By Ng Hooi Lin
Abridged and translated by Rose Ting
Photo by Huang Xiao-zhe
It takes a lot of energy to get food from the farm to the table. When we prevent food from going to waste, we save not only food but energy as well. When eating out, you can prevent waste by ordering just the right amount. It’s up to all of us to eat wisely.
My fellow dietician friends and I put a premium on not consuming too many calories. When we eat, we try to eat until we are 70 percent full.
Some friends, however, tend to eat too much when they eat out. When they go to a restaurant and see the enticing pictures on the menu, they can’t resist the temptation of ordering each kind of food—without considering whether they’ll be able to finish it. As a result, it often happens that they can’t finish what they order, thus leading to food waste. Some, in order not to waste food, force themselves to finish their dishes even though they are already very full, or ask people dining with them to help finish their food. As a dietician, I recommend that such food consumption habits be discouraged and avoided.
Why are there leftovers?
Studies have shown that it takes a lot of energy to get food from the farm to the table. It follows that if we allow food to go to waste, we waste not only the discarded food itself, but the energy embedded in the wasted food. Leftovers and food waste are an especially significant issue during holiday seasons and at feasts and parties. Why are there leftovers? Why is so much food being wasted? It’s an issue that merits serious attention.
When I dine out, I am in the habit of discreetly observing the dining habits of patrons at other tables while I wait for my order to arrive. One time, because my table was very close to the next one, I overheard the conversation between the waiter and the diners at their table. The waiter told the diners that if they ordered set meals during that time slot, they’d get a free side dish of fried food. Lured by the prospect of free food, the man at the table ordered a set meal each for himself, his wife, and their child.
I thought to myself when I heard the order: “Their child is so small; will he really be able to finish an entire set meal on his own?” My next thought a few seconds later: “If he manages to finish it, the extra fat and calories will end up a burden on his body. If he doesn’t and the unfinished food lands in a garbage can, it will be a waste of energy and resources.”
Less than an hour later, I heard the wife say to the husband, “I’m so stuffed, I can’t eat another bite.” “It’s okay,” the husband replied. “That food was free.” As the two adults gathered their things and got ready to leave, they said to their son, “If you can’t finish the food, you don’t have to. Eating too much is bad for health.”
I’ve also witnessed an example of just the opposite: I once saw a friend “dump” one spoonful of food after another from her child’s bowl into the young one’s mouth, saying at the same time, “Don’t waste food. Be grateful you have things to eat. Many children in Africa are starving.” I still remember the wronged look on the child’s face.
A lot of energy and other resources are required to get food from the farm to the table. Cherish food and prevent it from being wasted through conscious consumption.
Order only what you need
Every experience offers things to emulate and things to avoid. Seeing how that couple in the restaurant treated their food brought to my mind a dining experience of my own with my daughter.
That day, my daughter had eaten some snacks given her by a classmate in school before meeting me for lunch in a restaurant. While we were eating, I noticed that she didn’t seem to have much of an appetite.
When she had finished about half of her spaghetti and was struggling to eat the rest, she began mumbling to herself repeatedly, “Love your food. Waste less, save more! Waste less, save more!” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
As my daughter continued to force-feed herself, I told her to take out her lunch box and save her uneaten spaghetti in the container to take home. I said we’d reheat the leftovers for her to eat when she was hungry.
When eating out, whether alone or with company, I make a point of ordering only what can be finished. When I visit a new restaurant and don’t know their portion sizes, I consult with the waiters to refrain from ordering too much. I figure that even if I do end up ordering too little, I can always order more later. If my order comes with dipping sauces, I ask about their portions too. If they are more than what I need, I ask the staff to reduce the amount. I don’t over-order even if I could benefit from perks offered by the restaurant. Some restaurants offer free food. If it would be too much, I thank them for the offer and politely decline it.
We all know that wasting food is more than just ditching your leftovers. When you throw away food, it is as if you also toss the water, energy, and other resources that went into producing it. You render all of it meaningless. We should really give this matter some thought and do what we can to help address it.
I have a friend who runs a restaurant. I asked his opinion on the food waste issue before I wrote this article. What he said to me has since been engraved in my mind: “I don’t understand why some diners order so much food if they don’t need that much. It really makes me angry when I see their unfinished food go to waste. They may think they can spend whatever money they want to, but the Earth’s resources belong to every one of us. If you could measure how much is wasted in a single day, it would be enough to feed countless people.”
Let’s all take that first step that leads to positive change in terms of preventing food from being wasted. Understand the difference between what you need and what you want, and make the wise decision.
