Eliminate food waste and promote environmental protection

Thread Content

This post was last edited by zyu3001 on 2009-8-25 12:06 – Many of you have already spoken a lot about environmental protection. Environmental protection should be addressed through comprehensive measures, starting with the simplest aspects. And reducing waste, especially waste in the food service sector, is the simplest and most effective way to protect the environment. Chinese culture has a long and glorious history, but its food culture does have many issues that need improvement. Everyone has been to restaurants, whether they are large banquets or small meals, whether they are ordinary eateries or luxury hotels. Whenever friends get together for a formal meal, there is always a fair amount of leftover food on the tables – including various delicacies. In some dishes, it seems that no one even touched the food at all, and it was thrown away after everyone left. Statistics show that Hangzhou wastes 1.4 billion yuan worth of food each year, while Shanghai generates around 1,100 tons of kitchen waste per day. By conservative estimates, an average restaurant typically has 10% or more left over from each meal served, with each restaurant discarding over 50 kilograms of leftover food per day on average. Based on this calculation, the annual waste in this area across the country amounts to 60-70 billion yuan. If 1,000 yuan worth of food requires an energy equivalent to one ton of coal, the wasted food alone would result in the emission of about 100 million tons of CO2. Food waste has a more severe environmental impact than ordinary waste; its salts accelerate the corrosion of sewer systems, while its oils cause blockages and various other problems. What’s more, the production of these delicacies consumes a large amount of energy and valuable resources ； Take alcohol for example: the production of many types of baijiu requires a large amount of grain and fuel. Many people drink excessively, which not only fails to boost productivity but also reduces it and increases carbon dioxide emissions. In the worst case, long-term excessive drinking can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, strokes, and even death from coma. In a county in Henan, the head of the family planning commission died after becoming unconscious from excessive drinking on public funds; he was posthumously honored as a martyr! Is there anything more absurd than this? China is probably the most wasteful country. In 2006, Bill Gates hosted a banquet in his private mansion for a **leader** visiting the United States; the guests were served a dinner consisting of just three simple yet exquisite dishes. Many **state banquets consist of only three or four dishes, plus a dessert, with limited alcohol options. **Laws should be enacted stipulating that public funds shall not be used to cover meals with more than four dishes and one soup, and that alcohol consumption shall not exceed three liang. Leaders must set an example, and those who violate the rules will be severely punished. -