Food waste should be made a crime

For this month of Ramadan, I would first like to wish all those fasting and pray that they are able to fast the summer hours and may their wishes be fulfilled.

I read about various food items that will be available at subsidised or discounted prices during Ramadan as per Municipality directives. Many a times, people over-purchase because of such discounts. Whatever be the reason, buying more than needed results in wastage of food, which is a crime. There are so many people who cannot afford two square meals a day and sleep on an empty stomach. We should think of them and mind our purchasing and consuming habits. Buy what you need, cook what you will consume and in Iftar or dinner buffets, fill your plate with food that you know you will be able to finish.

This is not just a waste of food but also of resources like energy, water and manpower, which were used to prepare those foods. Let us try to bring a little discipline in our lives with regards to food wastage. What we need is a little patience and planning. All said and done, unless everyone realises the importance of not wasting food and the negative impact it has on the environment and on someone else’s life, it will continue.

All of us have to play a role in combating this menace of food wastage. The media should help in spreading awareness by highlighting the importance of food, reducing food wastage and the innumerable deaths caused by starvation.

Food wastage may be a crime for which there is no punishment by law, it may be a sin for which there is probably no punishment in terms of heaven and hell. We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the table of the poor and hungry.

I often feel that it’s high time that food wastage should be made a punishable crime as that would deter people from wasting it.

— The reader is an Indian pupil based in Sharjah