When the subject turns to food for Pinoys, nobody gets left behind, right?

But, do you really know what you are eating and where it all comes from? And if you do, do you wonder how long the food supply will last? More importantly, are all Pinoys eating as we should?

So many questions about food flood our minds — as we gobble up every morsel — mindful not to waste — what is a limited resource.

Many experts from the food industry have shared that the Philippine government has taken significant steps to promote sustainable practices and encourage a net-zero lifestyle. It has been reported that policies and regulations such as the Renewable Energy Act in 2008, Climate Change Act in 2009 and National Greening Program in 2011 are in place, billionbricks.com reported.

Making sure that we do not run out of food for our millions is what our government (and many private citizens and NGOs) are committed to do. Much is done on a daily basis to ensure that food sustainability, through enforcing different initiatives and legislation on climate change and saving the environment in general, is in place.

In the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations reported: “Human beings are at the center of concern for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.”

Over 20 years later, it seems that the world has yet to deliver on this fundamental principle — too many people in this world are still not living healthy and productive lives in harmony with nature.

Agriculture is at the heart of the solution of the sustainability issue, contributing from the environmental, economic and social sides. If we improve agricultural and food systems, we can improve the livelihoods and health of people and produce healthier ecosystems as well.

However, producing enough food to feed the world does not guarantee food security. Hunger exists today although there is enough food for all. Even if we increase agricultural output by 60 percent by 2050, we will still have 300 million people going hungry due to lack of proper access to food. Access is central to hunger. Most often the reason people are undernourished is because they cannot grow enough food for themselves, or do not have enough money to buy it.

One innovative approach that is being used increasingly is linking small-scale farming with cash transfers and cash for work programs. This way, poor families can buy food locally from farmers. It also injects cash into local rural economies, helping to jump-start a virtuous circle in which people previously outside the economy become consumers thereby generating further growth.