MANILA, Philippiines—Filipinos’ rice consumption remains high, but their intake of meat and vegetables have gone down over the years, a sign that they cannot afford a more varied and nutritious diet, according to agriculture experts.
The Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS) released late last week its Food Consumption and Nutrition Survey, which mapped out the diet of Filipinos over the recent years.
According to the survey, Filipinos depend on rice more than ever for their caloric and protein intake. The survey also noted that Filipinos’ intake of beef and certain fruits and vegetables have gone down in the past decade.
BAS said a Filipino ate 308.93 grams of rice a day in 2010, up from the 2000 base level of 282.63 grams per day. That amount of rice provides 1,102.88 grams of calories and 23.17 grams of protein.
Efraim Rasco, chief of the Philippine Rice Research Institute said the increase in per capita consumption could be attributed to two things.
First, Rasco noted that corn- and cassava-eating provinces have shifted to rice. “They prefer rice because they see it as a classier food,” Rasco said.
This shift was reflected in the BAS survey, which showed that corn consumption went down to 44.30 grams per day from 50.88 grams per day in 2000.
He also noted that the large share of rice in the diet of Filipinos indicated their poor purchasing power.
That Filipinos rely heavily on rice to get through their day could mean that they still cannot afford other commodities, Rasco said. “Rice is still cheap. Para mabusog, mag-kanin na lang (To fill oneself up, one just eats rice),” he said.
Food consumption is one of the primary indicators of poverty level. Rolando Dy, an economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific, said rice consumption tended to go down as income went up, allowing households to shift to other sources of calories like bread, potatoes and meat.
Since rice is the cheapest source of energy in the country – the government monitors the price carefully and provides subsidized rice to poor consumers – it remains the most affordable food in the Philippines.
Edson Sanguyo, a BAS statistician who was involved in the survey said, low-income households tended to prioritize rice over other goods. “Di bale na wala ang ibang pagkain, basta may bigas (It’s all right not to have other foods for as long there is rice),” he said.
To underscore the importance of rice in the daily diet of Filipinos, BAS cited the 2009 Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES) of the National Statistics Office (NSO).
According to that survey, families had been spending more for their food, with 42.6 percent of total household expenses going to agricultural commodities. In 2003, the share of food in the household expenditure was 41.4 percent.
“Among the foods eaten at home, cereals and cereal preparations comprised the biggest and increasing share at 12.0 percent. Declining share was noted for meat and meat preparations at 5.8 percent. The shares of other food groups remained unchanged. Fish and marine products shared 5.1 percent, fruits and vegetables at 3.8 percent, dairy products and eggs at 3.0 percent,” the FIES said.
The declining meat consumption was confirmed by the BAS 2010 survey.
According to the BAS, Filipinos are eating less beef than before. Average beef intake per day in 2010 went down to 6.57 grams from the base level 7.70 grams per day.
Sanguyo said this could be due to the higher prices of beef in the country.
Meanwhile, consumption of chicken and eggs, which were cheaper sources of protein than beef, rose. Filipinos on average have been eating 27.97 grams of chicken per day from 19.69 grams in 2000, BAS said. They consume an average of 10.38 grams of chicken eggs a day, from 8.03 in 2000.
The study also noted that consumption of milkfish, tilapia and tuna, while still above the base levels, have declined in the past years.
Filipinos have also been eating less vegetables and fruits, according to the BAS study.
“Consumption of papaya declined to 4.52 grams per day and its index was down to 113.0 percent. Calamansi and pomelo per capita consumption levels were still below the base year records,” it noted.
“Below the 2000 per capita consumption was reported for mongo, cassava and sweet potato,” it added.
Rasco expressed alarm over the growing consumption of rice and the decreasing intake of other foods. It would mean that the government should hike its rice production to keep up with the demand, he said. Furthermore, he described this kind of diet as unhealthy.
According to Philrice, half of the typical Filipino plate contains rice despite recommendations to eat more of fruits and vegetables.
New dietary guidelines recommend that fruits and vegetables should occupy half of our plates and about one-fourth by grains.