AMMAN (Xinhua) – Calls mount in Jordan for the public to change their food consumption habits in the light of the global food security challenge.
Around 34 percent of food in Jordan is wasted, so there is a dire need to adjust food consumption habits considering the current global conditions, Agriculture Minister Khaled Huneifat said in a recent statement.
“Sometimes people prepare more food as a gesture of generosity to their guests, but most of the leftovers end up in the trash, especially on the occasions of weddings and celebrations,” said Omar Sabri, a sociologist.
“To combat food waste, we need to change our social habits of making large and lavish banquets on many social occasions. There are many families who need that food,” Sabri added.
Some 53 percent of Jordanians are vulnerable to food insecurity, while about 3 percent of Jordanian households are food insecure, according to a UN policy brief published in February.
The brief, entitled “Towards the Implementation of Jordan’s Food Security Strategy,” pointed out that 55 percent of the food consumed in Jordan, mainly basic foods such as wheat and pulses, is imported.
The country’s poverty rate stood at 24.1 percent in June, according to a statement by Jordan’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
“Countries worldwide are currently intensifying efforts to ensure food security and sustain food supply for their citizens. Therefore, wasting one-third of Jordan’s food is a big economic loss,” Sarah Hamed, an economic news editor at the Jordan Press Foundation, told Xinhua on Wednesday.
Jordan’s Consumer Protection Society also called for reducing food waste, noting Jordan has many charities and food banks that can collect leftovers and distribute them to the needy.
Omar Awwad, president of the Jordan Association for Restaurants and Sweet Shops Owners, confirmed that numerous restaurants and sweets shops have cooperated with charities for food donations.
“More participating restaurants, food shops, and even individuals are welcome to connect with charities to offer food, instead of leaving them to expire and to be discarded,” he said.