Essay Draft 2

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/

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

Sim. W. (2013, July 11). Recycling solution to food waste in Singapore, Minister Khaw cites 'Okara floss' as an example of a practical solution to issue. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from http://articles.stclassifieds.sg/entertainment-food-and-beverage/recycling-solution-to-food-waste-in-singapore-minister-khaw-cites-okara-floss-as-an-example-of-a-practical-solution-to-issue/a/127872 

Tan, R. (2013, Aug 13). So much food waste, so little recycling in Singapore.The Straits Times. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2013/08/so-much-food-waste-so-little-recycling.html#.Ul90oxD670Y