Food and eating are an integral part of over 4,000 years of Chinese culture. In a nation that has frequently suffered from starvation, a common greeting is "Have you eaten yet?" Even now, meals still hold a central place in Chinese society. Most visitors to Taiwan comment on the great Chinese cuisine and the seemingly endless supplies of colorful fruits and vegetables seen everywhere, from the traditional street markets to the Westernized supermarkets. This national obsession with food, begs the question, are the Chinese concerned with eating healthily?
Certainly, local people are beginning to question whether or not the red, green, and yellow produce displayed in quantities on supermarket shelves and market stalls is as healthy as it looks. With the pollution that afflicts the cities, plus the use of hormones and pesticides to eliminate insect damage and keep fruit and vegetables looking good and growing fast, it is difficult to believe that it can be. But what is the alternative? Consumers could always switch to canned foods, pay higher costs for imports, or take a chance on frozen foods, but how can they be sure they won't be getting more of the same? Most just hope that the vigorous washing they give vegetables will eliminate some of the chemicals, and that the spices and sauces famous in Chinese food will cover them up. Any worries of chemical residue are put to the back of their minds. But this situation is changing, albeit slowly.
Residents of Taipei can grow their own organic vegetables on plots in the Yangmingshan and Hsinyi districts provided by the Taipei City Government.
Organically Green
Some consumers in Taiwan are turning to organically produced fruit and vegetables grown without the use of any unnatural chemicals or additiveshave occupied a substantial consumer market in the United States. Major supermarkets have sections selling organic produce, and there are farmers' cooperatives in most places touting the benefits of chemical-free produce.
Surprisingly in a country where a significant portion of the population follow stringent vegetarian diets, the idea of 'grown green' is relatively new to Taiwan. People are gradually beginning to search for greater refinement in their eating habits; but the concept of growing, using, and eating organically grown food has been slow in catching on due largely in part to the higher costs of organic farming and an end product that is basically unattractive to look at. The types of vegetables that are available vary from week to week--not usually because of the season, but because of what the farm has on hand.
An important factor that has awakened Taiwan's consumers to the possibility of organic eating is the suggested link between chemically grown foods and cancer and other diseases. Debates abound as to the feasibility of all the studies being conducted, but the average consumer has suddenly become leery of all the rhetoric and is looking for an alternative, regardless.
Taiwan's great home-cooked cuisines don't need to contain unnecessary, and possibly damaging, additives. There are alternatives. The Taiwan Home-makers Union Foundation a local non-governmental organization on Tingchou Road in south Taipei, took steps to set up its own organic food cooperative. It supplies certified chemical-free fruits and vegetables grown by older farmers no longer willing to rely on heavy chemical use, and by younger farmers who are embracing 'growing green.' Committed to environmental education, the foundation's three-year program has grown to over 500 participants. Regular testing of the food items on offer is conducted. The farmers also provide workshops on their growing methods to educate foundation members.
If you want to take advantage of the foundation's services, all you have to do is become a member (annual membership costs NT$350) and pay a refundable NT$1,000 deposit which guarantees that you will buy a monthly supply from the co-op. A minor restriction is that it will deliver only to groups with at least five members in the same neighborhood. Members who meet this condition can enjoy a convenient once-weekly delivery service within downtown Taipei, in line with the foundation's tenets of community-building and sharing.
Other shops and organizations have begun to jump on the 'grown green' bandwagon. While traditionally known as catering mainly to the chronically ill, the idea of an organic diet has created a new consumer market for shops that specialize in providing foods for people trying to shed unwanted pounds, or suffering from skin or other ailments. The idea that 'you are what you eat' is slowly sinking in. However, consumers must be prepared to pay a price for this way of thinking, and that price is currently that demand almost always exceeds supply. The alternative of ballooning future medical costs as the price to be paid for years of unhealthy eating is surely 'food for thought.'
While the health-food restaurant concept began in the late 1980s, most of the shops that opened then closed quickly due to a lack of interest by most of Taipei's consumers. This second time around, a handful of small restaurants specializing in organic vegetables, often combined with small supermarkets where products can be purchased for use at home, have sprouted up in and around Taipei.
These places are few and far between, and one has to search for a shop or restaurant that caters to the 'grown green' consumer. But while many people complain that organic food tastes bland and looks ugly, even the major international hotels have picked up on this interest and their restaurants will honor requests for naturally seasoned dishes, though these seasonings are sometimes difficult to obtain. But as consumers become more concerned about saving the environment and their own health, so the demand for organic food should increase, and the availability and price should improve.
