Ministry of Environment Reduce overproduction and wastage

I believe there is a collective urgent need to recognize our priorities and bring our focus right.

Today, the world is over producing, advertisements manipulate consumers to buying more then necessary, wastage etc.

Questions:
1. Do we need to package a box of chocolate sold in supermarket in so many layers?
2. How many million tons of fresh produced (vegetables/ animal products) are thrown away each day because they are past their expiratory date?
3. Does it help consumers' pockets when the humble breakfast bread is sold in high end retail shops with expensive rents?
4. Just instant coffee, we have minimum at least close to a 100 brands in the market.
5. Every year, new models appear (eg smartphones) tempting consumers to upgrade when their last year model is working just fine or planned obsolete.
6. Government pay millions in advertisement for citizens to exercise more but instead of the basic walking many citizens opt for PMD then they pay monthly subscription to join Gyms.

We then try to solve these issues of unnecessary unmatched over-supply and unnecessary consumerism, with RECYCLING. The idea of RECYCLING is near completely wrong because we are NOT solving the root problem and in fact, RECYCLING would give the world an excuse to go on doing what we are doing currently and may be even more of the same. How many shipped developed countries' garbage for recycling are sent back by developing countries?

I believe we should nip the problem at the bud, that is, the world should reduced our unnecessary consumption. For example: 

1. Why the need to fly sweet potatoes from Japan to Singapore when we can grow the Japanese variant here or in Malaysia - Kiwi fruit was originally from China but now is the national fruit of New Zealand
2. Why need to plow millions to grow sturgeon for caviar when millions have never tasted fish in their lives) and improve distribution around the world (in Singapore it is hard press to see anyone starving but in parts of Africa starving is the norm).

Singapore has always can't wait to claim 1st in almost everything, we should be able to claim first to save the planet by finding an alternative to RECYCLING. RECYCLING occurs often ONLY because the end-product has some value. Also true that energy used for RECYCLING including producing some toxic by-products in the process. RECYCLING may appear sexy but it is too often cosmetic in appearance.

Maria May

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