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BY Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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MANILA – Nearly 3 million, or 11.7 percent of Filipino families do not have enough food to eat, a recent Social Weather Stations report revealed.
But, the Food and Nutrition Institute of the Department of Science and Technology said each Filipino on the average wastes over 3 kilos of rice every year, equivalent to 296,869 metric tons.
This, according to Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, is enough to feed 2 million hungry Filipinos.
To stave off hunger, Pangilinan filed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 984 or the Zero Food Waste Act prohibiting grocery stores, fastfood outlets, restaurants and other food companies from throwing away of food still safe to eat.
They are required to bank and donate these food to charities that feed the hungry, SBN 984 said.
“Inspired by the France, the bill seeks to shoot two birds with one stone. Number 1, to stop impoverished Filipinos from eating ‘garbage food’, and number 2, to reduce food wastage,” Pangilinan said.
He said that Italy, Belgium, and Japan also have laws requiring donation of excess or unserved food to food banks.
Under the Pangilinan bill, charities are directed to properly collect, store, and distribute these food with dignity to recipients.
If the food is already spoiled, these will be turned into compost fertilizer or biomass energy, it also stated.
“It is not right for this many families to go hungry when so much good food is thrown away,” the senator said./PN
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