DENR urges public: Avoid food waste

CEBU, Philippines - In celebration of the Philippine Environment Month this June, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-7 urged the public to trim down the amount of food that will go to waste and food loss as it threatens biodiversity if remains unchecked.

Under a global theme, "Think. Eat. Save", DENR leads the celebration, which is aimed at reducing food waste.

DENR-7 executive director Dr. Isabelo Montejo advised the consumers to be mindful of one's eating habits as this creates an impact in the environment particularly in the preparation or production of the food items that a person love to eat.

He reiterated on the need to be 'environmentally-responsible consumers' by choosing some types of food which are those grown organically or packaged using recycled materials.

Montejo said that patronizing locally-produced products is a little act that the public could share to the environment as these products do not need more handling, hauling or transporting.

Therefore there is a limited use of energy or fossil fuel that contributes to global warming.

Montejo said that based on the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization statement, 1.3 billion metric tons of food is wasted every year.

He added that on a daily basis, a seventh of the world's population goes to bed hungry, while more than 20,000 children under the age of five die from hunger.

With this, Montejo stressed that by getting a comfortable or enough food into one's plate, food waste and food loss will be avoided.

With the practice among restaurants and fast food chains offering unlimited rice, he also expressed concern on the amount of rice that may go to waste.

According to Montejo, many of the food items are taken from the earth's resources to feed more than seven billion people and if the practice of wasting continues, biodiversity is critically threatened.

Montejo said that in pursuit of food, humanity devotes 70 percent of its fresh water consumption to food production, which also accounts for 80 percent of deforestation and 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Meanwhile, DENR-7 employees are encouraged to love what they do and go beyond with the 'bettering" the best, as the agency celebrated its 26th year anniversary the other day.

Nearly 200 officials and employees participated the said event at their regional office in Banilad, Mandaue City.

The said activity highlighted the 26 years of the establishment of DENR as the primary government agency responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the country's environment and natural resources.

On June 10, 1987, Executive Order No. 192 came out reorganizing the Department of Energy, Environment and Natural Resources (DEENR) renaming it as DENR. —  (FREEMAN)