Biting off more than we can chew during Ramadan

The month of Ramadan is upon us. A period where Muslims all over the world take a hiatus from food, drink, sexual activity and much more.

Backbiting is also refrained from, although this should be the case even outside Ramadan. Hate speech should also be non-existent.

In fact, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa promised stern action against those who sow hatred in mosques during Ramadan.

Sermons against Shias or other “deviant” Muslims during the rest of the 11 months are bad enough, but imagine hatemongering against your fellow Muslims during Ramadan. That would be despicable.

Above all, the purpose of the fasting month is to discipline one

self. It is also a perfect opportunity to turn a new leaf. A Ramadan resolution, if you will. This could include a dieting regime, a vow to never smoke again, or even a promise to mend broken ties with your loved ones. For Muslims, this would be the symbolic power of Ramadan.

Unfortunately, there is also another symbol of Ramadan. This symbol exists not only in Malaysia but it exists nonetheless. I am talking about overzealous eating. Ramadan buffets are a good example of this.

Before I continue, a disclaimer is warranted. I am not embarking on a crusade against Ramadan buffets or organisers of such events. That would be unfair. Ramadan buffets in and of itself are fine. It’s what it does to people that should be cast in the spotlight.

Ramadan buffets can be good in that it is one platform for friends and family to catch up after periods of hibernating from one another. It encourages a spirit of togetherness and community.

Granted, Muslims are the only group of people from a religious standpoint that know what it’s like to not eat or drink for a month and be greeted with a gamut of food options at fanciful iftar dinners.

I’d sheepishly admit that it’s nice to see rendang, nasi lemak, laksa and other delectables. Couple that with good company and you have a perfect iftar. In fact, this is what I like about Ramadan: good food and even better company.

But here’s the flipside of some iftars, be it at hotel buffets or even mosques. During Ramandan, a hungry mind (and stomach) is the devil’s workshop. The gates of avarice are wide open. Temptations aren’t inherently bad. Acting on it is another matter.

Overzealous eating during Ramadan, well, contradicts the whole point of the fasting month, which is to live simply. Instead of removing toxins from our body, we are adding more junk to it and subsequently, more health problems.

This is the greatest irony of this special month, that one can gain weight despite the requirement that he/she abstains from food the whole day!

Gaining weight is something one deals with personally. However, a more disconcerting issue is the food wastage during Ramadan. This obviously affects the society at large. When your greed is finally exhausted, what can you do but throw away the food? And so it goes, into the trash, never to see the day of light again.

The Solid Waste Management and Public Cleanliness Corporation notes that 15,000 metric tonnes of food waste are recorded daily. More than 270,000 tons of food are thrown into garbage bins during Ramadan. During festivities such as Ramadan, the amount of food thrown away goes up by about 25%.

You don’t need to be an environmentalist to know that food wastage isn’t good for anybody. It’s an ill reflection of our discipline during Ramadan. More importantly, imagine how many people could have been fed with 270,000 tonnes of food!

Now, am I guilty for literally biting off more than I can chew? Yes, there are times I’ve wasted food. There are also times I’ve taken more than necessary, even though I end up finishing the food.

The question is, why finish two plates of rice when you only need to finish one? I am aware of my own greed. I’d like to think I’ll change habits in the coming month.

What is the way forward? Perhaps a law. At the end of last year, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said a law on food waste would be formulated once the details were ironed out.

A law is good in that it acts as a deterrent. However, we need to abhor food wastage, or at least realise that it negates the purpose of fasting. A law may only make us avoid wasting food out of fear of reprisal.

Being bombarded with documentaries about how people in other parts of the world are malnourished is powerful, but it is not the solution. Anti-food wastage needs to become an ethic, inscribed in our moral principles until it becomes second nature to not grab those redundant pieces of rendang from the buffet table.

Syed Imad Alatas is an FMT reader