Is Fasting Bad For The Environment?

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IS FASTING BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?

Salma Surjaatmadja (1806138283)


Ramadan is the long-awaited holy month for Muslims across the globe,
especially in Indonesia. Breakfasting is a ritual that is taking place every dawn in the
month of Ramadan. The ritual is compulsive to indicate that for that day, a person has
completed fasting. Moreover, people take breakfasting further as a form of
strengthening bonds between each other. Although the ritual sounds lively and
harmless, the majority of people in Indonesia are prone to have an excessive amount
of food that put out more food waste compared to regular basis.
Indonesia’s 264 million citizens produce 300 kg of food waste per person
annually and hold the second position for the world’s highest number of food waste.
Sadly, Indonesian’s consumptive behavior became worst during Ramadan due to
feeling hunger. This behavior causes them to pile up food that they don’t consume
and end up in a landfill. As a result, Sanitary Service DKI Jakarta reports that during
Ramadan 2016, the number of food waste increased to over 10%. Moreover,
Parangpong Waste Management, a recycling center in West Java, told the ABC News
that Jakarta alone produced an extra 200 tons of waste throughout Ramadan.
In addition, the breakfasting tradition usually requires much selection of
food, from appetizers to dessert. As breakfasting host, people tend to buy more than
they typically do to serve their guests. However, the amount of served food is not
equivalent to the people’s capability of consumption as to wanting to have the essence
of luxury; people would generate much more waste. Ramadan becomes a big
opportunity in the food business to offer good deals since the demand for their
product skyrockets up. In Indonesia, we can see many discount and promotion in
supermarkets that attract customer to buy more food. Contrastingly, we rarely see an
awareness campaign about the amount of food waste produced during Ramadan and
the bitter truth about how the poor struggle to get food. This problem is contrary to
the true meaning of fasting. Fasting is a means for gratitude, compassion for the poor,
and to control our desires.
The number of food waste in Indonesia is now at an alarming level. We are all
responsible for this issue, and we need to take real actions. It could be in the form of
behavioral change, strong legislation, increased public awareness, recycling facilities,
and community participation. This year, Indonesia has started an awareness campaign
called “Makan Bijak” which generates the people to separate their food before eating
so it would not go bad and could still be consumed by those who need it. All in all, we
need to fix our consumptive habits during Ramadan, as it turns into a socio-culture
problem that slowly damages our environment and moreover the true meaning of
fasting according to the Qur'an.

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