Now that we’re seeing more easing of pandemic restrictions, with buffets back on the menu and competitions returning to the sporting scene, one can only surmise that the country is welcoming back some pre-COVID normalcy.
While I look forward to taking my family out for a self-serving dinner, I am also deeply concerned about the issue of food waste cropping back up.
In the past, especially when it came to sungkai buffets, diners tended to take more than they could eat to make it “worth their money”, which had led to a lot of food ending up in the rubbish bin.
I hope the pandemic has prepared us to be mindful of our food intake. It was especially true in the second wave, when we had to take sporadic visits to the supermarket to limit the spread of the virus. The limited supply in the pantry may have turned some of us into lasting opposition of food wastage.
However, it is quite possible that some may view the COVID restrictions as temporary sacrifices and now that buffets are set to return to restaurants next month, they may even use the relaxed measure as an excuse to pick up old habits and attitudes.
I hope to be proven wrong. But judging from how quickly complacency has taken hold of certain individuals now that we’re nearing the end of Early Endemic Phase by blatantly ignoring standard operating procedures such as scanning the BruHealth code to enter public and business premises, I am worried that this group of individuals that are quickest to re-acquaint with their old, pre-COVID selves.
Peanut Man
