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CEBU CITY, Philippines - Rising prices of basic commodities such as rice and corn have prompted many families to find ways to stretch their budgets.
Some have learned to combine rice grains with corn grits or to buy less pork and eat more vegetables. In more extreme cases, some end up eating only one full meal a day.
To Cebu-based food manufacturing company, Geltech Hayco, Inc., the situation underscores the need for a “green” lifestyle by providing the public with a healthy, affordable alternative for meat.
In 1993, Meat Magic was born with the innovative skills of Go Ching Hai, who founded the Hayco Group of Companies in 1950.
The product can be used as a meat extender or substitute for meat.
Nellie Chiu, vice president for finance of Geltech Hayco, said Meat Magic is a dried mixture of soy beans, wheat, corn and carrageenan. When prepared for a meal, the product has the same texture as that of animal meat.
"This is also our way of helping reduce environmental pollution since both soya and corn are fed to livestock. We want to make people aware that this (soya and corn) is more nutritious if taken directly for human consumption rather than having animals eat them first and then we eat, cook those animals," she said.
Meat Magic is mocha brown in color and appears as flakes and cutlets.
Prices of the product range from P100 to P220 for 250 grams to 1 kilo.
As prices of soya and corn continue to increase, Chiu said consumers need to think twice about their food intake.
Chiu’s husband, Antonio, vice president for marketing, said that with people more conscious about healthy lifestyle, the company is confident the product will have a higher uptake in the market.
"A lot of Filipinos are overweight and are therefore, unhealthy. This product, high in fiber, is one way to address that," Antonio said.
The challenge is to educate the public about the meat substitute’s nutritional benefits and how to prepare it, he said.
To address this concern, the company has a sales center located in Tres Borces St. in Barangay (village) Mabolo, Cebu City where demonstration classes are also held.
At present, Meat Magic is distributed in supermarkets, convenience stores and some dealers nationwide.
The company is looking into increasing the number of dealerships to intensify promotion.
With the company's goal of promoting green living and positive public response, Antonio said they hope to see Meat Magic as part of every restaurant’s menu list and part of every housewife's shopping list.
He said natural markets of the product include religious groups of Buddhism and Seventh Day Adventist, whose members are vegetarians.
"It is our social obligation to help the poor by finding ways for them to buy food at the lowest possible cost," Nellie said.
Antonio added they always make it a point to teach interested individuals about different dishes they can prepare using the product.
"We do not keep our recipes secret. We share them with people," he said.
Meat Magic has already gained the support of the University of San Carlos through its nutrition and dietetics department.
Aside from producing Meat Magic, the family is involved in wildlife conservation through its Crocolandia Nature Conservation Center established in 2001 in Talisay City.
Nellie, who sits as chairperson of Crocolandia Foundation Inc., said the park started as a family farm, where they first raised crocodiles.
With more crocodiles in the farm, Nellie said the family felt it was time to share with the community the good news of living harmoniously with the environment and with animals.
“If you're a nature lover, you would always want to contribute to the betterment of the community,” she said.
“It's a social obligation really. The same goes with Meat Magic and the need to help the less privileged."
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This is the last of the series of articles for this month’s Green Business Section to celebrate Earth Day which falls on the 22nd of this month. The section features firms that have successfully incorporated environment-friendly practices in their businesses.
