By Khalid Tashkandi
Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition has recently published a study about food waste in which the Kingdom has topped the list of countries that waste the most food in the world. Each Saudi wastes 427 kilograms of food every year.
The results are similar to the results of studies conducted by local organizations on the same issue. The General Statistics Authority published a study last year showing that each Saudi wastes 250 kilograms of food each year.
As a country, we waste the most food in the world. We also top the world in terms of water consumption and waste at least 295 liters a year for every Saudi.
Around 60 percent of Saudis are obese and 24 percent are diabetic, while the percentage of the world’s diabetic people stands at nine percent.
Over 41 percent of Saudis suffer from high blood pressure while the global average is 33 percent. Our negative eating habits are the reason behind these percentages.
The amount of trash in the Kingdom reached 14 million tons in 2015, of which food waste accounted for 30 percent.
This was according to a study conducted by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. The study showed that it would cost us SR630 million a year to get rid of this trash.
Look at the large amount of food that goes to waste at weddings. Some Saudis do this as a way of showing generosity or respect. Some slaughter dozens of camels if their favorite team wins an important match. These negative practices are a constant source of worry for global food security organizations. There are around 795 million hungry people around the world who live in abject poverty. Many parts of the world are experiencing water and food crises. We seem to be oblivious to all these problems. Perhaps this is because of low-levels of public awareness.
It seems that some people cannot get rid of these negative social traditions and have forgotten that Islam is against wasting food. Perhaps the best solution for this problem is for the pertinent authorities to impose strict fines on wedding halls that throw away huge amounts of food. The authorities should set up recycling factories to turn the waste food into organic fertilizer. The most important thing is to increase public awareness about this issue.
