Foodmiles: Healthy Food. Healthy Air.

Clean Air Network (CAN) & Go.Asia Present
Everybody joins Foodmiles: Healthy Food. Healthy Air.
Fresh Food Tasting For Healthy Air

To echo Jamie Oliver’s Year of Food Revolution #Food Revolution Campaign, Go.Asia is in partnership with Clean Air Network (CAN) to launch FoodMiles: Healthy Food. Healthy Air. in the months of May & June 2017 to organize various programs for public participation to practice the pursuit of local healthy food and clean air. Let’s make a joint effort for Food & Air!

In this Gourmet Paradise, we eat out on average five meals a week; 95% of our daily food source comes from different origins imported by sea, land and air, which means Hong Kong people pay a high price for food miles rather than food value itself. For instance, the distance it takes to transport kale from US to HK is 13,000 km by air, while locally grown organic kale sold at local farmers’ markets travels no more than 160 km. Sadly, this huge difference in mileage and air pollution caused by the transportation process is harming us and the environment. Therefore, Go.Asia and Clean Air Network have invited over 10 local restaurants to launch a specialty menu featuring dishes made with locally sourced ingredients to present a thoughtful & refreshing food experience about food miles. (Please refer to the list of participating restaurants in Appendix I)

Patrick Fung, CEO of Clean Air Network, suggested that while using local food materials will reduce food miles at global level, Hong Kong should also focus on one of the biggest public health crisis locally – unsafe roadside air pollution. On average, air pollution causes 5 premature deaths per day in Hong Kong. Action must be taken if we care for our health.

“We want diners, restaurants and food logistics to be aware of the roadside air pollution from vehicular traffic.” Fung said, “There are actions to be taken now. Diners could contribute to healthier air by reducing the use of motorized transport to and from restaurants. Alternatively, diners could walk and bike after each meal to gain the level of physical activity they need to stay healthy. Restaurants and food logistics could prioritize to use cleaner and fewer vehicles to transport goods to protect health of drivers and other vehicle occupants who are exposed to high levels of road transport pollution.”

Apart from restaurants’ promotions, we treasure how a small individual effort towards making better food choices can contribute to our overall health and environment sustainability. Therefore, we call for the “Healthy Food. Healthy Air.” Cooking Challenge among individuals by taking 4 steps:

1. Cook with local produce (you can either purchase ingredients from local farms or shop online);

2. Take snap shot(s) of your dish;

3. Share your recipe & photo/ video on your social media; (with the hashtags #FoodAir #FoodRevolution #CleanAir)

4. Challenge & invite at least 3 friends to take part this cooking challenge and keep the ball rolling.

Beatrice Chan, Chief of Go.Asia, wishes Hong Kong people can enjoy cooking fun by participating the Cooking Challenge. This game can engage more people and let them understand how they can contribute to a blue sky by adopting local food to shorten food miles. She explains, “We are living in a concrete jungle and can barely breathe fresh air in town. It will be a valuable opportunity to connect with the organic part of our living place for effortless and healthy living while walking and shopping in farmer’s market.”

Let’s join hands and take the first step for green living by eating wisely. If you want to do more, please consider “Driving less. Walking more” to reduce air pollution. We need your immediate support to urge the government to improve their current environmental policies and implement more effective policies to curb vehicle growth. (https://goo.gl/D6XR8O) For more details about our activities, please visit: http://www.foodair.asia/

Organizers: Go.Asia & Clean Air Network (CAN)

Go.Asia (http://www.go.asia) is a platform under DotAsia Foundation. We advocate individual efforts to create positive changes to the society & sustainable development. Our flagship programs include: Food Revolution Hong Kong (www.frd.asia) & “Think.Cook.Save.” Food & Health Education (www.food.asia).

Clean Air Network (http://www.hongkongcan.org) is an independent NGO that encourages the public to speak out about the health impacts of air pollution. Our vision is to build a Hong Kong with clean air. To achieve this vision, CAN dedicated to drive policy change by building knowledge, collaborating strategically and advocating solutions in a collaborative approach. Without losing sight on the pollution from regional activities, marine vessels and power plants, our current primary focus is on roadside pollution.

FoodMiles: Healthy Food. Healthy Air.

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