After 333 years of colonization (from 1565 to 1898), Spain ceded the Islas de Filipinas to the United States at the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, for twenty million dollars. This treaty marked the end of the Spanish-American War and of Spanish rule of the islands, and the beginning of the American regime that lasted till 1946.
The Philippine archipelago of 7,111 islands, like many island nations of the Pacific, is coconut bearing; 70 percent of its agricultural lands are planted to coconut. The many products from the coconut tree (Cocos nucifera, L), in particular the oil expressed from the meat of its mature fruit, has helped sustain the healthy lives of the Filipino people since time immemorial.
It did not take long for America to discover the virtues of coconut oil - its cooking qualities (flavor, stability, versatility), its food value especially as margarine and shortening, and its industrial uses, especially that of lauric acid in soap-making. Refinery plants capitalized by American and German money were set up in the Philippines to produce coconut oil for American food (especially confectionery) and industrial companies. Coconut oil was allowed to enter the U.S. untaxed. Hence, the Philippine coconut export earnings from the U.S. rose rapidly; by 1919 this had risen to nearly 40 percent of the total earnings of the country.
American Protectionism from the 1930s to the 1960s
The era of American protectionism started in the early 1930s with the growth of the soybean agriculture that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had introduced. American vegetable oil producers and the dairy industry combined to mount a strong opposition to Philippine coconut oil importation. On May 11, 1934, the Revenue Act of 1934 (HR 7835) was passed by the U.S. Congress. It slapped a 3-cent-per-pound excise tax on coconut oil that trebled the price of coconut oil to make it uncompetitive, and was denounced as an act of “unmitigated injustice.” Governor-General Frank Murphy sent a strongly worded message that “the unlimited application of the tax will provoke a near disaster in the economy of the Philippines” that “will entail widespread distress and disaffection among the people.” This outcry led to the amendment of the Act to provide for the return of the excise tax money to the Philippine Commonwealth government, provided: (first) that not a single centavo would be used to help the coconut industry; and (second) that the industry would not receive any budget from the local revenues for the duration of the refund.
The Filipino coconut farmers suffered from the resulting low prices of the coconut for the next thirty years until finally the Act was repealed in 1966. Meanwhile the U.S. government returned to the Philippine government the tax money collected until then: USD102 million was returned to the Philippine Commonwealth government in 1938 and after World War II, in 1946, the remainder of USD157.2 million was returned to the newly independent Republic of the Philippines. The Philippine government uses this welcome bonanza for many developmental projects, but as prescribed by the Act, not one centavo could be spent for the coconut industry. In his budget message to the National Assembly in 1938, President Manuel Quezon said: “This means that not only the proceeds of the said excise tax, but even the fund derived from the local revenues of this government, cannot be used for aiding the coconut industry as long as we continue receiving the benefits of the coconut oil excise tax.”
When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941, President Quezon sought shelter in Corregidor and escaped to Australia with General McArthur. He died in the U.S. in 1944 and his successor as president of the Philippine Commonwealth (in exile) was Sergio Osmeña, while in the Philippines, Jose Laurel, left by Quezon to “min the fort,” was caretaker president. President Osmeña returned with General McArthur in 1945. One year later, it was Manuel Roxas who took over as the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.
America continued to tax coconut oil imports for another twenty years after Philippine independence. In 1966, the Act was at last repealed. The excise tax money collected in these twenty years, amounting to USD182 million, was deposited in a special account but has not yet been returned despite repeated official representations.
American Protectionism Resumed
What effect did the excise tax have on U.S. importation of coconut oil from the Philippines? Coconut oil’s superior qualities for cooking and confectionery were found difficult to replace by other oils and its importation by the U.S. continued.
In the ‘70s, however, the concerted attacks of the American Soybean Association and other enemies of the coconut (most viciously in the ‘80s & ‘90s) finally succeeded in banishing coconut oil from American food. It was during this time that the notion that “tropical oils are bad, especially coconut oil” reached its height in America.
Sadly, Filipino doctors, nutritionists and dietitians, as well as the general public, have unquestioningly accepted and echoed the “Coconut oil is bad” dictum. While vegetable oil continues to be used for cooking in Filipino kitchens, few housewives are aware that it is actually coconut oil. The “coconut oil” label has become a promotional liability in its own homeland and producers need to hide behind a “vegetable oil” label.
Table 1 lists some of the false claims leveled against coconut oil and the truths about them.
Coconut oil is only one of the many products that come from the coconut tree - the Tree of Life that can provide practically all the needs of man, including food, clothing, shelter and medicines - as shown below.
Table 1.
The Philippine archipelago of 7,111 islands, like many island nations of the Pacific, is coconut bearing; 70 percent of its agricultural lands are planted to coconut. The many products from the coconut tree (Cocos nucifera, L), in particular the oil expressed from the meat of its mature fruit, has helped sustain the healthy lives of the Filipino people since time immemorial.
It did not take long for America to discover the virtues of coconut oil - its cooking qualities (flavor, stability, versatility), its food value especially as margarine and shortening, and its industrial uses, especially that of lauric acid in soap-making. Refinery plants capitalized by American and German money were set up in the Philippines to produce coconut oil for American food (especially confectionery) and industrial companies. Coconut oil was allowed to enter the U.S. untaxed. Hence, the Philippine coconut export earnings from the U.S. rose rapidly; by 1919 this had risen to nearly 40 percent of the total earnings of the country.
