As a fellow foodie, I didn’t really know how our food waste is affecting our environment. But as of now, I do have an idea on how it does and I’ll be sharing it with you in this very first post.
Before I start, I’ll have to say food wastage is part of our life’s. Everyone will leave some food on their plates due to their own reasons. And in Singapore alone, we generate an average of about 130kg of food waste per person and an average of 126g of food waste per person per household in 2011. But I’m only here to tackle the wastage from buffet restaurants in Singapore.
A survey done on Temasek Polytechnic students ageing at least 20, the results came back and there were 19 surveyors who said they patronise buffet restaurants at least 3 times a month and with only 1 surveyor saying he or she patronises buffet restaurants more than 3 times a month.
Yes, the waste could be incinerated at incinerators, and then brought to landfills. But take into account that not waste can be incinerated. Thus, they are dumped in landfills and as food waste decomposes, chemicals, i.e; Benzoic Acid found in processed food could be released into the environment. These chemicals, can potentially pollute waterways under the land and run into the sea or into our water reserves. Benzoic Acid can exhibit low to moderate toxicity in aquatic organisms.
When the sea is polluted, our source of seafood is affected. When the sea is polluted with chemicals, the food chain in the sea is disturbed, which can lead to loss of sea life, in turn we would have lesser seafood available. However we could have unknowingly consumed polluted seafood that could have passed stringent checks by our authorities, leading to us ending up with food poisoning, which and induce vomiting, fever, diarrhoea. In long term, Benzoic Acid has the ability to deprive cells of oxygen, breakdown of the immune system and causing cancer.
To end it off, the environment is ours to care for. Once, destroyed it will be really tough to bring it back to it’s original health and state. So, let’s cut down on waste and cook and buy what we really want.
Resources:
Food Wastage in Singapore. (2014, January 1). Retrieved December 29, 2014, from http://www.savefoodcutwaste.com/food-waste/food-wastage-in-singapore/
Top 15 Chemical Additives in Your Food. (2010, January 15). Retrieved December 29, 2014, from http://blog.couponsherpa.com/top-15-chemical-additives-in-your-food/
Because you deserve the best. (2011, January 1). Retrieved December 29, 2014, from http://www.spafromscratch.com/sodium-benzoate-dangers/
Benzoic acid | C7H6O2 – PubChem. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2014, from http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/243?from=summary
