High time for Malaysia to formulate on food waste

KUALA LUMPUR: It is high time for Malaysia to formulate a specific law on food waste, as this would demonstrate the country’s commitment to addressing this critical global problem, says Miss Earth Malaysia 2022 Dr Kajel Kaur Gill.
 
Dr Kajel Kaur said a new law on how excess food should be dealt with has been long overdue in Malaysia and she hoped the current Unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would make all the necessary efforts to formulate a law that could promote sustainable practices throughout the food supply chain.
 
“We live in a country that has delicious food, and most of the time, without even realising it, we discard edible food, which is a significant issue that contributes to food waste.
 
“As such, the only way to stop the habit of wasting food in society is by having an effective law that can promote sustainable practices.
 
“Formulating a law on food waste in Malaysia would provide a comprehensive legal framework to tackle the environmental, social, and economic challenges posed by food waste,” she said, adding it is also in line with the country’s commitments to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 12, which focuses on responsible consumption and production.
 
Dr Kajel, who is waiting to start her housemanship, told Bernama this during a press conference held recently to announce the updates of the Miss Earth Malaysia 2023 beauty pageant. Also in attendance is the pageant’s national director, Joshua Benedict. 
 
For a start, she said, restaurants in Malaysia could put up signage like ‘Eat what you can’ or ‘Don’t be overly ambitious on what you have on your plate’ as a responsible measure to raise awareness and educate the public on food waste, while stressing that France adopted a law in 2016 to address food waste and it has been effective.
 
Meanwhile, Dr Kajel Kaur, who is the licence holder for the Miss Earth Malaysia 2023 beauty pageant, said the pageant will be held in August this year with the title winner representing Malaysia at the Miss Earth international beauty pageant to be held in Vietnam at the end of the year.
 
“Participants of the pageant are advised to be sincere in their advocacies and have something relevant in today’s time,” said the Ipoh-born animal lover, who runs her own non-governmental organisation called ‘No Strays On Streets’ to ensure stray animals are fed, vaccinated, rescued, neutered, and re-homed. – BERNAMA