Religious and environment groups last weekend urged the public to stop buying food at fast-food chains, such as Jollibee and McDonald's, that was sold disposable plastic and Styrofoam, according to a report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
A coalition led by the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) has launched a nationwide campaign, which also uses text-messaging, to try to make its request heard by the President and the environment office.
"We feel more comfortable eating food that's not served in plastics and Styrofoam," was a typical message being sent to President Macapagal-Arroyo's mobile phone, according to the paper.
The coalition argue that plastic and Styrofoam packaging produces dioxins that cause a wide range of illnesses, including male and female reproductive problems, diabetes and hormonal disorders.
According to Francis dela Cruz of Greenpeace-Southeast Asia, dioxins, classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, are released into the air when chlorine-containing plastics and styro materials disposed by fastfood outlets are burned.
"Fastfood is convenient, but it will give us more inconvenience in the end," said Dela Cruz.
In a press statement, AMRSP said that McDonald's and Jollibee, with some 220 outlets between them, were among the firms that produced "the most sizeable amount of garbage" in the country.
The church leaders said the Jollibee management had ignored previous warnings, claiming there had not been any "documented deaths" blamed on Styrofoam use, reported the paper.
This showed that the fast food chain had "no sense of social responsibility", AMRSP said.
It asked the public to show social responsibility and protect the environment and people's health.