What makes a healthy nation? It is not enough that citizens are able to consume three meals a day, but they also have access to meals that are nutritious, utilizing ingredients grown by local farmers and sold at fair prices. A healthy nation is also one that is able to achieve nutrition security — ensuring that at any time of the year, whatever the world may experience at that moment, or whatever business climate the economy is currently in, there is food at the table for all the 113 million plus population of the Philippines. Ever since the new administration started, the President has always bannered food security as a priority. He has said, on numerous occasions and important speeches, that his vision at the end of his term is a “Philippines where not one Filipino is hungry.” In fact, that was the impetus that encouraged him to head the Agriculture Department. The President reiterated this message once again during a panel session on “Moving Toward Nutrition Security” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland last Jan. 18, 2023. In his remarks, he said that “WEF attendees and other stakeholders should come up with a holistic and integrated plan covering both food security and nutrition security." The President made the remark, while stressing that “food security remains at the forefront” of his administration's national agenda, anchored on the vision for a "prosperous, resilient, and secure Philippines by 2040.” "(We want to) ensure that each and everyone is provided with quality and ample nutrition." Citing a 2021 Global Food Security Index, which ranked the Philippines at 64th out of 113 nations in terms of four dimensions on food security, the President emphasized that despite gains in the past years, much remains to be done to attain Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger. To address these challenges on nutrition security, the President made several practical suggestions. Some of these include improving logistics systems, using climate-resilient technologies, and promoting urban and vertical farming to enhance food production. "We must invest in facilities, logistics, and systems that bring nutritious food to our people, much like a grander scale of farm-to-table, and increase the capacity of our institutions to enforce regulations that enhance food quality," he said. "We must also cooperate in developing technologies that increase the nutritional value of our food and content and prolong their shelf life." One innovative suggestion from the President is “incentivizing a nutritious lifestyle.” He said that governments must promote active and health-seeking behaviors across ages and income levels, and create an ecosystem based on a green and circular economy. This, if implemented in the Philippines, will be something “new” and may become a groundbreaking program. Any financial incentive, for example, will surely “force” more Filipinos to lose weight, take up exercise, or consume a healthier diet. We have to wait and see if this program prospers. Focusing on nutrition security is a timely move of this administration. The President is cognizant of the fact that there can be no progress on any fronts if a nation’s citizens are perpetually hungry, weak from malnutrition, or sick from lifestyle-related diseases. A healthy nation is a prerequisite to prosperity, stability, and harmony. No shortcuts here.