Food for thought

THE night I was in front of the television waiting for the announcement denoting the first day of Ramadan by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal (something I used to do even as a child), prime news carried a very disturbing report.

The report said Malaysians throw away 17,800 tonnes of food every day and about 270,000 tonnes of untouched food a year, an amount that can feed up to 18 million people, which is more than half of this country’s population. Talk about timing, just as we’re about to usher in the fasting month!

Why? Isn’t Ramadan a month when Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, among other things, from dawn to dusk? And they are to refrain themselves from sinful behaviour (like wasting food)?

Not in real life though. Not in Malaysia especially. In this country, Ramadan is a much awaited time of the year — not only for Muslims but for non-believers too. Here in Malaysia, the fasting month is a festival of food. In fact, at one time the Ramadan Bazaar was hyped as a tourism product.

During this time, roads and open spaces in the neighbourhoods are closed to make way for Ramadan Bazaars, an open air market selling mainly delicacies available only during the month.

And in the cities, hotels and restaurants compete with each other to offer the most number of dishes at the buffet table. But that’s business. Right?

The wastage gets even worse during Ramadan. We don’t need prominent people or national bodies to tell us that. We can see for ourselves.

We see people with bags of food in both hands walking out of the food bazaar and we see people pilling their plates with food, only to leave some unfinished. Worse, some even untouched!

How do I know this? Because I was part of it too. I let my eyes and my big appetite took over me. But not anymore. I grew up.

“If it makes you feel better, wastage actually comes from both sides — the patrons and the kitchen. Chefs are reminded to cook in small portions first while

Take only what you need and eat what you’ve taken.

preparations are made for replenishment. Unfortunately, the new generations of chefs are still not sharp enough to read the flow of guests. Hence the high food wastage at the kitchen,” said a hotelier.

Let’s say that we manage to curb wastage by patrons by educating them or making them pay for what remains on their plates. Can the kitchens then do their part?

A cookie brand once donated the day’s unsold cookies to orphanages. Unfortunately,

its good deed failed to make it stay longer in the market.

Can’t hotels and eateries do the same? “With sadness and regret, we usually throw away the food. This is to avoid food poisoning,” the hotelier added.

Well, I guess it’s all on us now. We are what we eat and how we eat. We are defined by what we decide. We all know that.

So, from now on, why don’t we just take what we need (not want) and eat what we have taken?