Households that dump food should be penalised and their meat allowance redirected to the needy, an expert has suggested.

Arabian Gulf University water resources management professor Dr Waleed Zubari called for tough action to tackle mounting food waste in Bahrain.

He stressed the need for more awareness, while speaking at a key conference on food security that concluded yesterday.

“According to studies, an average individual in Bahrain bins around 132kg of food annually, and this puts our country among the top nations where massive amounts of food are dumped every day,” Dr Zubari said, in his address.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, 230,000 tonnes of food – costing around BD95 million – makes its way to Bahrain’s landfills every year, where it produces methane, a potent climate-changing gas.

WASTE

Dr Zubari was speaking during a plenary session of the fourth edition of Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat) online forum.

“Many families prepare more food than they need and it constitutes about 35 per cent of household waste. This needs to be addressed,” he said.

The session highlighted success stories from France that banned food waste in grocery stores in 2016 and the Seoul regulation that requires its citizens to pay a recycling fee – with the amount depending on the quantity of waste.

Dr Zubari said the economic instrument to clamp down on food waste includes taxing individuals or lifting the monthly subsidy they receive from the government.

“For example, cigarette prices were increased by imposing tax to reduce its consumption.

“It is the sovereign right of a country to increase the price on commodities that are deemed harmful and high in consumption.”

Monthly meat allowance is being dispensed since subsidies were lifted in 2016, with 162,000 Bahrainis receiving direct payments at a cost of BD28m annually.

The GDN reported that councillors were concerned about seagulls feasting on piles of leftover carb-rich Machboos, the national dish of Bahrain, that was making them too fat to fly.

Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf said in January last year that around 1.6m tonnes of waste were dumped at the landfill site in Hafeera in 2020 – and domestic waste constituted 546,822 tonnes.

Meanwhile, Dr Zubari spoke about the high prevalence of obesity and diabetes in Bahrain and other Gulf countries.

“We need to start educating young minds from kindergarten about obesity and sedentary lifestyle, especially in the Gulf where youth play video games and do not practise sports,” he said.

“The idea is also to spread knowledge that over-consumption is not good for one’s health.”

He said Bahrain could customise a model taking cues from the UAE’s Food and Water Security Ministry to ensure supplies, label nutritional value of edibles and promote local produce.

“We need to use biotechnology, promote vertical farming, hydroponics and other initiatives to increase green zones in the country.” he said.

Dr Zubari, however, admitted that dry climate, lack of fertile lands, scarce supply and production of organic produce were challenges that need to be addressed.

“Bahrain imports (90pc) most of its food requirements, and free flow of commerce is vital to ensure supplies reach on time.

“The recent example of the blockage of Suez Canal (in March) by a container ship shows how imperative it is to ensure critical choke points in the region remain open.”

Bahrain University College of Science assistant professor Dr Salwa Al Thawadi spoke about ‘hunger hotspots’ in the region, especially in conflict areas that posed a big challenge, coupled with Covid-19.

The GDN reported on Tuesday that a new blueprint that addresses Bahrain’s food security challenges is expected to be approved by the Cabinet in the coming months.

The conference came up with the following recommendations.

Local level:

* Endorse legislations for water conservation.

* Give importance to strategic agriculture harvests, fishing areas and animal farms.

* Adoption of modern agriculture systems.

* Investment in research on agriculture technology.

GCC level

* Set Gulf roadmap to provide strategic food stock.

* Study the formation of water and food security fund.

International

* Promote bilateral expertise of food importing countries

* Promote international food related research

© Copyright 2020 www.gdnonline.com

Copyright 2021 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.