Senator Angara launches "Oh My Gulay!"

We just hope Angara also bats for Organically grown vegetables!

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization reports that protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies remain the leading nutritional problems in the Philippines.

The study outlines the increasing number of underweight and stunted children in the country, as well as the emerging problem of being chronically energy deficient.

Malnutrition in the Philippines may be attributed to a combination of different factors: health, physical, social, economic and others. The typical Filipino diet is low on most of the nutrients needed by the body to function properly.

In an apparent response to this, Senator Ed Angara has launched "Oh My Gulay", which is a campaign that seeks to create awareness among children about the nutritional value of common Filipino vegetables.

OMG’s solution to the nation’s problem of “hidden hunger” or micronutrient deficiency and malnutrition is very simple: Eating and growing vegetables is a powerful and cost-effective solution, encouraging our children to have healthy diets.

To accomplish this, OMG proposes the teaching of vegetable cultivation in elementary and high schools, vegetable gardening projects and the distribution of vegetable seeds and seedlings in schools and communities.

But, of course, vegetables are good and inexpensive sources of nutrients and proteins.  And while we are teaching them about the nutritive value of vegetables as well as vegetable farming, we might as well teach them about the value of farming without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

The problem with eating just any vegetable is that the benefits of the nutrients may be cancelled out by the toxins and chemicals that go along with chemically grown produce.

We support Angara's campaign and hope that, perhaps, he'll also enact legislation that will support organic farming.