Think before you throw

Think before you throw

Every year, there’s that one article about wasting food or gorging yourself during Ramadan. It can only mean one thing: most of us never really learn or care to change.

August 4, 2011 1:42 by shafeer

“It’s a month of extravagance disguised as a month of quiet reflection.” This quote from an article in Gulf News is the one that compelled Kipp to write about the excessive feasting during Ramadan.

While this quote may not be relevant to some of you, it is very relevant when it comes to the amount of food being wasted in restaurants. How did the month of fasting somehow start to go hand in hand with so much food waste and overeating?

Come to think of it, how many of us have heard or even said so ourselves that people gain the most weight during Ramadan? It’s a month long fast–a detoxing of the body and spirit–so how can it also be a month of physical excess?

Far be it for Kipp to lecture about overeating after not having eaten for a whole day. It’s a human tendency. Overeating isn’t as much of an issue for Kipp as food waste. Abu Dhabi alone throws away 500 tonnes of food during the Holy Month—even just half that is already appalling, especially considering the UAE is still a small country, comparatively.

We just wonder if there’s any way we can look at ‘throwing food away’ as a last resort rather than the easiest way to dispose of food.

We start at the source. More food on the buffet table comes only from more work hours for staff and a higher ingredients bill for restaurant owners. So why a prepare food three times more than what is actually needed? And what about the idea of introducing multiple-course Iftar meals ala carte rather than buffet?

And if neither of these can be done, why not re-package the Iftar leftovers to be given to those who can’t afford to have a big meal to break their fast or enjoy a hearty Sohour? After all, isn’t Ramadan a month of giving as much as it is of quiet reflection?

This isn’t about pointing fingers at anyone specifically. In a month when what posterity this city affords resurfaces, we’re pointing the finger at…

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Tags: Dubai food waste, food, food waste, hotel food waste, hotel iftar, hotel iftar Dubai, hotel iftar uae, iftar buffet in Dubai, iftar Dubai, Ramadan Dubai, Ramadan food, Ramadan food waste, Ramadan UAE, UAE food waste