Press Release
October 11, 2010

EATING VEGGIES KEY TO SOLVING RP NUTRITION PROBLEM--ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara leads the fight against the continuing problem of malnutrition among Filipino children by encouraging them to grow and eat 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.

This is the problem that the Oh My Gulay! (OMG!) campaign seeks to address. This advocacy, a brainchild of Angara, 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.

"From my own experience, children learn to appreciate the value of something if they take part in making or working for it. Seeing the vegetables that they grew included in their meals would instill a sense of pride, encouraging them to eat more nutritious foods," explained Angara.

The program's activities revolve around the belief that every Filipino child should have a chance to live a healthy, productive life. 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.

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