Hunger is a tricky term. It is a bodily sensation that drives people to scour for food to satiate it. People engage in all sorts of work, substantial or menial to engorge the hunger pangs. It is one of the most colossal aspects of creation. Animals and humans need fuel to carry on their survival. Imagine removing hunger from the cohesive creation anatomy – would the existence still be similar? Nature would perhaps lose the motivation to survive. Hunger helms the concept of survival of the fittest amongst living beings.
The present world is overloaded with food yet many subsist on frugal food to run their daily lives. The pervasive relationship between hunger and food corrodes significantly in places afflicted with conflicts and poverty. In such situations, hunger is considerably controlled in proportion to food availability. In the modern world, rich and poor exist within the same realm. Poor are needed to cater to the needs of the rich- therefore they exist in close vicinity. The high-rise buildings become a camouflage for the lowly poor surviving in dirty slums. Poverty is one of the greatest ills plaguing humanity. Due to the disparate distribution of resources, the pendulum reposes heavily towards the affluent. Poor are thus left with unbearable hunger pangs and resort to unthinkable means to curb these torments.
In Manila, Philippines, Pagpag — a stew with scraps of meat and bones scraped from garbage bins, refried, and seasoned with sauce — has slowly become the go-to food for the innumerable poverty-stricken people.
The practice of eating Pagpag serves as a poignant reminder for destitute Filipinos of their relentless drive to survive and optimize their limited means. Interestingly, while Pagpag embodies a symbol of resilience for the less fortunate, it also represents extravagance for the affluent sector. This dynamic underlines the ongoing social stratification evident in contemporary Philippine society.
Pagpag exists not simply due to impoverished individuals but also because of the severe financial constraints that prevent them from accessing fresh and nutritious food options. However, rather than resigning themselves to self-pity, those experiencing extreme poverty have chosen to creatively repurpose discarded food items from the wealthy to alleviate their hunger, even in the face of potential risks to their health.
Leftover food retrieved from the garbage can harbor dangerous bacteria and toxins that lead to food poisoning and various illnesses such as diarrhea, typhoid, and hepatitis. Merely reheating the food might not eliminate these harmful elements, especially if it has been discarded for an extended period. Also, the absence of adequate sanitation and hygiene practices among individuals involved in salvaging and preparing Pagpag (from collectors to chefs to consumers) further heightens health risks.
Remarkably, people have had to resort to such avenues for sustenance. The world is aggressively advancing towards the massive problem of wasted food – Considering the large number of hungry people, wasted food is both inefficient and a social justice issue.
Rather than banning the consumption and production of Pagpag, a key focus should be on minimizing food waste. One possible solution is the implementation of policies requiring restaurants and fast-food chains to redirect their unused food to communities after ensuring it meets health and safety standards. In the meantime, Pagpag remains a dangerous and nutritionally inadequate practice.
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