Wedding food worth Rs 339 crore goes waste

[email protected] (Hetal Vyas,TNN)
October 12, 2012
food_wastage_in_marriage


Bangalore, October 12: After the big fat wedding is done with and the guests have gone home, what remains is the litter, dirty dishes and piles of excess high-calorie food.

Enough to feed lakhs of children, in a country where malnutrition has been termed a "national shame" by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Statistics show that every third malnourished child in the world is an Indian.

A survey shows that annually, Bangalore alone wastes 943 tonnes of quality food during weddings. "This is enough to feed 2.6 crore people a normal Indian meal," a study by a team of 10 professors from the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, has concluded. The team, under the guidance of UAS vice-chancellor K Narayana Gowda, surveyed 75 of Bangalore's 531 marriage halls over a period of six months.

"About 84,960 marriages are held at 531 kalyana mantapas (marriage halls) in Bangalore every year. About 943 tonnes of high-calorie quality food is wasted in these halls annually. At an average cost of Rs 40 per meal, the total food wastage in the city is estimated at Rs 339 crore," the study said.

On an average, 1,000 people attend a wedding where two meals are served - lunch at the wedding and dinner for reception, besides breakfast.

"About 10-20 items are served at a wedding ceremony. The maximum items served include 100 grams each of soup and juice, followed by 50 grams each of puri and pulao," the survey stated. It also concluded that rice and cereals were on top, making for 35% of the wastage.


"On an average, a typical wedding meal is very rich in energy. Each meal may have 1,239 calories, enough to meet an entire day's requirement of a child! The wastage per meal amounted to 20% at 246 calories," said Gowda.

"The survey sought to bring to light the criminal wastage of food during Indian weddings. Our aim is to create awareness and sensitize the public not to waste food. We found that food wastage was more with buffets than served meals," said professor PK Mandanna, of agricultural marketing, UAS.

The university has scheduled a brainstorming session on the issue at its GKVK campus on Saturday. Those interested can attend.

'Guests should be sensitized'

"Food wastage is a big concern during weddings. We need to create awareness among people and sensitize them against wasting food. Hosts must put placards with messages saying guests must not waste food and take only what they can consume. Nowadays, professionals serve food, which is working positively," says Vasan T, proprietor, Gowrishankar Mahal, west of Chord Road.

Weddings wows

1,000 people attend an average marriage

Menu comprises two meals and breakfast

Each meal contains 1,239 calories

Avg cost of meal Rs 40

943 tonnes of high-calorie quality food wasted

Wasted food worth Rs 339 cr

22% food wasted in buffet system; 20% in served system



Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 15,2020

Bengaluru, May 15: There is no trace of community spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Karnataka due to the strict measures taken by the State Government, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Friday.

All those tested positive for the virus here have arrived from other states and are currently being treated in quarantine centres, he tweeted.

Over 25 per cent of the COVID-19 positive cases, which were detected in the state, were related to those who had either come from abroad or other states, and only about 7 per cent cases were associated with the influenza-like diseases, his tweet further read.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 18,2020

Bhopal, Mar 18: Congress leader Digvijay Singh's detention by police in Bengaluru is display of "dictatorship and Hitlarshahi" by the BJP, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said here on Wednesday.

Singh staged a protest near a Bengaluru resort this morning where rebel MLAs of Madhya Pradesh Congress are staying, and demanded that he be allowed to meet them.

Singh, who has been detained by the police, accused the BJP of holding the MLAs captive and said that he would go on a "hunger strike".

Reacting to this, Nath said if the need arises he would also go to the Karnataka capital.

"Preventing Congress Rajya Sabha candidate and other ministers from meeting MLAs, misbehave with them, forcibly taken them into custody is totally a dictatorship and hitlershahi (sic)," Nath said in a tweet.

"Entire country is watching how an elected government is being made unstable and how BJP is murdering democratic values," Nath said.

"Why they are not allowing them to meet MLAs. What BJP is afraid of. BJP is playing a dirty political game in the state," the chief minister tweeted.

Demanding immediate release of detained Congress leaders, Nath said that democratic norms and Constitutional values are being stifled.

Later speaking to reporters, the CM said, "Why the BJP is afraid of presenting 16 MLAs here (Bhopal)? What is the problem in one person (Singh) meeting with 16 legislators?"

Nath reiterated that his government had proven majority on floor of the House in the last 15 months since coming to power.

Amid political uncertainty in Madhya Pradesh, the state Congress Legislature Party on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre and the BJP-led Karnataka government to grant it access to communicate with its rebel MLAs staying in Bengaluru.

The apex court had also directed the Kamal Nath government to respond by Wednesday to a plea by senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking immediate floor test in the Assembly.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 21,2020

Chikkamgaluru, Feb 21: Wazi Noronha, aka, Vojald, the father of Amulya Leona Noronha, who lives in Koppa taluk of Chickmagalur district has said that he was shocked by his daughter’s pro-Pakistan slogans.

“Let her rot in jail. I don’t mind if police break her bones, I don’t support what she said and I will not approach lawyers for her bail. She has committed a grave mistake,” he said.

Amulya, a 19-year-old student activist, was booked for sedition yesterday after she raised ‘Long Live Pakistan’ slogans at a CAA-NRC rally. A visibly embarrassed Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM chief and MP tried to snatch the mic away from her and slammed her. Karnataka Police have registered a case under IPC Section 124A (Offence of sedition) against Amulya.

Mr. Wazi, who owns a two-acre areca plantation and runs a poultry farm, said he would not make any attempts to get her bail. “Let the law take its course. I cannot approve of her statement,” he said.

He said he had cautioned his daughter against getting involved in protests. “I told her to complete studies first and later she could fight for poor people. But what she said yesterday is not acceptable. I don’t know what made her so. I hope a probe would bring out who prompted her to make such statements,” he said.

Mr. Wazi also admitted that he was associated with BJP and had worked for saffronite leaders like Shobha Karandlaje and D N Jeevaraj.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.