IT'S a bit worrying to go to the supermarket these days and see shelves with signs telling customers to limit their purchase of locally-produced rice. As a rice-staple country, Malaysians will eat it almost everyday.
The phrase belum dapat nasi hari ini or "I've not had rice for today" has become common utterance. For some people, not eating rice for the day means not having eaten anything at all!
There are several theories as to why we're seeing these warning signs on the shelves. Some claim that the rising prices of imported rice is the reason behind the increased demand for local rice, thus causing its shortage.
Another theory is that as selling imported rice is more profitable, some unscrupulous sellers are mixing or labelling local rice as imported ones.
Regardless, this crisis needs to be addressed swiftly as it affects the low-income group the most, especially food sellers who sell rice-based meals to survive for the day.
The low-income earners are certainly feeling the pinch and struggling to make ends meet. The increase in food prices also makes it hard for them to feed their families with nutritious food. This, in turn, jeopardises their health and will lead to malnutrition among the country's poor.
TOO MUCH WASTAGE
Although it may seem that we, as consumers, are helpless to correct this crisis, there may be a more practical approach that everyone can take part in to reduce the impact. Globally, 30 per cent of food is wasted across the supply chain. This is almost the same percentage as the amount of rice imported by Malaysia.
Malaysia produces 65 per cent of its rice to meet local demand and imports the other 35 per cent, which usually comprises specialty rice such as basmati and fragrant rice.
Studies by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) in 1985 found that 28 per cent of rice would be lost upstream of the supply chain. There was also a report that stated the Philippines wasting as much as 36 per cent of its imported rice annually.
According to a 2007 report by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a climate action non-governmental organisation, starchy food is most commonly thrown away, with 45,000 tonnes of it being rice.
During the last MYSaveFood Ramadan 2023 campaign, where leftover food and drinks were "rescued" from Ramadan bazaars and distributed to the needy nationwide, nasi berlauk (rice dishes) was the second highest type of food that was wasted. From 55 Ramadan bazaars nationwide, 2.5 tonnes of rice dishes were collected for distribution.
Perhaps we'd be less wasteful if we realised how much time and effort are needed to produce rice. In general, it takes about six months to do so. In the Philippines, according to studies carried out at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), 500 to 1,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1kg of rough (un-milled) rice. That's 200 5-litre bottles of cooking oil. To produce a bag of 5kg rice requires five times more water!
DO SOMETHING
With so much effort and resources being put into producing rice, it's so wrong to waste it. Now that we're experiencing a reduction in rice supply, hopefully we'll think twice before wasting our food.
If we're not careful, with increasing agricultural challenges like climate change, as well as rising incidence of pest and diseases, it will become harder to produce rice and supplies will dwindle faster. Not to mention the food prices that will continue to soar frequently.
Maybe one day, our children and grandchildren may not be able to afford to eat rice anymore and will miss the opportunity to savour all the wonderful nasi ayam, nasi goreng, nasi kerabu, nasi beriani and nasi lemak that we've so often taken for granted.
So, let's do something about this and stop wasting food, particularly rice.
No doubt some people have a bigger appetite than others and can finish any amount of rice on their plate, but for small-eaters, when taking rice in nasi campur or at buffets, only take as much as your tummy can accommodate.
For ala-carte orders, if possible, ask for half portions. If portions can't be negotiated, how about sharing with family and friends? Food sellers should also accommodate small-eaters and provide smaller portions if needed.
When your order comes and you can tell that you won't be able to finish the meal, separate a portion and pack (tapau) it for your next meal. Not only does this reduce food wastage, it also reduces the need for you to cook or buy more food.
Perhaps at home, it's a bit easier to control food waste — or so we think. Alas, this isn't the case.
According to Azrina Sobian, a fellow at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia's (Ikim) Centre for Science and Environment Studies, the largest source of food waste comes from households at 38 per cent, followed by wet markets (24 per cent), restaurants (23 per cent) and hotels (seven per cent).
Over-buying, lack of proper storage and unplanned purchases have been cited as the causes of food wastage in households.
PROPER PLANNING
It's very important to estimate correctly how much rice is needed. Food wastage at home can be tackled through proper planning. This includes knowing how much to purchase.
Be careful because supermarket cheap sales may sometimes tempt us to buy more than we need. Everyone knows that rice can only be kept for a certain period before the weevils appear. Despite this, the rice is still consumable, albeit a bit difficult to cook because the weevils have to be separated first. Storage is also important to ensure rice lasts longer.
Cooking the right amount of rice according to the number of people in the family will help to prevent leftovers. If there are leftovers, why not create other dishes from it?
Fortunately, rice is so versatile and can easily be made into fried rice or rice fritters (cucur nasi).
Not many people know that leftover rice can also be frozen. Freezing rice can really increase its shelf-life, but the texture will be different. Last but not least, stale rice can be fed to pets besides being turned into compost.
MULTIPLE BENEFITS
In Malaysia, unfortunately, festive occasions like weddings and parties will always end up with a lot of leftover rice. One way to reduce this is to avoid overestimating the number of guests and tell the caterer to cook the right amount food.
There are multiple benefits to reducing food waste. Like any good deed, it makes us feel good. In addition, this action contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission, which is the main cause of climate change.
In home economics, reducing food wastage can save a lot of money and reduce our monthly expenditures. In terms health, eating a small amount of rice can prevent our waistline from growing and keep painful diseases at bay!
Finally, reducing food wastage is also a way to strengthen the country's food security. It really doesn't make sense to work so hard to produce food just to throw it away at the end of the day.
Let's start saving rice today!
Ainu Husna M.S. Suhaimi is a principal research scientist at Mardi and an advocator for reducing food loss and waste. This article is the author's personal view.