India is a country in which many people do not have enough to eat. Around the world, 5 million children die each year because of hunger and lack of enough food. In a world of plenty, a huge number go hungry. This is not because there is less food produced in the world, but because those who have food, have a lot of it (most of which they waste) and those who do not, have nothing. Stop wasting food so that there is enough for everyone and your government can make it possible for all children to eat.
THE ISSUE
We, the privileged lot, spend huge bucks on new types of food to eat. Often there are dishes we wish to try, and if we don’t like it, we simply throw it away. Not once does the thought of hungry children cross our minds.
There are other times when we go for an all-you-can-eat buffet, and for the sole purpose of getting the most out of the cash spent, we pile up loads of food on our plate and when we can’t eat it, we put all of it in the trash.
I remember once, when I myself was at a buffet, a lady on the table beside me had piled up her plate with rice, topped with loads of paneer and beside it was a huge serving of salad. She obviously either didn’t like the combination, or simply couldn’t eat any more than a spoon, because the next thing I knew, she had left the entire thing on the table, paid, and left. The fact that you have the money you can spend and waste doesn’t give you the right to buy as much food as you please only to throw it away.
A majority of the upper classes throw grand parties on festivals and other occasions, order a million types of dishes, in huge quantities, and when it isn’t all eaten, it too is discarded.
Just last year, I went to a wedding where the parents of the bride and groom decided to serve their state’s traditional food. Being a Marwari family, they had ordered dal baati, bajra, khichdi, shaahi paneer, and atleast 20 other types of food and desserts. In the end, loads of dishes that people hadn’t eaten were simply thrown away. Almost everyone at the wedding had taken everything to taste and see if they liked it, and in the process of trying to taste everything, no more than a spoon was tasted and the rest of it was wasted.
The most common form of us students wasting food is on birthdays. When we buy two cakes, one of them being specially for throwing on the face of the birthday girl or boy. It may seem very cool and modern to some, but in reality, it’s a shame that people who do these kinds of things call themselves educated.
When we, the people who have passed with flying colours from the most prestigious of schools, behave like this, what right do we have to call ourselves any better than those who haven’t been educated? Atleast those people know the value of food. Atleast they respect the hardwork of those who cultivate and cook it.
How easy is it to ignore the beggars on the streets? How many times have you argued with a poor rickshaw wala for not paying the 10 extra rupees he asks for? Do you even feel a tiny bit of remorse when, the same day you go back home, sit in front of the TV with your full plate of food and then when you feel full you scoop the rest of it into the bin? Does the face of the poor rickshaw wala, toiling in the heat to make some money to feed his family and children, not once cross your mind?
THE SOLUTION
The problems stated above are very prominent and obvious, and not-so-surprisingly, so are the solutions.
Take only as much you think you can eat on your plate. You can always take more later if you want. This way, if anything extra cooked is left, you can pack it up and give it to your maid or your guard.
Throw huge parties, but don’t waste huge amounts of food. The money you spent on it may be of no value to you, but the food you waste is invaluable to the poor and needy. Try to order a limited quantity, and there are always numbers and NGOs you can call to donate the leftover food at parties to the needy.
Please, please stop the “trend” of buying an extra cake to put on each other’s face. It may not be obvious to the people who enjoy such activities, but this is an act of pure stupidity. If you have all that money to buy an extra cake just to throw it, you should rather just donate the money to some charity or a beggar.
The problems are so many, but the solutions are so simple and small. A small step in the right direction may not harm you, but it will put a smile on a poor child’s face, and food in his otherwise empty stomach.
Eat. Save. Donate. Don’t waste.