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Republic of the Philippines fe U4 JUN 201;
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Rohe)
Quezon City 7 Atlas
FIFTEENTH CONGRESS Se Roy
Second Regular Session Sten A
ar eaii
HOUSE BILLNO, ___

Introduced by Representative TEDDY A. CASINO.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Studies have shown that Filipinos are meat-eaters and have one of the lowest pet capita intakes of
vegetables in world with only 39 kg.

According to a 2008 study by the Department of Science and Technology — Food and Nutsition
Research Institute, the Philippines has a severe double disease burden: childhood malautrition and
adult obesity. A quartet of adult Filipinos are already hypertensive and 7 million are diagnosed with
diabetes, making the Philippines one of che world’s top ten epicenters of the disease. Each yeat,
200,00K) Filipinos dic of aon-communicable diseases (NCDs), with heart diseases as the leading
cause of death, Long-term health care costs for NCDs are staggering. They also undermine the
country's economic development.

‘The recent position statement by American Dietetic Association recognize that reduced meat
consumption decreases the tisk of various health problems, stating, “Scientific data suggests positive
relationships betwen a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for several chronic degenerative diseases
and conditions, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and some types of cancers.”

Ie is estimated that present greenhouse gas (GHG) levels may increase global temperarures by 2 °C
above preindustrial levels by 2050. This will result in scrions negative impacts to the ecosystems and
human welfare, The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAQ) in 2006
revealed that the livestock industry is responsible for at Jeast 7.516 billion metric tons of carbon
dioxide per year or 18% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. In an updated calculation,
World Watch Institute in their study “Livestock and Climate Change” declared that the livestock
industry and theit byproducts actually account for at least 51 percent or 32.564 billion tons of GIG
emissions.

According to the UN-FAO document, seveaty petcent (70%) of global agricultural [and is being
used for the grazing of animals or for the cultivation of animal feed, and whereas 3 million hectares
of forest are cleared yearly for meat consumption. These findings prompted 2007 Nobel laureate Dr.
Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel oa Climate Change, to campaign for the
reduction of theit catbon impact by decreasing meat consumption



Meatiess Mondays was developed a3 nutrition and cavironmental campaign two address high meat
consumption wodd-wide in 2003. The -ampaign was launched jointly by John Hopkins and
Cohumbia University Schools of Public Health.

In the US, the Bahimote City Public School system has become the first fully Meatless Monday
school system. The schools system has introduced a wide vaticty of projects to ensure its students
eat and learn about healthy, environmentally friendly choices.

In the Philippines, ‘Tarlac State University became the first Meatless Monday-advocating university
and together with Sophia School (ia Meycauayan, Bulacan) have been implementing Meatless
Mondays for the past several months. The results have been encouraging with students and families
benefiting from the program.

Those campaigning for “Luntiang Lunes" estimated that if in 2011, each of the 25.7 million student
of will practice Meatless Mondays in schools, that is, substituting meat-protein equivalent intake by
plant-based foods, in just one year this would have the same beneficial effect on CO2-emission 3s
taking 94,392 cars off the road or having 12.35 million trees planted and grown for 10 years based
on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

‘Targeting children and adotescents for dietary change will have a life-long impact on dietary habits
and cardiovascular health than when interventions are done on adulis. This underscores the fact that
dietary pattems are established and consolidated in childhood and adolescence.

Knowledge or information campaign alone is insufficient (o improve vegetable intake among the
young people. A required, integrated, institutionalized and sustainable dietary strategy like Meatless
Monday in schools would present as a productive and effective instrument.

-According to “Luntiang Lunes” founder and neuroscientist Dr. Custer C. Deocanis, as dietary
behavior is the most difficult habit to change, most health promotion campaigns fail due to lack of
compliance component for setting realistic goals and reinforcements. “Monday” among the days of
the week, may possess the greatest potential to serve as tool to bolster long-term campaigns for the
following reasons:

1) Recurrence and cyclicity. Monday is a useful prompt o reminder to encourage subjects to get
back on track. As the message and behavir:r is recurring, it creates stronger brain circuits w encode
for healthy habits. Habits are known to form between 18 to 254 days (Lally et al, 2009, European
Journal of Social Poyclogy)

2) Monday is planning and anticipation day. The power of anticipating and planning for a
demanding environment occurs on a Monday as manifested by higher stress level as compared to
the rest of the days in weeks (Devereux, Rydstedt & Cropley, 2011, Povbology Report; and

3) Monday stress may help facilitate habit formation. The level of and adrenal-cortical activity
on Mondays may have particular utility in crystallizing dietary habits as induction of stress helps
redirect hippocampal-dependent (cognitive /goal-ditected) behavior to a striatum-dependent (habit-
memory) system (Schwabe & Wolf, 200%, Ja: ral of Newroscienc),


Recognizing the social context of support that will be created to assist our young citizens acquire
life longer healthy dietary habits, it is in this light thas this bill seeks to institutionalize Meatless
Monday in schools, both private and public.

In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this measure is sought.

Approved,

—

ann
TEDDY A. CASINO
Bayan Muna Pary-list


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BELNo._d314

AN ACT PROMOTING VEGETABLE INTAKE
IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY IMPLEMENTING A.
LUNTIANG LUNES (MEATLESS MONDAYS) MOTIVATIONAL PROGRAM

Be it enacted by the Senate und Howse of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assertbled:

SECTION 1. Shorr Tite, Vhis Act shall be known as the "1 sundang Lunes Act of 2012"

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is the responsibility of the State to protect and promote the tight to
health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

SEC. 3. Objectives. ‘The objectives of the Luatiang Lunes Motivational Campaige: are:

1. To encourage consumption of vegetables, particularly indigenous vatietics, which is
attributed to healthy living;

2. To aid im the campaign to lesser yreeotsouse gas emissions contributing to climate change
and environmental degradation; =:

3. To promote a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos.

SEC. 4, Mearees Mondays in schools. ‘the Department of Kducation (DepFd) shall order public
elementary and high schools to only serve plant-based meals in theic cafeterias every Monday while
implementing an educational campaign «= che beneficial role of such diet on health and the
environment. Private schools will also be encouraged to do the same. However, no studeat shall be
forced to buy food from the cafeteria. Students have the right to bring packed lunch, regardless of
whether it is plant- or meat-based food

SEC. 5. Inver-agency committer. DepEd with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of
Agriculture, and the Department of Science and Technolog.” Food and Nutrition Research
Instinwte (DOST-FNRD), together with non government organizations, such as the Luntiang Lunes
Inc. and the Nutritionist-Dieretitian’s Association of the Philippines, shall form <n inter-agency


v

Develop and design plant-based meals with emphasis on indigenous vegetables available in
the region that will meet the Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intakes (REND of Filipino
children and adolescents;

3. Monitor health and dietary pracuces of students and houscholds; and
4. Support and develop advocacy and educational programs and materials.

SECTION 6. Fends for program. The fands for the establishment, maintenance and operation of the

Landang ILunes Motivational Program sball be included in the General Appropriations Act under
the funds allocated for DepEd and othe: concemed agencies.

SECTION 7. Constitutionality, — Should any provision of this Act be declared invalid or
unconsticutional, the validity or constitutionality of the other provisions shall not be affected

thereby.

SECTION 8. Repeating Claus. AIL laws, decrees, rules and regulations, and executive orders contrary
to or inconsistent with this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 9. Effectinipy. Vhis Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in at
least two (2) newspapers of general citculatioa.

Approved,