, etc.). Local manufacture cannot compete with cheaper imported plastics (thus local plastic industry is seeking a tariff cut on raw materials used in the manufacture of plastic).

In Sierre, I was surprised that one could either bring one’s own reusable market bag or get a plastic (or paper) grocery bag from the store at extra cost. The system was the same in Amsterdam, Helsinki, and I suspect in many other countries in Europe that prioritize environmental issues and consumption of non-biodegradable products. Here - either in the malls or the markets - you buy a chicken that gets placed in a thin chicken company plastic bag, that gets placed in another poultry section plastic bag, and then another supermarket plastic bag. And all the plastic bags are free.

In the vernacular, market-goers carry their own “bayong”, traditionally made of woven coconut leaves or buri or other suitable fiber. So long before the wasteful practices of plastic in plastic in plastic, we already got our values and systems right simply because it made more sense to the market-goer and the seller and the immediate environment (who needs all that plastic in between?), as those countries in Europe are doing perhaps more because of the concern with the being “eco-friendly”. So, it’s not that our values got corrupted by the wasteful and consumptive lifestyles brought by capitalist expansion, but we didn’t quite make the connect between old and new practices: why they are different and which makes more sense in the vernacular.

The “bayong” is still around - but mostly as Philippine souvenir products for the tourist industry. So there goes Philippine culture and heritage - out of the (getting less and less discerning) lifestyle of the Filipino and on the culture and heritage pedestal. Is this what “Proud to be Pinoy” truly means? Hmmm …

Anyway, here in GenSan, it seems that even with all the plastic packaging around, people still have a much greater sense of responsibility (and ownership) towards their environment than in Manila. I have not seen “armies” of street sweepers as one would see in Manila yet I have not seen plastic packaging and such garbage being blown by wind out in the streets. Numerous times I’ve seen people in Manila automatically and mindlessly toss the foil packet after consuming a bag of chips or biscuits, but perhaps here in GenSan such habits are not as common.

It has to be related to the way people feel about the environment in particular the public and shared spaces. If there is a high feeling of alienation and lack of a feeling of control and a kind of common ownership over a shared space, then there would be less care and concern for such a space.

In the meantime, my partner and I just kindly refuse plastic in plastic in plastic packaging (to the surprise of sales staff in shops). One plastic is enough, at least until we are allowed to bring our own “bayong” inside the supermarket (they always ask you to check-in your bags before entering the supermarket, supposedly for security reasons).

See also “Bayong instead of plastic bags” by Dan Mariano

EMail This Post This entry was posted by Fats on Friday, April 20th, 2007 at 12:45 am and is filed under Wika at Hirap. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.