American Protectionism from the 1930s to the 1960s
The era of American protectionism started in the early 1930s with the growth of the soybean agriculture that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had introduced. American vegetable oil producers and the dairy industry combined to mount a strong opposition to Philippine coconut oil importation. On May 11, 1934, the Revenue Act of 1934 (HR 7835) was passed by the U.S. Congress. It slapped a 3-cent-per-pound excise tax on coconut oil that trebled the price of coconut oil to make it uncompetitive, and was denounced as an act of “unmitigated injustice.” Governor-General Frank Murphy sent a strongly worded message that “the unlimited application of the tax will provoke a near disaster in the economy of the Philippines” that “will entail widespread distress and disaffection among the people.” This outcry led to the amendment of the Act to provide for the return of the excise tax money to the Philippine Commonwealth government, provided: (first) that not a single centavo would be used to help the coconut industry; and (second) that the industry would not receive any budget from the local revenues for the duration of the refund.
The Filipino coconut farmers suffered from the resulting low prices of the coconut for the next thirty years until finally the Act was repealed in 1966. Meanwhile the U.S. government returned to the Philippine government the tax money collected until then: USD102 million was returned to the Philippine Commonwealth government in 1938 and after World War II, in 1946, the remainder of USD157.2 million was returned to the newly independent Republic of the Philippines. The Philippine government uses this welcome bonanza for many developmental projects, but as prescribed by the Act, not one centavo could be spent for the coconut industry. In his budget message to the National Assembly in 1938, President Manuel Quezon said: “This means that not only the proceeds of the said excise tax, but even the fund derived from the local revenues of this government, cannot be used for aiding the coconut industry as long as we continue receiving the benefits of the coconut oil excise tax.”
When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941, President Quezon sought shelter in Corregidor and escaped to Australia with General McArthur. He died in the U.S. in 1944 and his successor as president of the Philippine Commonwealth (in exile) was Sergio Osmeña, while in the Philippines, Jose Laurel, left by Quezon to “min the fort,” was caretaker president. President Osmeña returned with General McArthur in 1945. One year later, it was Manuel Roxas who took over as the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.
America continued to tax coconut oil imports for another twenty years after Philippine independence. In 1966, the Act was at last repealed. The excise tax money collected in these twenty years, amounting to USD182 million, was deposited in a special account but has not yet been returned despite repeated official representations.
American Protectionism Resumed
What effect did the excise tax have on U.S. importation of coconut oil from the Philippines? Coconut oil’s superior qualities for cooking and confectionery were found difficult to replace by other oils and its importation by the U.S. continued.
In the ‘70s, however, the concerted attacks of the American Soybean Association and other enemies of the coconut (most viciously in the ‘80s & ‘90s) finally succeeded in banishing coconut oil from American food. It was during this time that the notion that “tropical oils are bad, especially coconut oil” reached its height in America.
Sadly, Filipino doctors, nutritionists and dietitians, as well as the general public, have unquestioningly accepted and echoed the “Coconut oil is bad” dictum. While vegetable oil continues to be used for cooking in Filipino kitchens, few housewives are aware that it is actually coconut oil. The “coconut oil” label has become a promotional liability in its own homeland and producers need to hide behind a “vegetable oil” label.
Table 1 lists some of the false claims leveled against coconut oil and the truths about them.
Coconut oil is only one of the many products that come from the coconut tree - the Tree of Life that can provide practically all the needs of man, including food, clothing, shelter and medicines - as shown below.
Table 1.
False Claims
|
Truths
|
Coconut oil is rich in cholesterol.
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Coconut oil has no cholesterol.
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Coconut oil is like animal fats - saturated.
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Yes, both are saturated but animal fats have long chain fatty acids (LCFA) while coconut oil contain medium fatty acids (MCFA). Their absorption, transport and metabolism and uses are completely different.
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Coconut oil increases cholesterol levels and causes heart disease.
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People who take large amounts of coconut oil (such as the Polynesians, Sri Lankans, Indians, Bicolanos of the Philippines) have low cholesterol and rarely develop heart diseases.
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Polyunsaturated oils are the safest and the best.
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Not true. Polyunsaturated oils are the sources of inflammatory prostaglandins, allergic leukotrienes, blood clot including thromboxane and when partially hydrogenated, are converted to transfatty acids that are even more atherogenic.
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Box 1
The Coconut (Cocos nucifera Linn)
THE TREE OF LIFE
PART
|
USES
|
2. Water
3. Shell
4. Husk (Fiber, Pith)
|
Coconut oil - cooking, cosmetics, shamppo, medical uses
Coco flour - baking
Coconut dietary fiber - hear disease and colon cancer prevention
Foood/delicacies
Animal feeds
Wine, vinegar
Activated carbon, charcoal
Household items
Trinkets, decorations, handicrafts
Coir mattresses, ropes
Coir sheets for soil erosion prevention
Organic fertilizer
|
B. Young Nut (Buko
|
Buko water - plant growth hormones/regulators
Kidney stone prevention
|
C. Inflorescence
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Food items
Alcoholic drinks
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D. Spathe and Guinit
|
Helments, decors
Handicraft items, handbags, fans, etc
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E. Leaves
|
Paper pulp
Housing materials
Household materials (baskets, trays)
|
F. Trunk
|
Lumber, wood products
|
G. Roots
|
Dye stuff, rope, twine
|