Terming the food wastage at weddings and social gatherings as “criminal”, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas today said the government could bring a new law in this regard and also launch an awareness campaign to curb this.
The minister said although the government has not conducted any study to determine the level of wastage of food at such functions like marriage events, there are reports that wastage is to the extent of 15-20 per cent.
“There is huge wastage of food at weddings and other social functions. It is a criminal wastage. We are finding out mechanism to bring down such wastage of food,” Mr. Thomas told PTI.
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The Consumer Affairs Ministry has initiated a consultation with noted farm scientist M S Swaminathan and several civil societies to suggest ways to reduce the wastage of food items at big events, he said.
Asked if the government is planning to limit the number of guests at weddings, Thomas said, “We are not going to that extent. We will either launch an awareness campaign or if need be bring in a new legislation.”
The government will also look into the Guest Control Order of the 1960s, which limits number of guests at marriages and other events, he said.
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The Minister noted that the need of the hour is to stop such kind of wastage because there are still some percentage of population who get only one time meal.
Besides consultation with NGOs, the government is mulling setting up a national advisory committee to look into this issue, he added.
The UPA government is also in the process of bringing a National Food Security Act to ensure legal entitlement of highly subsidised foodgrains to the poor.