Environment and Health：No Waste, Good Taste

No Waste, Good Taste

Hong Kong is a gourmet paradise. We can find food of different kinds from different parts of the world. But when we are enjoying all those delicious food, have we thought about the fact that there are over 3 500 tonnes of food waste being disposed of at landfills every day? And how much of those leftovers are caused by people wasting food? Although food waste are degradable organic materials, a large amount of greenhouse gases is released during the waste burial process, and thus leading to climate change.

Hong Kong people have always had exquisite taste in food and beverage. However, if we overbuy food, it will cause damages to the environment. Meanwhile, overeating will lead to problems like obesity or overweight, which will adversely affect our health in different levels and also greatly increase the risk of disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease and cancer. Currently, around 30% of adults in Hong Kong are obese, while another 20% are overweight, and the situation is an issue of concern.

Whether for the government, the industries or the general public, there are various ways to reduce the amount of leftovers, for example, recovering and recycling food waste, choosing local food materials and going for low carbon diet, which was proposed in recent years. If we are willing to make small changes to our lives, we will be able to reduce waste, improve the environment and build up healthy eating habits, so why not do it?