There is a food shortage around the world. Many people are starving. Many more will soon follow as a result of the financial turmoil as it will mean dwindling donations.
According to my University professor, the Earth's carrying capacity has been exceeded many times over. There's simply not enough food for everyone.
There's no easy way out to this problem.
We can look at producing less children vis-a-vis China's one child policy. Of course, such a thing can be hard to enforce. But nevertheless, it may be attempted via public education. The key is to slow population growth rates until we can find the technology to provide more food per acre of land.
The next solution is better. WE MUST STOP WASTAGE. We must BAN buffets. Don't get me wrong. I love buffets. I love the concept of eating without limits (one look at my tubby midsection can confirm that). But I also know that buffets are places where obnoxious amounts of food wastage takes place.
As a diner, its fine if you completely consume the food you take. But I have visited many buffets and have always found at least one table with unfinished food. Sometimes, its a LOT of unfinished food.
Restaurants too are guilty parties. How much food do they throw away at the end of everyday? I'm not just talking about buffets either. I have seen restaurants emptying loads of cooked, perfectly edible food into rubbish bins.
What about groceries? Bread especially is regularly thrown away, along with other consumables like milk and eggs.
I think many restaurants order excessively because they don't want to run out of food at crucial moments in their operation. The same goes for Supermarkets and other shops or stalls in the food industry. Often, this leads to over-estimation, and food that can't be kept is thrown away as a result.
As a community, we need to see how we can optimise our food consumption so as to reduce wastage. The benefits are widespread. Food costs will be lower as demand drops, making it accessible to more people - especially those living in poverty. Businesses will benefit from lower prices as well. More food will also be available for everyone.
As individuals, what we can do is to ensure we do not waste food. At food courts, order only what you can eat. At buffets, take only what you can consume.
And this applies to non-food items as well.
The other day I bought a drink from 7-Eleven. When I had finished the drink, I took a look at the bottle that had contained it. It was a perfectly solid item. If I had kept it, I could probably use it 10 billion times more. But usually people just throw them away after consuming the liquids within. That's a terrific waste of resources.
We really should step up our recycling efforts. Think about how many thousands of plastic bottles are wasted a day. Think about how the materials used for those bottles can be put to better, long-term use. We should re-look our consumption habits not only for the good of our greater society but also for the benefit of our future generations. What's going to happen when we've used up everything on Earth?
We have to change our mindset. In the past, things were expensive. But they were also solidly built. One of the TVs in my house which my parents bought in the 1980s still works fine. People used to save up to buy these things. However, they are now a dime a dozen, and this has lead to a 'buy now and change later' mentality, which means people don't really think too much about their purchases. They just buy it and use it and if its spoilt, its okay. Because its so cheap, let's go buy another one tomorrow!
This also counts as wastage, because much material goes into making even simple products. We need to refocus our attention on quality. To see how we can make products that last as long as possible without breaking down. This applies to any industry. Look at the fashion realm for example. There's a reason why some people insist on buying branded goods. Yes, they buy it because of the name. But sometimes, its more than just that. The brand represents quality. Some high-cost Italian shoes can last for many years for example as they are hand-made, with careful attention paid to their construction.
I'm not advocating the purchase of branded goods. Don't get me wrong. What I AM suggesting is for us to see how we can invest in quality instead of always looking at the price tag.
There is of course one ultimate solution for wastage. And that is to build a spaceship and go colonise other planets. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. So until that does, there is an urgent need for us to change our lifestyles so that we can last the distance.
According to my University professor, the Earth's carrying capacity has been exceeded many times over. There's simply not enough food for everyone.
There's no easy way out to this problem.
We can look at producing less children vis-a-vis China's one child policy. Of course, such a thing can be hard to enforce. But nevertheless, it may be attempted via public education. The key is to slow population growth rates until we can find the technology to provide more food per acre of land.
The next solution is better. WE MUST STOP WASTAGE. We must BAN buffets. Don't get me wrong. I love buffets. I love the concept of eating without limits (one look at my tubby midsection can confirm that). But I also know that buffets are places where obnoxious amounts of food wastage takes place.
As a diner, its fine if you completely consume the food you take. But I have visited many buffets and have always found at least one table with unfinished food. Sometimes, its a LOT of unfinished food.
Restaurants too are guilty parties. How much food do they throw away at the end of everyday? I'm not just talking about buffets either. I have seen restaurants emptying loads of cooked, perfectly edible food into rubbish bins.
What about groceries? Bread especially is regularly thrown away, along with other consumables like milk and eggs.
I think many restaurants order excessively because they don't want to run out of food at crucial moments in their operation. The same goes for Supermarkets and other shops or stalls in the food industry. Often, this leads to over-estimation, and food that can't be kept is thrown away as a result.
As a community, we need to see how we can optimise our food consumption so as to reduce wastage. The benefits are widespread. Food costs will be lower as demand drops, making it accessible to more people - especially those living in poverty. Businesses will benefit from lower prices as well. More food will also be available for everyone.
As individuals, what we can do is to ensure we do not waste food. At food courts, order only what you can eat. At buffets, take only what you can consume.
And this applies to non-food items as well.
The other day I bought a drink from 7-Eleven. When I had finished the drink, I took a look at the bottle that had contained it. It was a perfectly solid item. If I had kept it, I could probably use it 10 billion times more. But usually people just throw them away after consuming the liquids within. That's a terrific waste of resources.
We really should step up our recycling efforts. Think about how many thousands of plastic bottles are wasted a day. Think about how the materials used for those bottles can be put to better, long-term use. We should re-look our consumption habits not only for the good of our greater society but also for the benefit of our future generations. What's going to happen when we've used up everything on Earth?
We have to change our mindset. In the past, things were expensive. But they were also solidly built. One of the TVs in my house which my parents bought in the 1980s still works fine. People used to save up to buy these things. However, they are now a dime a dozen, and this has lead to a 'buy now and change later' mentality, which means people don't really think too much about their purchases. They just buy it and use it and if its spoilt, its okay. Because its so cheap, let's go buy another one tomorrow!
This also counts as wastage, because much material goes into making even simple products. We need to refocus our attention on quality. To see how we can make products that last as long as possible without breaking down. This applies to any industry. Look at the fashion realm for example. There's a reason why some people insist on buying branded goods. Yes, they buy it because of the name. But sometimes, its more than just that. The brand represents quality. Some high-cost Italian shoes can last for many years for example as they are hand-made, with careful attention paid to their construction.
I'm not advocating the purchase of branded goods. Don't get me wrong. What I AM suggesting is for us to see how we can invest in quality instead of always looking at the price tag.
There is of course one ultimate solution for wastage. And that is to build a spaceship and go colonise other planets. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. So until that does, there is an urgent need for us to change our lifestyles so that we can last the distance.
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