By DR. JAIME GALVEZ TAN
There is a silent killer lurking in our country today, and it’s found in the very choices we make at the dining table—choices that too often, we’re not even aware of. This is far from a judgment of our eating habits; this is but an invitation to ask yourself this: do you really know what’s in the food you’re buying for your family?
We are a nation of food lovers, with rich culinary traditions that bind us together. In a country where the culture of food is at the heart of every gathering, it is painful to admit that many of these choices are contributing to a growing health crisis: obesity and noncommunicable diseases that may develop from childhood until later in adult life.
As recently as last year, heart diseases were still found to be the leading cause of death in the Philippines. The same children we expect to thrive and carry the future of this country are now at risk of life-threatening diseases because of the food they consume. At the heart of this crisis is our broken food system.
Many of us like to believe that the choices we make are our own. However, the reality is that our decisions about what to eat are often the result of forces beyond our control. It’s a story I’ve seen time and time again in my practice. Filipino families, so focused on work and studies, wonder why they get sick or can’t lose weight. ‘Healthy’ naman daw ang kinakain namin, they say, but the truth is, it’s not just about individual choices. The environment we live in, including the lack of clear, understandable labeling, play a pivotal role in our health outcomes.
The reality is this: our own dining tables, lovingly stocked and prepared by the hands of hardworking Filipino parents, are packed with highly processed, unhealthy products. This is because the food industry is simply not looking out for our best interests. Snacks and drinks, the prepackaged and processed food that claim to be healthy are fooling Filipino consumers when they are loaded with sodium, saturated fats, and sugar. These ingredients are masked by clever marketing and vague labeling, making it nearly impossible for the average consumer to make informed decisions.
This marketing is by design, but a clear solution has been staring us in the face for years now. Mandatory front-of-pack food warning labels ensuring clear and prominent information will allow consumers to quickly see when a product contains unhealthy levels of sugar, fat, or sodium. It’s a simple, powerful tool to help us all make healthier choices. Today, this basic right to know is being denied in the name of profit.
We cannot allow big business to continue profiting at the expense of our children’s health. Food labeling is not just about awareness—it’s about public health. Many countries around the world have already adopted such policies, and it’s time for the Philippines to do the same.
This is a matter of public health, consumer rights, and public policy. The choices we make today will determine the health of future generations. We cannot afford to let our food—and by extension, our health—become another area where we lag behind the rest of the world.
A mandatory front-of-pack food warning label policy will benefit all Filipinos—parents, children, workers, you, and me. It will empower us to make informed choices about what we put in our bodies and protect the most vulnerable among us from the long-term effects of unhealthy diets. Dapat alam namin kung ano ang mga nasa pagkain ng mga anak namin. Bilang mga magulang, protektahan natin ang mga pamilya natin.
As we commemorated International World Food Day Oct. 16, this is the call I extend to us all: Let’s shift the focus from blaming individual choices to examining the broader factors that influence our food choices. Let’s examine the information available to us – starting at the dining table. If we are serious about protecting public health, then it is about time we give consumers the information they deserve and warn against the products that only damage us further. Public health should empower people, not place the burden on them.
There will be a mass media campaign organized by the Healthy Philippines Alliance and HealthJustice Philippines to raise awareness on the importance of front-of-pack food warning labels aimed at empowering Filipino consumers to make the right choices for themselves and their families. This will be part of a larger call for stronger policies to combat the country’s growing health crises of obesity and noncommunicable diseases.
Join our call for a food warning label policy and learn more via the Healthy Philippines Alliance Facebook page and website.
Dr. Galvez Tan has served in various capacities, including as Secretary of Health and as a East Asia and Pacific UNICEF Regional Adviser on Health and Nutrition. He currently serves as Lead Convenor of the Healthy Philippines Alliance and Board Member of Health Justice Philippines.