In response to the EPA’s promotion of “Green Living” while getting more people to fall in love with green cooking, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Yunlin County held a “2021 Green Cooking Competition” on October 30 at Tachen Vocation High School. People were invited to come up with dishes using seasonal and local agricultural products. As this year marks the 400th anniversary of Pedro Yan Si-Qi, the “King of Pioneer Taiwan”, the competition integrated retro elements and used four crops cultivated in Taiwan – sweet potatoes, taro, corn, and peanuts – as the main ingredients. Many other vegetables and fruits were also used to make delicious dishes. Through the competition, we hope to promote the idea of giving priority to local and seasonal ingredients when preparing vegetable dishes to reduce carbon emissions during transportation, which is not only beneficial for people’s health, but also helps mitigate climate change.

　The competition was divided into a Student Group and a Community Group. 5 professional judges were invited to give their scores. It was very difficult to choose between the dishes created by all the competitors. In the end, the Student Group was won by Yan, Lin, and Ye of Team Yunlin Midsummer Night from Tachen Vocation High School; with Chang, Wu, and Zhou of Garden Symphony, from TransWorld University, and Liao, Guo, and Lin of Sweet and Savory Dance Rhyme from Yifeng High School taking home second and third places. The Community Group was won by Liao, He, and Yu of Pocket Full of Potatoes from Douliu City Farmers' Association; with Zeng, Huang, and Liu of Shih Tzu & Moon from Fengtian Community, Dabi Township, and Cai, Li, and Xu of Potatoes and Peanuts Bring You Good Luck from You Che Community, Erlun Township taking home second and third places. Liu, Liao, and Lo of Flower Love from Yifeng Senior High School, and Chen, Chang, and Chang of Meiyuan Colorful Farfalle dish won the Creative Dish Award. Student Group - Cai, Chen, and Qiu of Taro Happiness from Tachen Vocation High School, and Community Group - Lin, Zhuang, and Wang of Lemon & Honey Sweet Potatoes both won the Local Specialties Award. Student Group - Cai, Chen, and Qiu of Taro Happiness from Tachen Vocation High School, and Liao, Guo, and Lin of Sweet and Savory Dance Rhyme from Yifeng High School, and Community Group - Cai, Li, and Xu of Potatoes and Peanuts Bring You Good Luck from You Che Community, Erlun Township won the Best Popularity Award from voting by attendees. The five professional judges said all dishes in the competition were classics and all competitors performed exceptionally.

　Deputy Magistrate Xie Shu-ya of Yunlin County said that the central aim of the competition was to show the importance of a low-carbon diet. Not only were gifted cooks invited to show their culinary skills, local farmers were also invited to set up booths to sell their high-quality and safe agricultural products. Hsieh urged people to show support for Yunlin’s best agricultural products and help achieve the goal of “building a low-carbon life in Yunlin through local, healthy cooking”. In an effort to organize more cooking competitions, the Environmental Protection Bureau promised to work with more restaurants in the county to promote the concept of cherishing food and green cooking. People are also encouraged to join in a low-carbon diet and enjoy eating vegetables!