Enzo Content.docx

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Content 1. Describe the Pagpag eating in terms of its preparation and nutritional content 2. What are the possible hazards that can be acquired through eating Pagpag? 3. Whom do you think is/ are to be blamed in this situation, the fast food chains? The government? The pagpag-eaters themselves? Or the customers? 4. Do you think the law implemented by the government is effective in mitigating the problem? If yes, give the strongest arguments of the law and if otherwise, provide alternative solutions in solving the problem? 5. Expound this statement: “Scarcity lies in the excess of somebody which is wasted for everybody.” 6. Corroborate your discussions with other articles and researches. Indicate your source.

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Discussions 1. People scavenge for food leftover in the trash, clean them as best they can, and recook them with soy, vinegar and other spices to take away the bad smell or taste that they might have contracted from their time in the trash, either for personal consumption or for selling. They basically recycle the food and get the nutritional value left in them, albeit along with any germs and bacteria that went with the food since it was in the trash and garbage. 2. Besides malnutrition, there are multiple health hazards that can go with the consumption of Pagpag. Toxic or poisonus substances that come with the trash that the food was found in can cause sicknesses and can even be fatal. Bacteria and germs promote diseases and sicknesses but are overlooked because of the need of the poor to eat. Worms and other parasites are also present in the food because of the environment and the state that they are found in. Some diseases that are commonly linked to the easting of pagpag are Hepatitis A, typhoid, diarrhea, and cholera.

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3. I believe that everyone shares a blame in this predicament in the Philippines. The government may have projects against the practice of Pagpag, but due to the poor management of the government, the poverty in the Philippines and the sorry state that our brothers and sisters under the poverty line are experiencing. The Pagpag eaters, on the other hand, are also at fault because they’d rather scavenge the trash than find alternatives like farming or finding more decent work to feed themselves. They put themselves on a big risk by continuing this practice rather than finding a better solution to combat their hunger. Fast food chains are also at fault because of the way they dispose of their leftover food. They do not dispose of it properly which leaves it accessible to the scavengers and provides a continuous supply of food to recycle. 4. I believe that the government can do better to solve the issues regarding pagpag. They have various laws and ordinances but the practice is still rampant. I believe that if they improve the garbage disposal, the way they deal with excess food, especially from restaurants and fast food chains, then they can better dissuade the people who practice the pagpag eating habit from continuing this practice. If the governments has more improvements on their practices, better implementations and stricter implementations, along with finding alternatives for eating pagpag, this practice may lessen and eventually stop in our country. If departments like the Department of health worked hand in hand with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and National Solid Waste Management Commission, hunger and improper waste management, which are the biggest proprietors of pagpag consumption, can be lessened and stopped, which can cause a chain reaction and stop pagpag consumption. Dealing with hunger is one of the biggest steps because its absence will help the poor not have to take such drastic measures to eat. Waste management, on the other hand, will make pagpag inaccessible to the people who see it as an option to put food in their stomachs.

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5. When there is an abundance of resources for the minority, the majority will experience not having enough of it to go around. Since the rich capitalize on their abundance of resources, in this case food, the poor and people who have difficulty getting this resource experience scarcity and are, in turn, left to do drastic things in order to survive. Since the rich are the ones who have an excess of food, the poor are left with what the rich have not used or are left to recycle what the rich have already used. They are pushed to find ways to live while the rich, who have an excess of this valuable resource, do not need to go through much trouble in order to survive and to sate their hunger. 6. Pagpag is an unhealthy practice, it puts its practitioners at risk because of the unsanitary conditions and environment in which they find their food. There are multiple laws and practices that were created and implemented in order to combat this practice but because of the need to eat and survive, the poor find ways in order to continue this said practice. They disregard the health repercussions because pagpag is their only means of curing their hunger. They no longer care if they contract any diseases just to be able to eat for their day to day lives. Majority of those under the poverty line, regardless of gender and age, practice pagpag because they have no other means of obtaining food. Buying food is too costly, waiting for donations or feeding programs take too much time and their environment doesn’t offer much choices for them to obtain meals. This is their last result to avoid starvation and it is a sad reality because many people contribute to it without them even knowing. The waste and excess of food for the people above the poverty line has resulted in a scarcity of proper food for the poor. They have resulted in waiting for our leftovers and scavenging through our trash in order to feed themselves. This can be prevented though if the government and the masses give more attention to this issue and help combat it. The biggest contributors to the pagpag practice are huger, waste disposal and poverty. Yes, these are hard issues to combat but if they are solved or at least, taken steps to lessen, then people can abandon this practice. All sources are in citations.

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III.

Citations A. Diamante (2015) FOOD INSECURITY: THE EXPERIENCES OF HUNGER AMONG THE HOUSEHOLDS LIVING IN MANILA A SLUM. University of Santo Tomas B. Chua (2018) The Perceived Impacts Of Alternative Food Source* (“Pagpag”) On Selected Families Of An Urban Poor Community In The Philippines C. Food and Research Center (2017) The Impact of Poverty, Food Insecurity, and Poor Nutrition on Health and Well-Being D. Galarpe (2017) Review on the Impacts of Waste Disposal Sites in the Philippines. University of the Philippines E. Mapa (2010) Hunger Incidence in the Philippines: Facts, Determinants and Challenges. University of the Philippines F. Save the Children Philippines (2016) Cost of Hunger : Philippines

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