THE Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) encouraged the local government units (LGUs) to create an ordinance allowing the establishments to serve a half cup of rice for every serving to avoid rice wastage.
The cities of Cebu and Naga are the LGUs in Central Visayas that have already passed an ordinance allowing restaurants to serve half rice.
Leo Cañedo, director of the DA-7, stressed that the millennial generation has greatly contributed to the increase in rice wastage.
“Diha sa high school nato makita ang taas nga rice wastage kay gagmay og kaon ang mga estudyante kay conscious sa ilang timbang (We can see high amount of rice wastage from high school students since they eat less because they are conscious about their weight),” said DA-7 information officer Cheryl dela Victoria.
“As a matter of policy, we shouldn’t order in excess of what we need,” Cañedo said.
“Na man guy uban nga dili mahurot ang rice kay ang kaya kaonon kay half cup ra (There are those who cannot consume a cup of rice but only half),” Dela Victoria said.
Cañedo said they were also planning to hold talks to raise awareness about the importance of brown rice as part of the National Rice Awareness Month.
“We have done rice symposiums to high school students on basic farming so that they will realize the importance of proper rice handling,” he said.
Cañedo said he also encouraged the LGUs to conduct feeding programs in schools and serve brown rice to the beneficiaries.
“Brown rice is definitely a much healthier option,” Cañedo added.
Based on the 2013 National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) every five years, at least three tablespoons of cooked rice or equivalent to 14 grams of uncooked rice are wasted daily by every consumer, an increase of one tablespoon from the 2008 survey.