Binay seeks Senate probe into alarming food waste in PH
Published Apr 7, 2023 03:09 am
Senator Nancy Binay has filed a resolution urging the Senate to investigate the alarming volume of food waste in the country.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 555, Binay said it is imperative for the Upper Chamber to look into the alarming volume of food being thrown out considering there are millions of Filipino families experience being hungry and cannot properly eat.
“The present situation is alarming given the fact that the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey shows that 11.8 percent or an estimated three million Filipino families experienced being hungry and not having anything to eat in the last three (3) months of 2022,” Binay said in the explanatory note of the resolution.
“Congress, in consultation with relevant agencies, must determine the policy needed to address food wastes in the country considering that many Filipinos are experiencing hunger,” she said.
Binay said the Philippines had 930 million tons of food waste in 2019 alone, citing a study done by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The 2018-2019 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS), she said, also stated that average plate waste of Filipino households in a day based on one-day food weighing was 76 grams (g), or approximately five (5) tablespoons of plate waste.
Plate waste refers to the edible portions of food which are left on the dining table or on the plates after the household has finished eating and are usually given to household pets or discarded
A study done to explore the association between household dietary consumption and plate waste by the DOST - Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) also revealed that rice has the highest average household plate waste (49.6 grams), followed by meat, fish, poultry (7.5 grams), and vegetable (6.7 grams).
The plate wastage, the study said, occurs in larger household meal portion size, when there is a greater number of household members and higher wealth status.
“The study concluded that plate waste is indeed a public health problem that should be addressed,” Binay noted.
The senator also cited the warning issued by the World Bank that greenhouse gas emissions arise from the process of growing food that is not consumed and from decomposing.
“Emissions related to food loss and waste account for an estimated 8 percent of total global
emissions,” she said.
“The World Bank (also) stated that reducing food loss and waste can play a major part in helping countries improve the health of their people,” the lawmaker stressed.