Two thousand tons

I recently spent a weekend vacation with my brothers and their children, something I am not able to do on a regular basis anymore. So being with them was a real treat for me. I made time to be able to join them. Of course, food is never lacking in vacations like these. It is a matter of fact, the highlight. But inasmuch as I did not "work" during my vacation, I couldn't help but notice a particularly bad habit some Filipinos cannot seem to eradicate - food waste.

Many restaurants offer buffets in an attempt to lure customers. But then here lies the problem. Because you're only paying a fixed price, one tends to just waste food. I saw plates with almost half a chicken still on it. I saw mounds of uneaten rice. There were large chunks of meat still on the plates, almost untouched. And of course, let's not forget the desserts. Pies and cakes with just a nibble out of them, melted ice cream, chocolate covered everything with one or two bites. It made me both mad and sad. Why get too much food in the first place? If the intention was to taste, them wouldn't a small piece suffice? You could always go back for more, right?

According to data gathered, around two thousand tons of food are wasted everyday. That's two million kilograms of food! Everyday! Just imagine two million tons of rice, or two million tons of beef, pork, chicken, fish! Unbelievable! From the food I saw wasted in that restaurant, it wasn't hard to imagine. I once asked what they did to all the leftover food, and they said they were required to throw or dispose of them, and not give them away. The danger was if they gave it away and someone comes down with food poisoning, then they become liable. Something they just do not want to deal with.

I really wonder if there could be a way to sanitize all the leftover food and give them away. I've heard of the term "pagpag", but that's one extreme. I just can't see all that food rotting away like that. I guess I got that from my mother who would have all leftover food brought home, whether they be half a turkey or half a cup of rice. Some buffet restaurants had a "no leftover policy" where you paid double if there were leftovers on your plate. That still sounds like a good idea, although I would prefer they triple the price. Local governments could pass an ordinance meting out fines on restaurants allowing too much uneaten or leftover food, even make it criminal to do so. Just because one can afford to pay for food, does not give them the right, or rather the stupidity to waste them.

Tons and tons of rice are imported by this country every year. If they are only wasted, then what's the point? Government should pay more attention to the way we Filipinos waste food.

I definitely would.