https://www.rappler.

com/move-ph/issues/hunger/61830-problem-unlimited-rice-diverse-
diet

Dr Cecilia Acuin of the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition

Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) advised against unlimited rice as it does not promote a
healthy lifestyle.

“Unlimited rice is not healthy,” she said at the launch of the 8th National Nutrition Survey
results on June 26. “You can already tell that when you're getting most from one food
group, you do not have a good diet.”

Any food that belongs to the same food group also has the same nutritional value. This
means that your body might miss out on more important nutrients if you eat the same
thing every meal.

“It's not the quantity that matters, but also the quality and diversity,” she said.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/104983/unlimited-rice-empty-stomachs

I don’t think Cynthia Villar anticipated that her comments on prohibiting “unlimited rice”
will draw so much resentment and ridicule. But as she probably knows by now, “unli
rice” is not just a gluttonous indulgence for Filipinos but also a compensatory recourse
for those with limited means. I hope she also realizes that prohibitionism is not always
the answer to our health problems.
To be fair to the senator, however, the idea of discouraging Filipinos from eating too
much rice has been raised by experts for many years. In 2012, PhilRice lamented that
each Filipino wastes two tablespoons of rice every day, “which, when not wasted, could
result in import savings as high as P6.2 billion and could feed 2.6 million hungry
Filipinos in a year.”

http://www.manilatimes.net/unli-rice-state-mind-beyond-rice-importation-
controversy/323077/
Rice has become so central in our imaginations. It has become a state of mind that is
created by a dominant lowland Filipino cultural template. Yet, there are areas in the
country where people eat other staples, such as corn and root crops.

We also have an “unlimited” rice culture, even as food outlets usually refuse to serve
half or quarter servings of rice. These practices lead to a lot of wastage. In fact, the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) estimated that 36 percent of the rice imports
in 2011, or the equivalent of 308,000 tons, was wasted. This translates to daily losses of
P23 million, and an annual loss of P8.4 billion, enough to feed 4.3 million people.

It’s about time we contemplated a massive cultural campaign to consider other staples
to reduce demand for rice, and to do away with “unli-rice” to minimize wastage.
http://www.manilatimes.net/unlimited-rice/333208/

THE statistics are staggering. According to the International Rice Research Institute, the
Philippines wastes more than 300,000 tons of rice annually. This translates to a cost of
more than P20 million a day, or about P8 billion annually.

To put this in the proper perspective, the annual volume of rice wastage is equivalent to
a third of rice imports, an issue that is fraught with political, economic and even health
considerations. All this because Filipinos, on the average, are said to waste three
tablespoons of rice every day.

But the proposal to ban “unlimited rice” servings in some restaurants, apparently a
knee-jerk one, by Sen. Cynthia Villar, seems misplaced. This week, in a Senate hearing
on the country’s rice importation and failed attempts to achieve self-sufficiency in rice
production, these statistics on rice wastage were again brought up, along with the ill
effects of too much rice consumption on the health.

https://www.oleia.net/unli-rice-pa-more-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
In fact, there was a certain issue that raised a lot of eyebrows a few months back. It was
when a certain government official voiced out her concern about the unli-rice promos
and mentioned out of her concern that it should be stopped. This official cleared her
statement, while the netizens did not take it lightly and made a big buzz out of it as if
there’s a mutiny and there’s a rebellion.

While crazy as it may sound, rice has been a staple food in every Filipino household.
You cannot find a single home that does not have rice during mealtime because it
provides us with fullness without spending much. Also, it is a great source of
carbohydrates that can help us survive throughout the day.
“Rice causes an increase in the level of sugar in the blood, which makes pancreas
produce more insulin and cause frequent spikes in blood sugar level leading to
diabetes. When not managed, diabetes may cause organ malfunction leading to death,”
Villar said.

The senator earlier urged concerned government agencies such as the Department of
Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of
Health (DoH) to align their programs in order to promote better nutrition and health
among the young Filipinos.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/905776/no-ban-on-unli-rice-villar