Globalization
has brought about excessive consumption via increasing transactions of goods
and services globally (Chanda, 2007). With rising affluence, the global demand
for food has increased in developed countries. As a result, the food wastage in
developed nations has also been escalated. Singapore is no exception to this
trend. According to a report by National Environment
Agency in 2013, the amount of food waste in Singapore hit a record high
last year as 703,200 tonnes was generated which saw a 26 per cent spike from
the 558,900 tonnes produced in 2007. However, the recycling rate for food waste had dropped from 16% in
2010 to 12% in 2012. Thus, more efforts must be taken to reverse this adverse
trend of increasing food waste.
Unfortunately, there
is a growing mindset of “cosmetics perfectionism” among consumers. For example,
food shoppers will tend to only buy fruits and vegetable that look appealing or
prefect. There is even legislation
in the European Union which prohibits the sale of out-of-shape produce. Though
the European Union lifted the ban on some 26 types of fruits in 2009, it still remains
on ten types of fruits and vegetables (Mardell, 2008). The effect of this mindset
is especially prominent among local supermarkets which place more emphasis on
good quality items that look nice on display so as to attract buyers. Once the food product show the slightest
flaws in physical appearance or are considered unmarketable by supermarket
staff, they will be disposed by the local supermarkets (Aw & Low, 2009).
In addition,
there is also wastage of food arising from inventory mismanagement and lack of
properly-trained staff. For example, if an unskilled cook produced a badly prepared
dish which cannot be served, the dish will be just being discarded. While
proper inventory management could reduce costs for businesses, most food
establishments adopt a common practice of having 10 to 20 per cent additional
stock (Aw & Low, 2009). Thus, there is often over-stocking of food among
food retailers when there is low demand from the consumers.
Though the
food waste from the supermarkets and food retailers can be reused as compost,
their economic feasibility is debatable as the expenditure of producing a tonne of compost from food waste is more than that
of incinerating the waste (Tan, 2013). However, there are still many
alternative methods of recycling such waste. One solution is to make food using
recycled food waste. For example, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority
(AVA) produces a snack using recycled soya bean pulp during their research in
recycling food waste (Sim, 2013). Though this idea may sound controversial, it
can inspire food businesses to convert cost-incurring food wastage into
revenue-generating products. Nonetheless, some people will be disgusted at the
idea of eating food that is produced from waste. However, Singaporeans will
accept such food in the long run just like they accept Newater, drinkable water
processed from waste water.
In addition,
the government could mandate that the food businesses to have their staff go
through proper skill training in food-preparing and inventory management.
Though this may increase the cost of operation for the firms in the short term,
it can save costs for them in the long term via better utilization of food
stock. Alternatively, food businesses with excess supply of food stock due to
under-whelming demand can donate their food product to charities like “Food from
the Heart”.
Though the
effectiveness of this solution will be hard to gauge as habits do not change
overnight, it will still be prudent for food businesses to embrace this policy
as it can help them cut losses and reinforce their image as enivironment-friendly
retailers. Moreover, Singapore, being a land-scare city island, does not have the
capacity to produce large amount of food to meet its own needs. Thus, more
significant effort must be focused on encouraging the local food industry to
adopt the right attitude of recycling or reducing food waste as changing
socioeconomic landscape of the world and worsening environmental condition due
to global warming will affect the future food security adversely.
References
Aw,M & Low,K.( 2010, March 19). The Food Waste Recycling Dilemma. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from http://foodwasterepublic.com/category/blog/2010/03/the-food-waste-recycling-dilemma/
Aw,M & Low,K.( 2010, March 19). The Food Waste Recycling Dilemma. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from http://foodwasterepublic.com/category/blog/2010/03/the-food-waste-recycling-dilemma/
Chanda, N. (2007). The Double Edge of Globalization. YaleGlobal. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/double-edge-globalization
Mardell, M.(2008).
EU slices up 'ugly fruit' rules. Retrieved
October 10, 2013 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7723808.stm
National
Environment Agency. (2013). Waste Statistics and Recycling Rate for
2012.Retrieved October 10,
2013 from http://app2.nea.gov.sg/energy-waste/waste-management/waste-statistics-and-overall-recycling
