Carefully choosing what we eat is not only for healthy living but also for environmental protection.

A good friend of mine, who I share meals with once in a while, doesn’t eat beef for religious reasons. Imagine saying goodbye to kare-kare, tapa, bulalo, hamburger, steak, sukiyaki, and bulgogi! It wasn’t until my visit to FGS Mabuhay Temple that I was properly educated on mindful eating.

For me, mindful eating is consuming nutrious food that has little to no impact on the environment. Many of those who follow this principle are vegetarians who only eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. Some skip dairy and eggs (vegans) or mix their plant-based diet with fish and other seafood (pescetarian).

There are numerous benefits to a plant-based diet:

• Zero hunger, part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, is about nourishing people and nurturing the planet.
• Livestock accounts for 51% of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. A shift to a less meat-intensive diet will gradually help halt land and biodiversity loss.
• There is a rising number of urban food growers. This practice promotes sustainable consumption and production.
• Having compassion for all living things results to ethical treatment of animals.
• Overall, a vegetarian diet (and its other variations) contribute to combat climate change.

Aside from practicing zero-waste, I am slowly reducing my meat consumption and consciously choosing fruit, vegetables, and, occasionally, seafood.

Interested to learn more about vegetarianism and mindful eating? Join us this November 9 & 10 at the FGS Mabuhay Temple for a vegetarian lunch (11:30 am – 1:30 pm) or dinner (6 pm – 8:30 pm). The Fo Guang Shan Foundation, on its 30th anniversary, is relaunching its flagship program on promoting environmental and spiritual wellness. This year’s “Go Green @ Mabuhay” focuses on Mindful Mouthfuls: A Thousand Meals for Education.

A preview of vegetarian cuisines for the upcoming Go Green @ Mabuhay. Food will be prepared by devotees, volunteers, and restaurant partners.

The event aims to bring together a thousand people to practice mindfulness in eating while supporting FGS’s education endeavors for the Filipino youth. Tickets are priced at P1,000. Proceeds will be used for the construction of the future home of Guang Ming College in Tagaytay. You may message FGS Mabuhay Temple directly or contact +639171229998 for ticket reservations.

Let’s use the simple and daily activity of eating as a start towards more mindful living.