Celeste abou rjeili

Earlier this year, the World Bank officially declared Lebanon one of the most food-insecure countries in the Middle East; almost half of the country’s population is hungry, and 4 million residents live in poverty, according to the latest United Nations estimates.

Lebanon is struggling even more than usual in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian war, as 80% of its wheat usually comes from Russia and Ukraine.

And yet, in restaurants across the country, citizens continue habits of excessive consumption and waste. One famous Lebanese restaurant chain responded that all food left over gets thrown away, even pre-prepared dishes that don’t get served by the end of the day.

In the restaurant’s Metn branch, an employee claimed that the food thrown daily could feed a staggering 1,000 people. This horrifying number represents food waste by just one restaurant branch in all of Lebanon. Imagine how many starving mouths the nation’s daily food waste could feed.

Would Lebanon even have a hunger problem if consumers were not leaving their tables half-full with mezze and fancy entrées? Why do we throw so much when we could take the food to go for a later time? Why don't we take it to others living in hunger or on the streets?

The answers are nuanced, but one factor is the stigma that imbues us all. Especially in larger groups or with friends and distant family, there is a lot of shame associated with taking away leftover food from restaurants, no matter the quantity remaining. This social factor prevents Lebanon from developing a culture of takeaway, though since the economic crisis began, this has become more normalized.

However, big blocks still exist on the restaurant front. Restaurants are not pulling their weight.

The restaurant chain questioned, for instance, said it does not work with NGOs because it does not want to be ambushed by a mass of other organizations once it starts with the first. It further claimed that in its Metn branch at least, it can’t host, service, and distribute food to those in need.

The food app Too Good To Go services businesses in the West by allowing them to sell baskets of leftover food at a reduced price each day. Then, they can package all the remaining food at closing time to leave nothing to waste. Lebanon should be ripe with initiatives like this.

It is high time that Lebanese society changes its culture towards food waste. Those with the means continue to over-consume and throw food in large quantities despite the hunger ravaging the country. Lebanon needs to start embracing sustainable consumption, and restaurants and organizations should be part of the solution.