It all began with a joyful rendezvous on a day filled with laughter. We were indulging in hot wings and chicken nuggets, accompanied by fizzy Coke, making our time together even more enjoyable. We were blissfully unaware of the waste we were creating until Sahana, my companion for the day, suddenly found a feather in her chicken wings. Disgusted, she abruptly stood up and dumped the food into the trash. I was puzzled by her reaction until she explained her discovery. That’s when our conversation took a turn, and the topic of the residents of Happy Land in Manila, Philippines, came up—people who survive by consuming recycled, scavenged meat, known as “PAGPAG,” which translates to "shake off the dust." Due to inflation and poor living standards, they are unable to afford a simple, healthy meal. This forces them to scavenge meat from the leftovers found in trash bins. Some people collect waste from fast-food chains, sorting and cleaning the partially eaten food. They strip th...