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 was 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
priority for physical appearance 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 (Low & Aw, 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 produces
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 (Low & Aw, 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, the economic feasibility of this method 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 utilisation
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 these solutions will be hard to gauge as habits do not
change overnight, it will still be prudent for food businesses to try reducing their food wastage as it can help them cut losses and reinforce their image as eco-friendly
retailers.The problem of rising food wastage is not just a local issue but also a global phenomenon Thus, there is also a need to focus more effort on encouraging the
international food industry to adopt the right attitude of recycling or
reducing food waste as changing socioeconomic landscape of the world and
worsening global environmental condition due to global warming will affect the worldwide
future food security adversely.
References
Chanda, N. (2007). The double edge of globalization. YaleGlobal. Retrieved
October 10, 2013 from http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/double-edge-globalization
Low.K
& Aw.M.( 2010, March
19). The food waste recycling dilemma.Food
Waste Republic Retrieved October 10, 2013 from http://foodwasterepublic.com/category/blog/2010/03/the-food-waste-recycling-dilemma/
Mardell, M.(2008). EU slices up
'ugly fruit' rules.BBC 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
Hi Jun Kang, Great work there!:)
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