Discussion on:

In Hong Kong, tackling a mounting food waste problem

Vanessa, great article!

As a former resident of Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, etc., I beg to mention one large factor to the food waste issue is the concept of "face." To be able to show off to friends and business colleagues that you can order - and then not consume - loads of food without blinking an eye means you have loads of money. It's meant to look impressive in front of your colleagues, but in the end is a terrible shame of waste.

Over-ordering on food seems to be prevalent in southern China, especially in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

Does anyone else see something wrong with these superficial values? It was common in many countries before they evolved to a more philanthropic and healthful view of the world--maybe China should try to enter the 21rst century not as a glutton, but as part of a better environmentally conscious country. Rather than worry about whether they are wearing the right label--maybe they should worry about preserving what little they have left of their environment.

Ok. I am a Jain from India. There are some practices that we are supposed to follow which are strictly based on science.

Firstly after we finish our meal we are supposed to rinse our plates and drink it. One can only do this if no food is left in the plate or one has not overstuffed oneself to the brim. Advantages are 3 fold. It is a whole lot healthier to leave your stomach a little bit empty. Cleaning up after the meals is a whole lot easier. There is no waste of food when many in the world go hungry.

BTW in Germany if a person leaves food in ones plate or serving bowls he / she is liable to a fine. May even get arrested !

Imagine the volumes of food waste that has been disposing daily, it can actually feed millions of people that are not able to eat regularly, if we don't only waste this. Why we just buy food that we know we cant consume all? The government are having hard time controlling and looking solution for agricultural waste, and this food waste also add up on the problem. We are all responsible with this, we need to share our part to lessen food waste.