Sharjah
Around one-third of all food produced annually is wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. This is disheartening, especially because almost a billion people go hungry every day and yet, we do not stop the wastage.
A few days ago, I went to a restaurant in Sharjah and couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so annoying to see many people piling their salad bowls, just because they wanted to make the most of the salad bar while still obeying the restaurant’s rule: one plate, one visit.
Later, as expected, they wasted most of the salad, which is so unfortunate, as it’s not just about the wastage of food but also wastage of all the resources that have gone into producing it.
People overestimate their appetite and stack their plate, as they feel they have paid and want their visit to be worth it. As a result, they fill their bowls to overflowing capacity.
Artistic people were getting around the one-trip rule by creating incredible towers of salad by first placing carrots, then creating a boundary with cucumbers and filling the other salad items in between, to utilise every inch of the plate’s space, ignorant of the fact that their stomach doesn’t have that much space.
Let’s not be greedy and avoid this concept of ‘salad stacking’. Take what you can eat and eat what you take. We must learn to control our portions as that’s one of the best ways to control weight gain, too.
Perhaps restaurant owners in the UAE should also look into this and review such rules to stop people from behaving in this manner and avoid food wastage.
— The reader is a student based in Sharjah.
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