Food sustains life. It is at the heart of every Filipino home and community. Yet behind every meal prepared and served lies a troubling contradiction: millions of our kababayan struggle with hunger while tons of edible food are lost or wasted each day.

Globally, one in 11 people goes to bed hungry even as more than one billion meals are wasted daily. In the Philippines, Metro Manila alone discards about 2,175 tons of food scraps every day. Much of this ends up in landfills, releasing methane — a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the United States.

This is a double injustice. It denies food to Filipino families who need it most. It also fuels the climate crisis that threatens our homes, livelihoods and future. By 2030, climate losses and damages could cost our country 7.6 percent of GDP, rising to 13.6 percent by 2040. Every wasted grain of rice or kilo of vegetables makes these risks worse — squandering the water, land, energy and fuel used to produce them.

The Philippines has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030, conditional on support in finance, technology and capacity. Part of this ambition must be reducing food loss and waste. Our Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan and National Adaptation Plan already provide direction: embedding circular economy practices in agriculture, waste, and local climate action plans. These are not just government commitments. They are opportunities for all of us to act.

Farmers and fisherfolk need reliable cold storage and transport so their harvests reach markets instead of rotting. Restaurants and retailers can donate surplus food rather than throwing it away. Local governments can lead by building composting facilities, turning food scraps into soil nutrients instead of methane. And in every Filipino household, simple choices matter: buying only what we can eat, storing food properly, turning leftovers into tomorrow’s meals.

Schools and civic groups can also raise awareness, teaching that food waste is not just about money lost, but about hunger and climate change. This is how we pass on to our children the values of stewardship and malasakit.

The call is simple but urgent: change how we purchase, consume and value food. Every responsible choice — by governments, businesses or families — brings us closer to a Philippines where no resource is wasted and no Filipino goes hungry.

On this International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction, let us remember: the food we save today is more than a meal preserved. It is a step toward resilience, equity, and climate security. Cook less, share more, waste none. The resilience of tomorrow depends on the choices we make at our tables today.