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Food
waste is a result of having too much of unconsumed and unneeded food. It is
considered a serious problem in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, countries in the
gulf region, especially Saudi Arabia and UAE, has one of the highest food waste
generation rates in the world.[1]The issue of food waste does not have only an economical impact, but also has
an environmental, and social impacts.[2] Food waste accounts for 35% of total waste in Saudi Arabia,[3]and costs around SR49 billion every year.[4] During Ramadan, the issue of food waste is increasing in Saudi compared to the
rest of the year. Saudi Arabia wastes around 1.1 million tonnes of rice in
Ramadan, and 50,000 tonnes of food are wasted and go to the trash every year.[5]
Ramadan is the holy month that
encourages Muslims to detox their bodies, and strengthen their relationship
with God, and more importantly, to remember unfortunate people who suffer from
drought, starvation, and wars.
However, it is a different story in Saudi Arabia, sadly, Ramadan is now
becoming the month of huge feasts and consequently substantial quantities of
wasted food, which is against the Islamic teachings. The Holy Quran and Islamic
teachings have provided a clear guidance for Muslims to avoid extravagance and
reduce waste. God has commanded Muslims not to waste his blessings and his
messenger, Mohammad PBUH, has thought us how to eat in moderation. God says in
the Holy Qouran: {Eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He
(Allah) likes not Al-Musrifûn
(those who waste by extravagance).} [Quran 7:31].[6]
The avoidance of food waste has received growing interests
recently. For example, the second goal of Sustainable Development Goals aims to
end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable
agriculture. It might be difficult to achieve this goal without focusing first
on managing food more effectively and food disposal in a sustainable manner.
Also, there is a need for raising awareness and setting the right legislations
to achieve this goal and to reduce food waste and end hunger as well.[7]
In several occasions, the topic of food waste has been
introduced to the Saudi Shoura Council meetings, and it was initially
introduced in 2015. The Shoura Council members have discussed at the beginning
of this year the food waste issue in Saudi and suggested setting a legislation
that limits and stop this issue from growing. This potential law aims to limit
and reduce the amount of wasted food, and at the same time, it aims to punish
individuals and businesses who waste food. However, there is no legal action
has been taken yet to limit this issue.[8]
The issue of food waste can be tackled
by adopting the following recommendations:
•
Changing
our unsustainable behavior of consuming food will help in reducing the amount
of wasted food. We have to be more responsible in buying, storing, consuming
and disposing food.[9]
•
Donating
food surplus to local food banks and charities.
•
Composting food waste in our homes.
The produced compost can be used as an organic fertilizer to grow plants in the
house garden.[10]
 |
| Composting in 6 easy steps (Source). |
•
Raising
awareness: the Etaam International conference which took place in Riyadh in
11-12 April, 2017, has highlighted the Saudi Vision 2030 in light of
nutritional health and the inter-relationship between food consumption, wasted,
and food security. The conference highlighted the importance of using social media
to spread awareness of food preservation and eliminating food waste.[11]
•
Introducing
binding laws and fines to stop individuals and businesses that produce
significant quantities of food waste.
About Hadeel Banjar
Hadeel Banjar is an
environmentalist, author, and a researcher. Banjar educational backgrounds
include an M.A. in Global Leadership and Sustainable Development from Hawaii Pacific
University, United States & a B.S. in Biology from Umm Al-Qura
University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia with a Minor Degree in Education. Miss Banjar
has worked as an Environmental Research Assistant at the Gulf Research Center,
where she worked on various topics such as Sustainable Development Goals,
Sustainability Issues, Green Cities, food and water security, Desertification,
Environment and GCC economy, and Green Policies.
