Waste of foods at social events

As winter – the peak season of festivity – approaches, people get ready for wedding celebrations, picnics, reunions of families and friends, and a host of other social gatherings. Feast is the obvious, apparently the most important part of all these celebrations to entertain guests. The feast's preparation depends on the event's size, generally determined by the number of participants or guests, and of course by the hosts' purses. Hosts or event organisers select food items according to their socio-economic conditions.
As the selection of foods also becomes a status symbol, there is a growing tendency to provide an array of food items on the table. Be it a small party or a grand reception, guests usually expect lavish gastronomic treat. Serving nicely cooked mutton biryani with kabab and borhani is not enough in many wedding feasts. Chicken tikka should also be there and must be served with nan roti as an appetiser! An icing on the cake would be if the host adds chicken roast beside all these. As these types of wedding foods are now common, serving feasts in a buffet of star hotels is another step ahead where the choice for pleasing the taste bud is multiple. The result of such kingly feasts is special praise reserved for hosts by guests and waste of food in most cases.
Many guests do not think before taking food in their plates as their hunger is mostly in their eyes, not their stomachs. They sometimes also need to remember that their stomach has a limited capacity, and it is impossible to put in as much food as their taste buds want. So they cannot eat all the foods served on their plates. It becomes a typical scene in which many people demand more quantity than required, prompting them to throw away some portions of food uneaten or half-eaten.
Lack of etiquette on taking food served in buffets also causes waste of food that can be avoided. Some guests fill their plates to the brim, forgetting that they can retake them after finishing a round of eating. Almost one-third of the heaped foods on their plates ultimately go to waste. Again, many lavish buffets offer too many items, and some guests can't resist the temptation of tasting as many items as possible, leading to waste. Regular waste of food is also visible in many hotels, restaurants and roadside eateries.
Though a portion of unused, half-used and wasted foods are later given or sold to poor people, it is risky to take those leftovers due to toxicity in many cases. Again, food waste is also a waste of fuel and energy used to cook the cuisine. So, there is a chain effect of waste, which harms the environment. Most people do not want to think about the multiple costs of food waste.
There is no doubt that food waste is a global problem. Some approximate estimates show that around one-third of the food produced worldwide is thrown away uneaten or half-eaten. It does not mean that the trend has to continue. Everyone has the responsibility to curb waste of food. Hosts and guests in every family, friend and social gathering need to act sensibly in order to avoid waste of food.

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