As I walked out of the sweet shop in Bengali Market in Delhi, suddenly a woman in tattered clothes, possibly a beggar, approached me almost in tears. “Please give me something to eat; my children are hungry,” she said. I tried giving her some money, which she refused to accept. “Give me some food to eat,” she said pleading.
This act of hers was totally against the lessons learnt from my previous experiences, which made me ponder for a moment about her guilelessness. As I was in a hurry, I instructed the restaurant manager to pack some food for her, quickly made the payment for the same and left. She looked satisfied by this small gesture.
A week later, while travelling, I stopped over at an eating joint for a quick bite. A well-to-do couple with an adolescent daughter was sitting on the table next to mine. I ordered the meal, and in the meantime, while waiting, I just turned my head to scan the place. At that very moment, a waiter popped up to pick up the used dishes from the table beside mine. Both the lady and her daughter had a few morsels of food left in the plate. Thinking that perhaps they were done with their meals, I did not pay much heed to it.
A few moments later, the waiter came with fresh plates and a bowl of biryani. Of course, justice was done to the food, but partly. Last, lassi was ordered, a glass each; and when they left, their glasses were still half full.
In a country where about 400 million people go hungry every day, and almost 50% of them remain chronically hungry, wastage of food is something to be contemplated upon. Lakhs of people could be fed with our due consideration.
In February 2016, France became the first country, to have the law prohibiting the destruction of food packets by supermarkets; instead they donate it to the charities. Since then, the fight against food wastage began there.
Similarly, China too dissuades wastage of food, as the restaurants have the authority to charge its customers extra, if they leave excess quantities of uneaten food.
Germany, on the other hand, does not fine its patrons, but if large amount of food is left unconsumed in a restaurant, it is considered a mark of disrespect to the chef.
Respecting food is akin to revering Mother Earth and all those countrymen who toil in the fields all the year round to provide food to us.
Apart from being a socio-ethical issue, it is also an economic issue. The use of resources, water, fertilizer, energy, fuel and human labour all incur cost. And so does the mechanical and technical expertise for processing, transporting and cooking.
The food when it lands up in landfill, releases methane, which is a more potent Green House Gas. Reducing leftover food would also help in reducing global warming, which is a cause of grave concern in the present-day scenario.
Somebody has rightly said, “Efforts need to be taken, to protect and preserve foodgrains for the benefit of the larger number of poor in our society who are struggling to survive on a single meal a day.” For any country to progress, well-nourished and healthy human resource is its greatest asset.
While eating out, it would be ideal, if only consumable amount of food is ordered. The unconsumed food, if donated to a more deserving person, will be a sign of gratitude to Mother Nature, the farmers and of course, our chefs. Moreover, it would be an opportunity for all of us, to contribute whatever little we can, to help save our environment and also promote in nation building. Most important, it will inculcate certain good values in our future generations to come.
shikhashankarbhatnagar@gmail.com
