Ruby O
As part of this year’s celebration of World Earth Day, the city’s only non-profit organization comprised of people with disabilities is hosting a series of events addressing the concept of an inclusive, low-carbon and sustainable lifestyle in the Greater Bay Area.
The Macau IC2 Association looks to help others by serving society with a spirit of inclusiveness.
This year, as part of its World Earth Day commemoration, members of the association will run events of various kinds, from workshops to environmental talks.
Recently, IC2 invited a food and environmental advocate, Ruby O, to share her perspective on the importance of valuing food and heeding the central government’s call to take part in the Clean Plate campaign – a movement initiated in 2013 to reduce food waste and ensure food security in China.
For O, founder and chairperson of the Society of Food & Environmental Health (Macao), the move also plays a crucial factor in achieving the goal of low carbon by 2030.
In Macau – dubbed the world’s center of tourism and leisure – there is an important price to pay for keeping up with international standards, and at the same time, reducing Macau’s carbon footprint and food waste.
Speaking to the Times, O shared her thoughts on Macau’s status in relation to these measures, how large integrated resorts are crucial in the movement and how individuals can cooperate in boosting awareness on valuing food and reducing food waste.
O will further share an overview of sustainability practices in the Greater Bay Area and Macau tomorrow at Artyzen Grand Lapa as part of IC2’s final activity for World Earth Day.
Macau Daily Times (MDT) – Tell us about your partnership with IC2? What are we targeting?
Ruby O (RO) – We have a lot of common values with IC2, as I’ve learned. My association [is focused on a] food upcycling project and building awareness in the public about how we should treasure food because it has a lot of value – from its agriculture [to] how it’s harvested.
MDT – The fact that Macau is considered as one of the richest cities, does that play a role in downplaying food waste among individuals?
RO – Unfortunately, due to the segments of supply chain, Macau is relatively wealthy and with the way we live, I feel like we are detached from the reality about [what] food really means to people. […] I’ve worked in various food sectors, so from day to day I see a lot of potential food resources that could be better utilized. Part of it is due to the operational demand, but at the same time, consumers are thinking, ‘this is none of our business’ […] but both producers and consumers have roles and [a] responsibility [to reduce food waste].
I hope to empower consumers because at the end of the day, we are all consumers. We can make more [of an] impact and drastic change from the existing irresponsible production and consumption. It also creates a lot of waste problems in the city. We can’t just do recycling and just incinerate [and] call it a solution.
It’s about telling the story of how food is important, therefore people should value the people who grow and harvest it, as well as learn how to manage one own’s waste.
IC2 members
MDT – Plastic waste also has a lot to do with the food industry and system. But how can we better meet standards and regulations for food safety without this waste?
RO – Almost half of plastic waste in the world is coming from the food industry for packaging; straws, cling film and Styrofoam.
Those things are necessary for the protection of food because, logistics-wise, without these, protection and food safety concerns [it could] create another issue of insufficient food supply.
I think we are lacking in regulation and proper information for the consumer to judge. In schools, we seldom speak about these things. We focus too much on science but [not] common sense: on what to eat, what is nutritional food, what are the consequences of our food choices – these have a lot to do with [helping save the environment].
I really want empower people to make sound choices to really understand what is good – to show more kindness and concern; and this whole thing is linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).
MDT – Can you see Macau being aligned to these goals?
RO – How come the UNSDG touch every single human being, but Macau seems to be disconnected?
It has been there years but it seems that we are completely out of the loop. In day-to-day conversation, I try to speak about this and they think this is too academic and ask what [it has] to do with Macau. But that has to do with all humankind – from the public to the private sector.
We [should] link those criteria and values together so that the local impact can translate into the goal. At the end of the day, it’s about making a positive impact by changing people’s behavior.
Producers put a lot of effort and professionalism [into making] sure [food is] safe and has quality. However, this kind of value is being lost when it arrives to the consumer. People judge the products by [their] appearance and taste from a manipulated marketing angle. We tend to take things for granted.
MDT – Are these consequences of Macau’s status as a tourism leisure city?
RO – It’s a force from multiple angles. One is on the changes in hospitality: the global trends. The Asia’s 50 best, the World’s 50 Best, and all these international assessments. They are, [however], adding sustainability elements to it. Even Michelin has a subcategory such as the Green Star. We can see multiple forces and platforms and requirements are changing to adapt to the new generation of customers, who are usually framed as ‘educated, experienced, young travelers.’ These travelers know what they want because they traveled more, especially China’s new generation. It has changed.
The other strong force is from the central government. Since last year, the president mentioned that we should not be wasteful with food. There’s even a regulation on food wastage. This is an alarm bell that food industry and people should stop wasting food and be responsible.
MDT – The lifestyle in Macau is more affluent. We can see diners who opt not to take away excess food. With this ease of access, along with subsidies, are these huge factors contributing to food waste?
RO – People are so addicted to a nice lifestyle and imported foods rather than spending time to really learn what good food means. […] I think it’s a good time to change. Economically, it’s not as good as before. People are more concerned with money that they spend on relative necessities. Even the food industry is adjusting their menu to be more stable. Because [..] food costs are more expensive due to logistics costs. I think it’s a good time to learn – how to maintain a restaurant in a more sustainable way – both operationally and [consumer-wise].
MDT – Integrated resorts have been hosting a Clean Plate Challenge as part of their corporate social responsibility. Is this paying off, whether on a small or large scale?
RO – I believe it’s a journey. It really starts with operations, because that’s the mainstream of waste. Large corporations are trying hard to adjust and educate people, but again, it’s a melting pot of different cultures, background and education.
It’s good to have a target, like China, that has a very clear carbon target. Do we want to adjust in terms of food waste, or energy or from the operational angle, or align with stakeholders to create bigger impact?
