Last night I went to the second meeting of the Green Drinks society in Singapore at Food #03 in Little India. Although I was tempted by the Vitagen Vodka, I decided to do my liver a favor and had a glass of some beetroot-carrot-celery-potato juice. I ended up staying for several hours, talking with other islanders about environmental issues.
I ran into Paul Yeoh, Singapore's premier raw foods chef, at the event. He faces a difficult challenge, since his culinary philosophy can be summarized as the antithesis of the traditional Singaporean diet. Since there are no animal products, that eliminates bak kut teh, char kway teow, chicken rice, chili crab, ... [rest of alphabet]. Since nothing can be heated, that eliminates all types of traditional rice, noodles, and porridge, as well as pretty much all Indian vegetarian food. Proponents claim that such a diet is far healthier, by keeping beneficial enzymes in the food alive. They also claim environmental benefits, since no energy is required to heat the food, but I wonder about the power requirements for their high-speed blenders.
I also met Hendrik, who represents the opposite of Singapore's shopaholic culture. He grew up in the environmentally-savvy nation of Sweden and felt quite a culture shock in consumer-driven Singapore. His goal for the year is to avoid purchasing any type of packaged product. He makes his own soap, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, etc. More recently, he found that he can collect the branches from neem trees in the national parks, so he doesn't need to buy toothpaste. Moreover, he rides his bike to work every day, which seems like it would be a rather frightening experience. He explained that confidence is the key: ride in the center of the lane and smile-and-wave to any vehicles that honk.
The conversation quickly turned to plastic bags: a ubiquitous part of Singaporean culture. One brilliant idea is to start charging people for plastic bag use, like they do in Sweden. Making people pay 10 cents per bag, for instance, would do wonders for bargain-hunting Singaporeans. The fact that the government hasn't taken such simple action makes one wonder about the power of the plastic bag lobby.
Continuing with the theme of the government, someone from England talked about the skepticism that people have towards the government health agencies, especially after the mad cow epidemic. He asked if people in Singapore had similar views and everyone else laughed. Paul asked if the Health Promotion Board could persuade people to eat more raw, local, organic vegetables. A former employee in that agency explained that it is already difficult enough for people to eat their vegetables (the token cucumber served with Chicken Rice probably isn't enough).
Towards the end of the night, people were getting more philosophical. Singapore used to be covered in by rain forest, making it one of the most biologically diverse places in the world. That has been replaced by a plethora of air-conditioned shopping malls and hawker centers, so our very existence on the island is already destroying countless species. Even without probiotic-infused alcohol, it's possible to get carried away with trying to save the world.
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