Bill seeks to stop waste, not regulate rice eating

LUCENA CITY—Butil Rep. Agapito Guanlao, chair of the House committee on food security, on Friday clarified that the bill he planned to file in Congress on food, particularly rice, consumption does not seek to regulate the amount of rice servings in restaurants but rather promotes “nonwasteful food consumption.”

“The bill shall not limit the volume or serving of foods, including rice,” Guanlao said in a statement.

He said the possible component of the still unfiled bill— which he intended to coauthor with Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza, chair of the House agriculture committee—would require restaurants and other food establishments “to provide information on the calorie contents of food they are serving to the public.”

Guanlao described the planned bill as a measure that would “promote nonwasteful food consumption patterns and sustainable utilization of food resources, and help maintain and ensure food security.”

He said the proposed measure aims to encourage consumers to purchase food they would be able to consume based on the calorie needs of their body and to not buy excess amounts of food.

“A person who goes to a restaurant may opt to order only the desired volume of food to avoid leftovers and food wastes,” Guanlao said.

The International Rice Research Institute earlier said Filipinos waste rice worth at least P23 million everyday, or about P8.4 billion a year.

Data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute and the Department of Science and Technology showed that every Filipino wastes an average of 3 tablespoons (9 grams) of rice daily, which is equivalent to 3.3 kilograms a year.