an inspiration to stop food wastage
Millions of people struggle to put food on the table, at the same time that million of tonnes of food go to waste. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO), 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted every year. Aside from being an inquitous social discrepancy, food wastage also impacts the environment in the form of greenhouse gas emissions as well as additional biochemical oxygen demand when it breaks down. In 2018, Singapore wasted a total of 763,000 tonnes of food. To put this in perspective, Greece, with roughly double our population contributed 480,000 tonnes.
For two local chefs Lim Yew Aun (Bar Cicheti) and Lee Yum Hwa (Ben Fatto), these statistics spell an urgent need to reduce food wastage, starting on home ground. They are sending out the message with a special dining event. Lim and Lee will cook up a six-course meal (S$108++ per diner) from salvaged ingredients. They hope that this will inspire other chefs on the island to create similar ‘zero-waste’ menu to sound out a louder call to stop wasting food that is perfectly edible. Be sure to check out their Cavatelli — a pasta cooked with ingredients salvaged from local markets and simmered with Parmigiano Reggiano rind.
Bar Cicheti x Ben Fatto is at 10 Jiak Chuan Road, tel. +65 9710 5207. The six course dinner will be available on 18 and 19 February, from 6 pm to 10 pm.
A commitment to save the environment
The Loco Group of Mexican restaurants (Super Loco and Lucha Loco) is looking to reduce the effects of climate change by committing to sustainable business practices. And rather than simply making an isolated effort, they are amplifying it by getting 10 other companies from the food and beverage (F&B) and hospitality sector to join them. Some of these include food retailer and restaurant The Providore, Singapore-based craft brewery Trouble Brewing, hotel Grand Hyatt Singapore and wine bar and restaurant 13% Gastro Wine.
For The Loco Group, profits earned will be partially redirected to a carbon offsetting scheme with GreenSteps Group, a tech start-up that engages in reforestation exercises in Uganda and Tanzania. These reforestation exercises, beyond offsetting carbon emissions, also provide jobs for the local communities as well as prevent flood waters from destroying their homes.
The other companies have committed to sustainable practices that range from eliminating single-use plastics by end of 2020, to reducing the amount of organic wastes sent to landfills. The most innovative approach comes from Grand Hyatt Singapore, which is installing an in-house food waste management plant. This will recycle organic wastes into organic pathogen-free fertilisers, which will then be used to maintain its rooftop garden.