A REPORT in a prominent Arabic daily said recently that approximately 12 million meals are being wasted daily in the central region of the country and that there was an urgent need to start a food association to help eliminate this crisis. The report also stated that 30-40 percent income of Saudi families is spent on food supplies. It is really shocking that 12 million meals are being wasted at the central areas of the country only. We know that there are millions of employees in the public and private sectors so it is not only the government that pays salaries. Importing food supplies to the Kingdom, according to recent available statistics, costs SR80 to SR90 billion. This doesn't include all types of food supplies because we have items that are sold locally such as poultry that meets 50 percent of the market needs. Also, companies such as Al-Maraai sells annually products worth more than SR11 billion. And how many other companies produce and sell the same products like Al-Maraai? Other examples include the oil company Savola that sells more than 180 products alone in the Kingdom and the fast food chain Herfy that in 2013 made SR848 billion in profit. We also sell meat, dates and other agricultural local products in large quantities. All these goods are part of the food we consume. Again, I must remind you that the selling price is definitely not the cost price. Merchants add employment and rent expenses to the original price of the goods. For example, the 1000-gram frozen chicken piece is sold for SR15. Would a restaurant sell it at the same price? Definitely not. The price is doubled or more. When we try to analyze the 12 million meals that are wasted daily just in the central area, we should also think of the Kingdom's eastern, southern, northern and western regions. It would be an underestimation to say that we waste billions of meals. According to the 12 million meals waste system, if we calculate the cost of each meal to be SR10 and multiply that by 12 million the total would be SR120 million which is equal to SR43.8 billion wasted because of meal negligence. If I apply the same concept to all areas of the Kingdom, we could reach a billion riyal daily of wasted food compared to the central region's 120 million. What's important to me is not to prove that numbers are correct. It's always easy to get the data when things are accurately investigated. What I care about is the enormous level of “waste” that we live in while our relligion Islam calls us not to excessively abuse permitted things in our lives. We even started inventing certain occasions to exceed all levels of balance and moderation. We criticize people who are thoughtful and careful in their spending and we got so attached to traditional values that have no basis. Food became a source of entertainment and amusement. We must rethink our values and spread awareness about this issue to start valuing the gifts that God has given us. Our government is already subsidizing basic commodities so let us not increase the burden. We must reevaluate our habits in everyday life and commit not to waste anything. Food is not entertainment. It is a need in a world where some people cannot find the means to suppress their hunger even for a day.
