Food Wastage
Food wastage is a problem faced by every developing and developed country around the world. According to a book by Tristram Stuart,Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal(Penguin, 2009), approximately 40 million tonnes of food are wasted by US households, retailers and food services each year. This is sufficient to feed the nearly one billion malnourished people in the world.
Yet in spite of this trend, peope continue to waste food at an alarming rate. Currently, a third of food produced around the world for human consumption is lost or wasted. This is equivalent to about 1.3 billion tons of edible food every year, and less than a quarter of it is enough to satisfy the hunger of every hungry person in the world.
In Hong Kong, 32 tonnes of solid food waste is produced each day, where the mast majority is dumped on the landfills which are running out of space. In tropical climates like Hong Kong, the decomposition of these food emit harmful greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide which capture and retain heat in the atmosphere. This accelerates and exacerbates the severity of global warming. If we stop wasting food that could have been consumed, it would be equivalent to reducing the carbon footprint of one in every four cars on the road. It is also worth noting that, by reducing the amount of food waste that is being sent to the landfill, we can extend the lifespan of the landfills in addition to reducing the burden on Hong Kong's environment. That being said, it is time we take action to curb the trend of food wastage. In my opinion, there are three strategies to counter this pertinent issue at hand: campaigns by non-government organizations, distribution of free pamphlets in supermarkets, and government policy control on food portions in restaurants.
In order the ameliorate the problem of food wastage, it is important to start from the root of the issue-providing education and enhancing social awareness through campaigns. In my opinion,
Yet in spite of this trend, peope continue to waste food at an alarming rate. Currently, a third of food produced around the world for human consumption is lost or wasted. This is equivalent to about 1.3 billion tons of edible food every year, and less than a quarter of it is enough to satisfy the hunger of every hungry person in the world.
In Hong Kong, 32 tonnes of solid food waste is produced each day, where the mast majority is dumped on the landfills which are running out of space. In tropical climates like Hong Kong, the decomposition of these food emit harmful greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide which capture and retain heat in the atmosphere. This accelerates and exacerbates the severity of global warming. If we stop wasting food that could have been consumed, it would be equivalent to reducing the carbon footprint of one in every four cars on the road. It is also worth noting that, by reducing the amount of food waste that is being sent to the landfill, we can extend the lifespan of the landfills in addition to reducing the burden on Hong Kong's environment. That being said, it is time we take action to curb the trend of food wastage. In my opinion, there are three strategies to counter this pertinent issue at hand: campaigns by non-government organizations, distribution of free pamphlets in supermarkets, and government policy control on food portions in restaurants.
In order the ameliorate the problem of food wastage, it is important to start from the root of the issue-providing education and enhancing social awareness through campaigns. In my opinion,