Pageant for kids, teens brings beauty to meatless campaign

BRINGING the meatless campaign to beautiful highs: (from left) Project Headshot Clinic’s Niccolo Cosme, Climate Change Commission Secretary Mary Ann Lucille Sering, Captured Dream Productions president Vas Bismark and Meatless Monday Philippines founder Custer Deocaris. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Beauty pageants can help avert the disastrous effects of global climate change. If such beauty competitions are combined with a meatless campaign, and children and teeners—the future inheritors and stewards of the Earth—are directly engaged, then the world of tomorrow can be a much better place.

This was the message the organizers of Miss Teen Earth Philippines and Little Miss Earth Philippines laid out during the Jan. 21 launch of its nationwide search for girls aged 4 to 17, aimed to promote environmental awareness and foster sustainable change.

The pageant, with the slogan “Our Nature, We Nurture” is open to Filipino citizens. The prepageant screening begins next month, and will include contestants competing in four categories: Casual and formal wear, regional costume made of recycled or organic materials, and the question-and-answer portion. There will be no swimsuit category.

All candidates are also encouraged to not eat meat or animal products at least one day a week during the screening process.

Prepageant winners will vie for the grand national competition on May 27 at SM Mall of Asia Arena. Little Miss Earth and Miss Teen Earth will each receive half a million pesos worth of cash and prizes. The latter will also receive foundation support for an environmental project to be applied in her local community.

Environmental issues

Vas Bismark, president of Captured Dream Productions (the pageant’s trademark owner), said the competitions aim to reach out to young Filipino women and inspire them into thinking that beauty is not only a physical attribute but also an act of love.

“We want to spread awareness about the different environmental issues, organize activities to help preserve nature and be able to mobilize Filipinos to act with love and purpose in creating a cleaner, greener environment,” Bismark said.

Bismark’s group partnered with Project Headshot Clinic (which is running an ongoing petition called “Project Earth”), the Climate Change Commission and the Meatless Monday Philippines (Luntiang Lunes) to strengthen the pageant’s advocacy.

Bismark, a vegetarian since birth (or “conception”), said: “It’s our means of letting people know you can also be an earth advocate by simply choosing what you eat. By selecting the right foods, you can immediately reduce your carbon footprint personally by refraining from eating meat. And it’s applicable to everyone regardless of age, sex, and religion. It’s something that everybody can do.” He is an environment advocate and a resource speaker on environmental concerns.

Bismark stressed that the pageant will not force its candidates to become vegetarians.

“We understand that there are people who may not be aware of the Meatless Monday campaign. We won’t become prejudiced against them. What really matters is their openness. If you enter the pageant, we educate you along the way. We make you become aware of what reducing meat can do,” he added.

Climate Change Commission Secretary Mary Ann Lucille Sering said, “We know that climate change is a global issue, but it would definitely require domestic action.”

Sering disclosed that a sizable group in the United Nations Convention on Climate Change promoting vegetarianism conducts annual giveaways of organic vegetarian food. The group, she said, has repeatedly reasoned that greenhouse gases have been caused primarily by livestock farming.

She said: “To keep it simple, we want to lessen our dependence on eating meat, which has resulted to a lot of diseases, as well. So we now need to give an alternative that vegetarianism is not just about health, but is also your own way of contributing to reducing global warming. If there is less demand, then there is less supply.”

Affected by climate change

According to Sering, a survey done by her group in 2013 showed 8 out of 10 Filipinos already affected by climate change.

She said: “Sixty three percent of them said they were not doing anything about it. Hopefully, with this pageant, as part of the awareness and education campaign, we can encourage more action, especially among the youth. Half of our population is below 30 years old.”

DOST Balik Scientist Custer Deocaris, a recent recipient of Ten Outstanding Young Men award, explained the inspiration behind the Meatless Monday campaign. “Meatless Monday started in Johns Hopkins University in the States. It was supposed to address cardiovascular diseases. They found out if you forego meat for just one day a week, you can reduce the incidence of heart attack by as much as 40 percent.”

He said that the university later found out the campaign had environmental repercussions as well. “Meat and meat processing is the number one cause of pollution. It contributes to 51 percent of greenhouse gases. The Philippines has recorded the lowest vegetable intake as a country.”

Recent research has shown that among the major contributors to climate change has been the livestock industry, as more than half of the annual worldwide manmade greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs, the necessary ingredient to climate change), has been attributed to the billions upon billions of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs and poultry raised for human consumption, and their processing. Livestock farming also accounts for the use and pollution of 70 percent of global freshwater and 38 percent of land-use conversion.

Interested applicants may call Jen Balberona at 09228736617 or email [email protected].