If you walk around and observe, try and notice how much food is being thrown away by everyone, every day. During lunch, just observe how many people had leftovers on their plate. I'm not talking about bones or spring onion bits, but the leftover rice and noodles. And if anyone were to mention food wastage, the first thing to spring to mind would be the overladen leftovers at the buffet lines.
Last year figures suggest food waste accounts for 45% to 50% of the country's household and commercial waste, known as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). It is estimated that Peninsular Malaysia will generate approximately five million tonnes of food waste in the year 2020. This would be enough to fill nearly 15 Petronas Towers. We, Malaysians are really wasteful and ungrateful towards the abundance of resources and food supply.
I was awaken by one of the articles I read about food wastage. Take Chinese (might not be from our country) for example - the rich would often give others a treat, be it business or pleasure and it's deemed right only if the whole table is laden with food. Insufficient food makes the host look bad. And if there is a surplus of food after dinner, it's inappropriate to "tapau" (pack) the leftovers. We're lucky that in our country, the act of "tapau-ing" is still considered acceptable. If not for the "tapau" culture, we would have even generated MORE food wastage.
It looks like the urbanites waste more food than those of the rural areas. A study shows that "As people become more affluent, they can afford to buy more. But with both the husband and wife working in most households, they become so busy that food bought isn't consumed on time." But I say, it has something to do with the way that we were brought up. Parents who do not teach their children not to waste food are the culprits in bringing up a generation who contributes to more food wastage. Take for example, at buffet lines, children are allowed to take whatever they want on the plate and if they failed to finish them, the parents say it's all right.
This is not right at all! I can still recall when I was a kid, I used to have leftover rice on my plate and my Dad would give me a long lecture. He has the same lines for me everytime - "people in Africa has nothing to eat and you are wasting food!" I grew up with that very line and I would never want to leave a grain of rice uneaten. Having said that, at some point of time we are all guilty to have wasted some food somewhere, someway. I am guilty for buying snacks which I never finished consuming until they are expired and then they end up in the rubbish bin.
After all these years, I have been very careful not to waste food at buffets. The buffet-culture in Malaysia is really popular as you can see so many of these outlets mushrooming especially in the cities and this is worrying. Very often, people would take more than what they can consume and then the rest, as you've guessed, it ends up in the bin. I therefore welcome the move to fine patrons that waste food. If there's no pain, there's no lesson learnt. And only through this way, parents would warn their children to only take what they can consume.
You might think "I can afford to pay and I have the right to waste the food" but in reality - Yes, the money belongs to you but the resources belongs to the society. There are many out there who are short of resources and you have no right to waste them. And in order to bring the food prices down, we must not create unnecessary demand. We really need to reflect on this. In conclusion, I hope that we can all do something for ourselves, our future, and our country by just not wasting food.
Now go read this book:
Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by Tristram Stuart
An extremely thought-provoking, passionate study which could make even the biggest skeptic think twice before putting the leftovers in the bin. (Scotland on Sunday)
Last year figures suggest food waste accounts for 45% to 50% of the country's household and commercial waste, known as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). It is estimated that Peninsular Malaysia will generate approximately five million tonnes of food waste in the year 2020. This would be enough to fill nearly 15 Petronas Towers. We, Malaysians are really wasteful and ungrateful towards the abundance of resources and food supply.
I was awaken by one of the articles I read about food wastage. Take Chinese (might not be from our country) for example - the rich would often give others a treat, be it business or pleasure and it's deemed right only if the whole table is laden with food. Insufficient food makes the host look bad. And if there is a surplus of food after dinner, it's inappropriate to "tapau" (pack) the leftovers. We're lucky that in our country, the act of "tapau-ing" is still considered acceptable. If not for the "tapau" culture, we would have even generated MORE food wastage.
It looks like the urbanites waste more food than those of the rural areas. A study shows that "As people become more affluent, they can afford to buy more. But with both the husband and wife working in most households, they become so busy that food bought isn't consumed on time." But I say, it has something to do with the way that we were brought up. Parents who do not teach their children not to waste food are the culprits in bringing up a generation who contributes to more food wastage. Take for example, at buffet lines, children are allowed to take whatever they want on the plate and if they failed to finish them, the parents say it's all right.
This is not right at all! I can still recall when I was a kid, I used to have leftover rice on my plate and my Dad would give me a long lecture. He has the same lines for me everytime - "people in Africa has nothing to eat and you are wasting food!" I grew up with that very line and I would never want to leave a grain of rice uneaten. Having said that, at some point of time we are all guilty to have wasted some food somewhere, someway. I am guilty for buying snacks which I never finished consuming until they are expired and then they end up in the rubbish bin.
After all these years, I have been very careful not to waste food at buffets. The buffet-culture in Malaysia is really popular as you can see so many of these outlets mushrooming especially in the cities and this is worrying. Very often, people would take more than what they can consume and then the rest, as you've guessed, it ends up in the bin. I therefore welcome the move to fine patrons that waste food. If there's no pain, there's no lesson learnt. And only through this way, parents would warn their children to only take what they can consume.
You might think "I can afford to pay and I have the right to waste the food" but in reality - Yes, the money belongs to you but the resources belongs to the society. There are many out there who are short of resources and you have no right to waste them. And in order to bring the food prices down, we must not create unnecessary demand. We really need to reflect on this. In conclusion, I hope that we can all do something for ourselves, our future, and our country by just not wasting food.
Now go read this book:
Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by Tristram Stuart
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