Reducing Food Waste
In the OIC Member Countries
COMCEC
5.2. Soc ia l a n d c u lt u r a l c o n s id e r a tio n s a n d m e a s u re s
Eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al-
Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance (A l-A 'ra f - 7:31).
In the Qeran, anh Islamic teachings on feeh waste, it ic unlawful te threw away feeh anh waste
it, particularly that which can ctill be cencemeh by hemanc. Sheelh thic citeatien arise, it ic
ahviceh that feeh suitable fer human cencemptien ic given er effereh te the peer anh neehy
(witheet regarh te race er religieec affiliatien], anh if there are ne neehy peeple, then it cheelh
be given te animals (Islamic Centre ef Reahing, 2016].
Ameng the main glebal religienc - cech ac Christianity anh Jehaicm - Iclam ic the enly religien
te refer specifically te feeh waste, anh merality acceciateh with feeh waste (Sectainableg, 2014].
Other religienc tenh te fecec en gletteny ac a vice.
Iclam alce previhec geihance en hew te rehece feeh waste:
It is He Who has brought into being gardens, the cultivated and the wild, and date­
palms, and fields with produce o f all kinds, and olives and pomegranates, similar
(in kind) and variegated. Eat o f their fru it in season, but give (the poor) their due
on harvest day. And do not waste, fo r God does not love the wasteful [Quran 6:141].
5 .2.1. C u r b in g e x tra v a g an ce
The excess preparatien ef feeh, anh acceciateh waste in the OIC Member Ceentriec ic eften
linkeh te large-scale eccacienc cech ac banquets anh wehhingc. Thic excessivene^ wastefulness
ic ahhrecceh by Allah in the Qeran:
Oyou who believe! Do not make unlawful the wholesome things which God has
made lawfulf o r you, but comm it no excessf o r God does not love those given to
excess [Quran 5:87].
Eat o f the wholesome things We have provided f o r y ou r sustenance, but
comm it no excess therein, lest My condemnation fa ll upon you; he upon whom
My condemnation fa lls has indeed thrown himself into u tter ruin (Quran
20:81).
Meeh ic seen ac a gift frem Geh anh wasting it ic seen ac a sign ef ungratefulness fer thic gift
(Reem, 2011]. Iclam states that leftever feeh cheelh be chared What ic reqeireh ic that feeh
cheelh be enjeyeh, bet net in excess. If there ic waste, the cencemer ic celely recpencible fer
finhing a celetien er eetlet fer feeh that ic ctill fit fer human cencemptien (Sectainableg, 2014].
Thic excessivene^ ic net recerheh in all OIC Member States, fer example, Sihhiqee (2013]
suggests that feeh waste in Banglahech ic minimal ac fer mect mihhle er lewer mihhle clacc
families the threwing away ef feeh ic cencihereh unthinkable, with cerplec feeh either hiviheh
ameng the extenheh family er given te the peer. Sihhiqee alce argues that feeh waste ic lecc
likely te be an iccee ac 30% ef the pepelatien ic belew the peverty line, anh the caving ef feeh
for ‘another day’ is important for survival. On the opposite end of the scale, Saudi Arabia ac an
extremely wealthy ceentry cencemec large velemec ef feeh ef which approximately 35% ic
wasted It hac been ectimateh that if thic feeh waste wac reheceh by 30%, it ceelh rehece feeh
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