W
hat’s for dinner?” might
just be the most-asked
domestic question of all
time. Cave mums were
probably asked, and I bet the parents
who colonise Mars will also be asked
that question. Every, single, day. Food is
life and that means feeding our family is at
the core of nurturing. But feeding our family
is getting more complex. We want to fuel our
bodies with produce that is fresh and free of
chemicals, but in Hong Kong that can come
at great cost to the environment. Our fresh,
organic food is often packaged and flown in on
planes collecting a significant carbon footprint
before it hits our dinner table.
This means the all-important daily question
has evolved. Now it’s, “What’s for dinner, where
did it come from and at what expense?” So,
what’s driving this food evolution and why do
parents care so much? In a nutshell, as parents
we want our children to be healthy and we hope
for a bright and happy future for them. Food is
central to both of these concerns. What we eat
has a direct impact on our health and the health
of our planet. The integrity of food dictates
our health, and the way that food is processed,
packaged and disposed of will determine the
future of our planet. Suddenly, this week’s meal
plan just got very real.
But this is a positive story about people
in our city who are helping families make
better decisions about the food they buy
and eat. There are great and growing
options for Hongkongers to eat food with
integrity, crafted by conscious companies.
Meet the ecopreneurs
Bobsy Gaia is an ecopreneur who has laid the
foundation for socially responsible eateries in
Hong Kong for over 20 years. Bobsy is the man
behind the beloved Bookworm Café on Lamma
and Life Café restaurants across Hong Kong.
Bobsy has since sold those businesses, but his
latest masterpiece is MANA!, and if you miss
Life Café, you need to make a beeline for his
MANA! restaurant in Central or café in Sheung
Wan. As well as giving customers a food fix for
the body and soul, MANA! is also Hong Kong’s
only zero-food-waste eatery.
Bobsy is positive about the changes happening
in Hong Kong’s food industry. “There is an
awakening in Hong Kong. People are waking up
and realising – oops, there is something called
the environment and it does matter. There has
been a tremendous change, a proliferation of
local vegetarian restaurants. And the best metre
of change is seeing the organic convenience
stores pop up across the city.” Bobsy believes
this awakening isn’t just a fad, it’s a genuine shift
Changing the world
one bite at a time
Rebecca Simpson
chews on the changing eating scene and
growth in the eco-friendly food options in Hong Kong.
April 2016
37
The way
that food is
processed,
packaged and
disposed of will
determine the
future of our
planet.