Pork belly economics

There is a documentary on Netflix, Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody, which serves up several delightful—though hunger-inducing—insights. one of these ideas is the argument that the South Korean economy was able to develop through businesses catering to the appetites of their working class, which resulted in a culture built around the consumption of pork belly. This kind of food culture, known as “samgyeopsal,” which is also called “samgyupsal” or simply “samgyup” in the Philippines, was part of an economic revolution according to the documentary.

Of course, South Korea developed economically not just due to its ability to feed its population. Reforms in other sectors of their society, such as improving basic education, also played important roles in this growth. However, the fundamental insight here is that an economy can only run if it has workers that are well fed. That may sound commonsensical, but it is no laughing matter: the second Sustainable Development Goal is to achieve zero hunger worldwide. There is also evidence to support a correlation between nutrition, good health, completing one’s education, and performing effectively at work. All of these are factors that, in turn, reflect overall subjective quality of life, and the ability to function fully as members of society.

The Philippines is a country where, according to the online and publicly available Sustainable Development Report 2020, “major challenges remain” to the end of eliminating hunger, although it is said to be “moderately improving” on that front. The measures for this examine not just hunger, but malnutrition, phenomena such as stunting and wasting in children below five years of age, and obesity in adults. Food security and agricultural capabilities are also considered.

With the pandemic still upon us, one might nervously wonder if we are going to enter a state of famine. The prices of food products are steadily rising due to inflation and supply limitations, resulting also in much higher prices for certain commodities, including pork. This, coupled with the reality of lost jobs and livelihoods, makes for a legitimate cause for concern: at the end of the day, will we still be able to afford enough to eat?

One should also certainly be wary of statistics and aggregate generalizations, as they do not fully represent reality. Still, there is no denying that difficulties remain. In what other ways can food security be attained? Going back to the documentary mentioned earlier, they made an interesting point in showing how market competition naturally emerged to provide food services to their work force in an efficient way.

The phenomenon of cooking pork is not something exclusive to South Korea: consider Austrian “Schweinsbraten,” Filipino “liempo,” and so on. It is also not something universally accepted, as there are religions, such as Judaism and Islam, which forbid the consumption of pork. That said, easy access to a certain or particular type of food isn’t the sole answer, nor the point here. The key would be in providing diverse food services in the market that cater to the needs and wants of various peoples and cultures. In a manner of speaking, this is a matter of taste.

The role of the private sector is clearly demonstrated in the documentary. It was the fierce demand and need to provide innovative methods of cooking pork belly that drove the spirit of the market forward, eventually being able to provide a variety of affordable feeding services to the South Korean work force through competition.

Where the market demand is great, the market would do well to provide. The economy reinforces itself with the emergence of eating places that reflect the spirit of the times, feeding the workers and allowing them to produce more on full stomachs as well.

In the current context of being unable to truly go out with ease, with many food and restaurant businesses suffering the effects of the pandemic, it is hard to visualize how the food culture will emerge in the following years as the Philippines goes back toward achieving steady economic growth.when the right time comes, however, expect that the market for food services will rise once more. The demand to have these available for people who work will return, and until then, the economy will adapt and evolve. New innovations in delivery services and logistics will continue to develop, as they have done in this time of crisis.

As for the speculation on if things will ever be normal in the food culture after this, the strong pull toward eating out with friends, family, and colleagues is ingrained in the way Filipinos eat together. The gastronomy industry should bounce back when the work force and the consumers need these services in full swing again. It is as certain as the need to eat.

Erratum: In the column last week entitled Policy Tightrope—january inflation should read 4.2 and expected February inflation should read 5.1.